A superb cup of tea is wasted with out the right snack to accompany it - which is why I am positive the Tunnock's tea cake was invented.
Alright, so I am not sure that's precisely why Mr Tunnock invented the tea cake, nevertheless it's what I'm going with since I am such a fan of them.
I am additionally very nicely conscious that every time the favorite Scots model is talked about there's a large debate on which of their iconic snacks is the most effective. Is it the caramel wafer, the snowball, or the teacake?
And - if I've to be utterly trustworthy right here - the tea cake takes the successful spot for me, however perhaps that is simply my private opinion.
These chocolate and marshmallow mouthfuls of goodness have been delighting many people Scots for years and have grow to be nearly as iconic as Irn Bru or haggis.
Like so many good issues lately, many supermarkets have been making an attempt their arms at their very own variations to see if they'll dwell as much as the branded model.
However are they any good? That is the true query right here.
Which is strictly why I visited 4 totally different supermarkets to seek out out if any of them may rise up towards the mighty Tunnock's. Let me let you know one thing, this was harder than I anticipated.
Heading to M&S, Asda, Iceland and Morrisons, I went on a mission to seek out the most effective grocery store model of the long-lasting Scots snack.
The method
First issues first, I discovered it quite troublesome to seek out own-branded tea truffles from fairly just a few supermarkets - perhaps that is a testomony to Tunnock's reputation.
Ultimately, I managed to choose up just a few choices from M&S, Morrisons, Iceland and Asda.
I did attempt to maintain this as truthful as potential by ensuring they have been all the identical, however I did discover that I needed to go for just a few jam crammed ones from Asda and Iceland.
Oh, nicely. Cannot be a lot of an issue, can it?
So, I grabbed myself a fast cuppa - as a result of this check wouldn't be full with out one - and a plate of tea truffles and set to work.
This is what manufacturers have been examined:
- Tunnock's Tea Desserts - £1
- M&S 16 Milk Chocolate Teacakes - £1.50
- Iceland Huntley & Palmers Milk Chocolate Mallow Teacakes - £1.25
- Asda Lee's 12 Jam Teacakes - £1
- Morrisons 14 Mini Milk Chocolate and Jam Teacakes - £2
Tunnock's
First issues first, I would wish to start out this check out with a reference, which is why I made a decision to set the requirements with a Tunnock's tea cake.
And it was precisely how I bear in mind. The chocolate was comfortable and milky, the marshmallow was gentle and ethereal and the biscuit beneath was moist.
Actually, this Scottish snack is a murals as a result of it nonetheless tastes superb all these years later.
I additionally observed that these have been arguably the most important of the bunch, which implies I acquired extra for my cash - outcome!
Truthfully, that is going to be a contact act to observe.
5/5
M&S
For simply £1.50, M&S is providing a packet of 16 chocolate teacakes, which is 10 greater than Tunnock's, so I can not actually complain cash smart.
The M&S teacakes are fairly just like Tunnock's and I've to offer them credit score for being nearly too related. With out their packaging it could be laborious to know which is which.
Made with comfortable marshmallow on a crumbly cocoa base that's coated in milk chocolate, I used to be anticipating this one to offer me the identical outcomes.
And I'll admit, that M&S give it a superb go on style. The chocolate was wealthy and milky and the biscuit wasn't too crunchy.
Its solely downfall was the marshmallow tasted a bit of too synthetic and just a bit too sticky - it was actually lacking the creamy marshmallow that Tunnock's are well-known for.
All in all, not a foul begin, however may have been higher.
4/5
Iceland
On to Iceland subsequent, which is when the teacakes began to get a bit of smaller - which was a bit of unhappy, however alright.
This one is described as "delicious marshmallow sitting on a crumbly chocolate biscuit base, all smothered in scrumptious milk chocolate."
Ought to style fairly nicely then, should not it?
Properly, sadly that was not the case.
The marshmallow wasn't gentle or ethereal and was really fairly laborious to chew, which was simply barely weird.
I additionally discovered the chocolate base to be a bit of to stodgy and fairly soggy. I've to say, this was not a superb teacake and I rapidly jumped to the subsequent.
2/5
Asda
Alright, so I do know Lee's Teacakes will not be strictly Asda's personal, nevertheless it was the one ones I may get, so we're rolling with it.
This one is barely greater than the Iceland one, so I give it successful factors there.
As quickly as I took a chew, I instantly had combined emotions.
I am going to begin with the positives, as a result of I beloved the biscuit base and the jam added a very nice contact to the flavour.
Perhaps the jam provides it an unfair benefit, for the reason that earlier ones solely had marshmallow, however I am a sucker for jam.
Nonetheless, as soon as once more, the marshmallow is simply not proper and just a bit too candy and sticky. We're actually struggling to get that gentle and ethereal impact.
General, not a foul go, and it was positively a greater attempt than Iceland.
4/5
Morrisons
Final however not least, I attempted out a mini chocolate and crammed tea truffles from Morrisons Market Road and I've some ideas.
The chocolate? Milky and skinny. The marshmallow? Mild, ethereal and creamy. The biscuit base? Moist however not soggy.
To place it merely - this was the most effective grocery store model and I applaud them for being nearly pretty much as good as Tunnock's, which is not a simple feat to realize.
As quickly as I took a fast chew from this mini delight I realised how related it was to the sunshine Scots snack.
The one downfall was that it was quite small and was gone in a single chew. I may simply have gone for an even bigger cake.
4.5/5
The general verdict
If you would like the most effective teacake to go together with your cuppa, then Tunnock's continues to be arguably the last word go-to selection.
There's simply one thing about these scrumptious truffles that Tunnock's has over everybody else and it has confirmed to be troublesome to duplicate the style.
Primarily right down to the marshmallow - fairly just a few own-branded ones simply could not fairly get it to be gentle sufficient.
That being mentioned, should you do wish to decide up a superb grocery store choice, then Morrisons is arms down the winner and could be my new go-to if I used to be keen to cheat on the Scots model.
M&S and Lee's teacakes are additionally pretty respectable and I will not knock them for under having one small downfall.
Sadly, Iceland simply could not measure as much as the competitors with their soggy biscuit and chewy marshmallow.
Inform us what you consider a Tunnock's tea cake within the feedback beneath.
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