is a jaffa cake a cake or a biscuit?

Answer 1

Cake, cake, cake! People who say they are biscuits should be shot by McVities.

Answer 2

Cake or biscuit?

Under UK law, no VAT is charged on biscuits and cakes — they are "zero rated". Chocolate covered biscuits, however, are classed as luxury items and are subject to VAT at 17.5%. McVitie's classed its Jaffa Cakes as cakes, but in 1991, this was challenged by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in court.[4] This may have been because Jaffa Cakes are about the same size and shape as some types of biscuit. The question which had to be answered was what criteria should be used to class something as a cake or biscuit. McVitie's defended the classification of Jaffa Cakes as a cake by producing a giant Jaffa Cake to illustrate that their Jaffa Cakes were simply mini cakes.

They also argued that the distinction between cakes and biscuits is simply that cakes go hard when stale, whereas biscuits go soft. It was demonstrated that Jaffa Cakes become hard when stale and McVitie's won the case.[5]

The issue was revisited in an article entitled 'Are Jaffa Cakes really biscuits?' published in the Journal of Unlikely Science (Volume 1, issue 7, 2005).[6] The article attempted to classify biscuits via a scientific analysis of various features (size, shape, filling etc.) and determined that the Jaffa Cake should be regarded as a biscuit, or 'pseudobiscuit'.

When the shelf life of an average biscuit product is exceeded, the texture begins to soften and dampen, thus determining a key difference between defining a 'biscuit' from a 'cake'. Furthermore, when the shelf life ("Best Before Date") of jaffa cakes has been exceeded, the texture begins to harden and go stale, not unlike bread and common sponge cakes etc., Thus Proving that jaffa cakes are infact cakes.

Answer 3

Believe it or not, this question was very important to McVities, who make them.
A Jaffa cake is classed as a biscuit, so there is no VAT on them, which would be payable if they were cakes.
Officially, a biscuit goes soft when left for a while in the air, whereas a cake goes hard.
Try leaving some fresh digestives and a slice of birthday cake on a plate for a few days (Yeah, fat chance in my house!), and you'll see what I mean.

Answer 4

Jaffa cakes are cakes. They get hard when stale unlike biscuits which go soft. McVitie's were taken to court in 1991 by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise when they challenged them to prove that Jaffa cakes were not biscuits. Under UK law, no VAT is charged on biscuits and cakes — they are "zero rated". Chocolate covered biscuits, however, are classed as luxury items and are subject to VAT at 17.5%. McVitie's defended the classification of Jaffa Cakes as a cake by producing a giant Jaffa Cake to show that their Jaffa Cakes were simply mini cakes. They also argued that the difference between cakes and biscuits is simply that cakes go hard when stale, whereas biscuits go soft. It was demonstrated that Jaffa Cakes become hard when stale and McVitie's won the case.

Answer 5

Biscuits go soggy when stale, cakes go hard. What does a jaffa cake do? I would say the sponge bit goes hard, thus it is a cake.

Answer 6

Its a jaffa 'cake', but it is a biscuit.. hmmm, lets just say its a biscuit cake, that seems fair.

Answer 7

Its a cake on a biscuit base...see how I covered all the answers there.

Answer 8

Yes there was a court case, and the defintion was all about the VAT treatment - cakes being a staple food stuff are exempt or zero rate VAT, but biscuits are a luxury and incur 17.5% VAT

Answer 9

Legally it's a cake, or so McVities will have us believe, but we all know if we search deep in our hearts that it is in fact a biscuit...do cakes come lined up side by side in a packet...i think not!!!

Answer 10

a cake but looks like a biscuit, when it goes hard its a biscuit and they are yummy

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