With the “cake or biscuit” debate raging on for years, it is easy to forget that Jaffa cakes are marketed as a snack. Which seems a shame really, since all that chocolately, tangy mandarin orangey goodness would make a sumptuous dessert. So, we’ve rounded up the best Jaffa cake desserts. From the high protein Jaffa break one-pot dessert to buy to easy recipes you can make at home. If you’re looking for something healthy, gluten free or vegan we’ve got you covered too.
ROAR Jaffa Break high protein dessert
First up, we have the quickest, easiest and tastiest Jaffa cake inspired dessert around. This one is available to buy online in packs of three and each one comes in its own individual pot. The great news is, it’s a healthy option as well. ROAR Jaffa break contains 20.6 grams of protein per pot. It is also low in sugar and saturated fat, vegetarian and contains just 245 calories.
These whey protein based Jaffa cake desserts contain all the best bits of a Jaffa cake. Tangy mandarine Jaffa punch and a sweet chocolate sauce. Dig in a spoon and scoop out mandarine purée sauce combined with chocolate orange protein cake. We believe that this is the best Jaffa cake based dessert you can buy. Bonus points for being high protein and an ideal dessert for athletes and active families.
Jaffa cake desserts: When a cake is a cake
Now we don’t want to get all controversial, but Jaffa cakes do look and act suspiciously like biscuits don’t they? They come in a packet, rather like a biscuit. They’re covered in chocolate like a chocolate biscuit. They’re popular as a snack with a cup of tea. BUT, it’s time to reclaim Jaffa for team cake. We’ve found some super recipes for Jaffa cake cakes. A link to the recipe is at the beginning of each description in bold text.
- Giant Jaffa cake: When it comes to cake, sometimes size really is everything. Especially where this giant Jaffa cake recipe is concerned. Delicious Magazine combine a simple sponge cake with orange jelly and a dark and milk chocolate topping. It looks incredibly tasty and there’s plenty to go around.
- Jaffa cupcakes: This recipe uses real Jaffa cakes on top for the ultimate finish. It also uses a rather complicated meringue based buttercream icing as decoration. Not one to make when you’re in a rush but we’re sure it’s worth all that hard work.
- Jaffa loaf cake: This vegan recipe uses a simple orange flavoured sponge baked in a loaf tin. Then, it is covered in dark chocolate to complete the Jaffa cake taste.
Homemade standard Jaffa cakes
If you’re looking for a homemade alternative to the standard Jaffa cakes you can buy in the shop, there are a few options. We’ve included a gluten free recipe in this section because missing out on treats like biscuits and cakes is a huge downside of food allergies and intolerances.
- Mary Berry’s Jaffa cakes: You can always rely on Mary Berry to come up with a simple recipe for a delicious treat. Orange jelly cubes and boiling water combine with a little orange zest to spice up the jelly layer. The sponge is made in a shallow bun tin to get the right size and consistency for Jaffa cakes.
- Gluten free Jaffa cakes: Check out this recipe from the Gluten Free Blogger if you’re a Jaffa cake lover who can’t have gluten.
- Vegan Jaffa cakes: Project Vegan baking gives two options for creating the orangey layer in their vegan Jaffa cakes. Either make your own vegan jelly with an agar gelatine substitute, or keep it simple and use marmalade. Either way, these neat looking Jaffa cakes will impress your vegan guests.
Other Jaffa cake desserts
When you step away from the cake versus biscuit debate, there are quite a lot of Jaffa cake desserts out there. In fact, some of them even combine both cake and biscuit in one bowl.
- Odette’s Jaffa cake: Fine dining establishment Odette’s restaurant in London serves the Jaffa dessert of dreams. Better still, they’ve shared it on the Great British Chefs website so that we can recreate it at home. It combines sponge, orange jelly and chocolate mousse on a biscuit base. A definite dinner party showstopper.
- Chocolate Jaffa pots: BBC Good Food have created chocolate Jaffa pots that are beautifully presented in small glasses like mini trifles. Clementine jelly, chocolate orange flavoured ganache and madeira cake combine in their little display case to evoke a flavour sensation.
- Jaffa Mousse: We’re ending with another BBC Good Food offering and this time it’s a mousse. Plenty of fresh oranges and double cream are joined by just three other ingredients. Egg yolks, dark chocolate and cocoa powder. It’s quick and easy to make too and there’s even an option for leaving out the orange if you’d prefer a plain chocolate mousse.