McVities Jaffa Cakes and Mini Jaffa Cakes

McVities Jaffa Cakes have been popular in the UK and Ireland for decades. They’re sort of a cross between a cake and a biscuit, where each cake consists of a light sponge with a zingy orange centre and is covered with a blend of bittersweet dark, crackly chocolate.

There was a debate some years ago as to whether they were a cake or a biscuit. Apparently, if they were classed as a biscuit they would be liable for value added tax, whereas cakes are not. McVities had to defend their case to prove that the Jaffa Cake is indeed a cake. They did this by demonstrating that the Jaffa cake goes hard when left in the open air, as a cake does.

The good thing about Jaffa Cakes if you like them, is that each cake has only 46 calories. But if that’s too much, McVities now have Mini Jaffa Cakes which come packaged in a ‘tear & share’ bag and can be re-sealed with the attached sticker. So if stopping at one regular Jaffa Cake is too difficult, ease your conscience by eating two mini cakes instead, for a similar number of calories.

Nutritional Information: Per mini Jaffa Cake: 24 calories, 0.3g protein, 4.3g carbohydrates, 3.1g sugar, 0.6g fat, 0.3g saturates, 0.1g fibre, trace salt

Nutritional Information: Per Jaffa Cake: 46 calories, 0.6g protein, 8.6g carbohydrates, 6.4g sugar, 1g fat, 0.5g saturates, 0.3g fibre, <0.1g salt. Each regular size Jaffa Cake is 1 Weight Watchers ProPoint.