Taste Test: Supermarket Christmas Cake Baking Kits

Cake mixes with ready weighed ingredients are becoming more and more common, this year I received Christmas cake kits from several supermarkets for testing.

Part of me does not really see the point – you still need scales as with all three kits you need to weigh the butter out (although I expect you could fairly accurately eyeball it) – and you still need a cake tin.     But, the kits do allow you to make the cake in one step, without having to soak the fruit 24 hours in advance, and, if you are not a baker you do not end up with part packets of the various ingredients.

The Kits & Cakes

I assembled my team of testers and labeled the cakes A, B & C, so no one knew which was which.

Firstly we were surprised at how different they all looked, Delia’s from Waitrose was certainly the most perfect looking, Sainsbury’s the most rustic with Marry Berry from Tesco somewhere in the middle.

All the kits are currently on offer, and price per 75g slice was between 29 – 40p.

Kit prices were priced from £14.99 to £10, (all needed between £1.61 to £2.54 of additional ingredients).  Currently all kits are on offer at lower prices.

Mary Berry from Tesco was the only kit which included marzipan and royal icing for decoration, and is currently the cheapest at £5.

Delia Smith From Waitrose

Kit Cost = £10 (currently on offer at £7.50)

Additional ingredients = £2.54
(225g butter, 1 orange, 1 lemon, 5 eggs)

Total Cost of Cake= £12.54

Baked Weight 1880g

 Cost per 75g slice = 50p  (offer price =40p)

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference

Kit Cost = £14.99 (currently on offer at £5)

Additional ingredients = £1.61
(170g butter, 1 lemon, 3 eggs)

Total Cost of Cake=£16.60

Baked Weight 1680g

Cost per 75g slice = 74p (offer price = 29p)

Mary Berry from Tesco

Kit Cost = £10.00 (currently on offer at £5)

Additional ingredients = £2.28
(210g butter, 1 orange, 1 lemon, 4 eggs)

Total Cost of Cake=£12.28

Baked Weight 1630g

Cost per 75g slice = 56p (offer price = 33p)

 

Tasting

Delia Smith From Waitrose

We all agreed that this cake looked the best, perfect in fact, and several of the group guessed it was Delia’s from its appearance.   The cake was also deemed the booziest.  The testers found it contained too many currants, and lacked texture and contrast.   By and large we found it too sharp and citrusy, with a slightly burnt aftertaste.

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference

Looked chunky, dense and really homemade or rustic.    The testers comments were although fruity it needed some more booze, and the cake was a little boring and nothing special.

Mary Berry from Tesco

A pretty paler golden in colour.    We like the levels of spice and the rounded flavour.   This cake was the palest and also contained the least fruit.   Texure was not too dense.

 

The clear winner and agreed by the entire group was Mary Berry from Tesco, with Delia second.

 

* Cost of additional ingredients

Butter £1.10 250g (Waitrose Essentials / Sainsbury’s Basics)

Oranges & Lemons 30p each

Eggs 19p each (Sainsbury’s Family Free Range)

Many thanks to my testers, and to the supermarkets for the cake kits, I am still eating Christmas cake, and come the 25th will not want any.