Jaffa Cakes

Jaffa Cakes

A Jaffa Cake cut in half
Alternative names	Jaffa
Type	Cake
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Region or state	All Regions
Creator	McVitie and Price
Main ingredients	Sponge cake, orange-flavoured jam/jelly, chocolate
Variations	Various limited edition flavours (Lemon and lime, strawberry, black currant)
Cookbook: Jaffa Cakes  Media: Jaffa Cakes

Jaffa Cakes are biscuit-sized cakes introduced by McVitie and Price in the UK in 1927 and named after Jaffa oranges. The most common form of Jaffa Cakes are circular, 2 ¹⁄₈ inches (54 mm) in diameter and have three layers: a Genoise sponge base, a layer of orange flavoured jelly and a coating of chocolate.^[1] Jaffa Cakes are also available as bars or in small packs, and in larger and smaller sizes.^[2] The original Jaffa Cakes come in packs of 12, 24 or 36.^[3]

Because McVitie's did not trademark the name "Jaffa Cakes", other biscuit manufacturers and supermarkets have made similar products under the same name.^[4] The product's classification as a cake or biscuit was part of a VAT tribunal in 1991, with the court finding in McVitie's favour that the Jaffa Cake should be considered a cake for tax purposes.^[5] In 2012 they were ranked the best selling cake or biscuit in the United Kingdom.^[6]

Manufacture

McVitie's entire line of Jaffa Cakes are produced in the United Kingdom at the McVitie's factory in Stockport.^[7] The Jaffa Cake production area covers an acre (4,000 m²) and includes a production line over a mile (1.6 km) long which sits on the Stockport side of the site's boundary with Manchester.^[4] Because of the nature of the product – having multiple components of cake, chocolate covering and jam – special hardware accelerators were devised to allow rapid computer inspection of 20 products per second, taking place under four symmetrically placed lights.^[8]

Flavour variants

Although Jaffa Cakes are usually orange flavour, limited edition flavours have been available, such as lemon-and-lime,^[9] strawberry^[10] and blackcurrant.^[11]

Categorisation as cake or biscuit for VAT

In the United Kingdom, value added tax is payable on chocolate-covered biscuits, but not on chocolate-covered cakes.^[12] McVities defended its classification of Jaffa Cakes as cakes at a VAT tribunal in 1991, against the ruling that Jaffa Cakes were biscuits due to their size and shape, and the fact that they were often eaten in place of biscuits.^[13] McVities insisted that the product was a cake, and allegedly produced a giant Jaffa Cake in court to illustrate its point.^[13] The product was assessed on the following criteria:^[14][15]

• The product's name was regarded as a minor consideration.
• The ingredients were regarded as similar to those of a cake, producing a thin cake-like batter rather than the thick dough of a biscuit.
• The product's texture was regarded as being that of a sponge cake.
• The product hardens when stale, in the manner of a cake.
• A substantial part of the Jaffa Cake, in terms of bulk and texture, is sponge.
• In size, the Jaffa Cake is more like a biscuit than a cake.
• The product was generally displayed for sale alongside other biscuits, rather than with cakes.
• The product is presented as a snack and eaten with the fingers, like a biscuit, rather than with a fork as a cake might be. The tribunal also considered that children would eat them in "a few mouthfuls", in the manner of a sweet.

The court found in favour of McVities and ruled that the product should be considered a cake, meaning that VAT is not paid on Jaffa Cakes in the United Kingdom.^[12][16]

In Ireland, Jaffa Cakes are regarded as cakes by Revenue as their moisture content is greater than 12%. As a result, they are charged the reduced rate of VAT (13.5% as of 2016).^[17]

References

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