Jaffa Cakes are small cakes which were originally introduced to the British public in the 1920s by the McVitie's Biscuit Company. The cakes have a sponge cake on bottom, orange bit in the middle, and dark chocolate on top. Many people from the United Kingdom have become quite fond of Jaffa Cakes, and a number of companies have tried to capitalize on the phenomenon by making their own versions.
There are three parts to the Jaffa Cake: a sponge cake-like layer, a layer of orange jelly, and a coating of dark chocolate. These cakes are designed to be circular and bite sized, and the lightweight sponge cake can be deceptive; consumers often find themselves eating more Jaffa Cakes than they had intended. McVitie's makes several sizes of cakes, and has offered an array of limited-edition variations with fillings like lime and berry. The classic orange Jaffas remain a consistent seller, however, and the brand is the fourth best seller in the market.
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These cakes are named for Jaffa oranges, which are sweet oranges native to Israel. The exact composition of the "smashing orange bit" in the middle of Jaffa Cakes is a bit of a mystery, although it originally was a combination of apricot pulp, tangerine oil, and sugar. Jaffa Cakes are a marriage of flavors, combining slightly bitter dark chocolate with complementary sweet orange flavor and a neutral base of sponge cake.
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The precise identity of the Jaffa Cake as a cake or cookie, also known as a biscuit in the United Kingdom, has been a topic of heated debate. In fact, McVitie's once found itself in court defending the identity of the Jaffa Cake as a cake, not a biscuit. While this debate might seem unimportant, rates of taxation for cakes and cookies are different in the United Kingdom, so for McVitie's, this was a very serious issue.
Jaffa Cakes are classified as cakes on the grounds that they are soft when fresh and they turn hard when stale. McVitie's actually brought a giant Jaffa Cake to the courthouse for the trial as a demonstration piece to defend the Jaffa Cake's honor. Despite the eventual court verdict in the matter, the debate still continues, with many people arguing that the Jaffa Cake is really a biscuit, based on its size and composition.