BOTW #10: Jaffa Cakes

Name: Jaffa Cakes
Producer: McVitie’s

Oh my gosh. I’ve been waiting ages for this one. Jaffa Cakes. Yes. Jaffa Cakes are, to be concise, the best. I love Jaffa Cakes and I’ve loved them since my first trip to Ireland four years ago. I still remember the day that I found out that World Market in Tempe sold Jaffa Cakes. *sigh* Good times.

This week’s review is thanks to a wonderful amazing incredible deal at SuperValu during which I purchased:


See that? 100% EXTRA FREE!!!!!! Yes!!!!!!!


Jaffa Cakes are composed of a soft cakey biscuit base topped with tangy marmalade-y orange jelly/gelatin stuff and covered in dark chocolate. Oh man. Here you can see and maybe get a better idea of the texture of the orange filling.


Actually, Jaffa Cakes are a popular remake on the fabulous Pimp My Snack website, which exists as a forum for people who want to take their favorite snacks and make them ridiculously large. Most Jaffa-makers agree that the best way to replicate the orange filling is to make orange gelatin but using only half the suggested amount of water. Imagine Jello made with half the water. That’s the texture we’re talking about.


Jaffa Cakes are delicious and McVitie’s knows it…check out the way the package presents the consumer hotline (you can click on the image to see it larger in a new window). They’re so delicious that they’ve become hardwired into British culture and you’ll hear references to them all the time. Here’s one of my favorite references to Jaffas (it doesn’t hurt that it’s from Spaced, the fantastic British sitcom from the holy trinity of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright). Sorry that I cannot embed the video, but you really should click on that link and watch how an innocent discussion about Star Wars ends with one of my favorite snack foods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZnsOZsA7_4