Jaffa Cakes

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Jaffa Cakes are a popular type of biscuit-like cake in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They are sold under a number of different brands, the market leader being McVitie's (United Biscuits).

Contents 1 History 2 Description 3 Advertising 4 Cake or biscuit? 5 Similar products and variants 5.1 Variants 5.2 Limited edition flavours 5.3 Rival brands 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

McVitie and Price first introduced the Jaffa Cake in 1927 following the success of the chocolate digestive biscuit. Its creation is largely credited to John Langlands, a director of McVitie and Price at the time. The cakes were named for Jaffa oranges, sweet oranges native to Israel.^[1]

[edit] Description

Jaffa Cakes are circular, approximately 54 mm (2⅛ inches) in diameter and consist of three layers: a sponge cake base, a layer of orange flavoured jelly and a coating of dark chocolate. Despite claims that the orange jelly in Jaffa Cakes is actually apricot flavoured with tangerine oil,^[2][3] the list of ingredients on a 2008 label show the cakes are made with orange juice and does not list apricot as an ingredient.^[4]

[edit] Advertising

In 2000, McVitie's signed a sponsorship deal with Manchester United F.C., making Jaffa Cakes one of the team's eleven 'platinum' sponsors. Sven-Göran Eriksson announced that Jaffa Cakes would join the England squad in Japan for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as part of their training diet.^[5]

In 2002, a "Jaffa Cake shaped like David Beckham" was produced by a McVitie's graphic designer as a tie-in for the FIFA World Cup. When picked up by the press, the story incorrectly reported that the cake had been found by a member of the public. At a PR event for author Nick Davies' book 'Flat Earth News', this misapprehension by the press that the David Beckham shaped Jaffa Cake was discovered by a member of the public was revealed to be an intentional ploy by McVitie's, and given as a light-hearted introductory example of the falling standards of the media and the role of PR in exploiting weaknesses in the editorial process.^[6][7][8]

[edit] Cake or biscuit?

Under UK law, no Value Added Tax (VAT) is charged on biscuits and cakes — they are "zero rated". Chocolate covered biscuits, however, are subject to VAT, currently 15%. McVities classed its Jaffa Cakes as cakes, but in 1991, this was challenged by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and the case ended up before the courts.^[9] This may have been because Jaffa Cakes are about the same size and shape as some types of biscuit, and particularly because they are commonly eaten alongside, or instead of, traditional biscuits. A question that the court asked itself was "what criteria should be used to class something as a cake?"

McVities defended its classification of Jaffa Cakes as cakes. In doing so it produced a 12" (30 cm) Jaffa Cake to illustrate that its Jaffa Cakes were simply miniature cakes.^[10]

McVities argued that a distinction between cakes and biscuits is, among other things, that biscuits would normally be expected to go soft when stale, whereas cakes would normally be expected to go hard. It was demonstrated to the Tribunal that Jaffa Cakes become hard when stale. Other factors taken into account by the Chairman, Mr Potter QC, included the name, ingredients, texture, size, packaging, marketing, presentation, appeal to children, and manufacturing process. Contrary to a commonly held belief, whether something is considered a 'luxury item' is not a test for VAT purposes.

Mr Potter ruled that the Jaffa Cake is a cake. McVities therefore won the case and VAT is not paid on Jaffa Cakes.^[11]

[edit] Similar products and variants

[edit] Variants

• Jaffa Cake bars, a rectangular bar composed of one layer of softer sponge, with orange jam on top, and surrounded by chocolate.
• Jaffa Corners, a variant of the Müller Corner yogurt brand.
• Jaffa Mini Roll, a swiss roll composed of the same ingredients as the Jaffa Cake bars.
• Jaffa Cake Muffins, a muffin with orange jam in the middle and chocolate on top.

[edit] Limited edition flavours

McVitie's have released a range of limited edition flavours over the years, these include:

• Chocolate Covered, Identical to standard Jaffa Cakes but with the addition of extra chocolate covering the reverse of the cake.^[12]
• Zingy Blackcurrant^[13]
• Lemon and Lime^[13]
• Apple and Blackberry^[14]
• Cranberry and Orange^[15]
• Strawberry^[16]

[edit] Rival brands

Other well known companies have also manufactured their own Jaffa Cakes, including Cadbury and Jacob's.^[12]

Similar products are marketed outside of Britain under different names, including Pim's by Kraft Foods' LU brand^[17] and Delicje by E.Wedel.^[18]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website