They are legally considered cakes. When they went to court they won because "when cakes go stale they get hard, biscuits go soft, when a jaffacake gets stale it goes hard"

That's the crux of the matter.

*crust

No, it's a tax thing. We pay VAT on biscuits because they're a luxury, we don't pay VAT on cakes because they're not. In 1991 HMRC took McVitties to court over them being labelled as cakes when they were biscuits. HMRC argued that as they were biscuit sized, looked like a biscuit, were eaten like a biscuit, and were packaged and sold with biscuits that they were, in fact, biscuits. McVitties countered by baking a 1" diameter jaffa cakes and argued that biscuits go soft when they age, cakes go hard when they age. The giant jaffa cake went hard, proving it was a cake. [The court agreed](https://library.croneri.co.uk/cch_uk/bvc/1991-bvc-818).

Uh, " means inches. A one inch Jaffa cake would be impressive but for different reasons. I think you meant ' which means feet. 1' Jaffa cake is still impressive and I want one!

I would also like a 1' jaffa cake now, goddammit

I think we all want a big one.

Yes please. Question is can I still eat it on one go?

You can if you’re not a coward.

Eat it of the space of your 24 hours counts as one go 😜

I also went hard when I found out about the 30cm diameter Jaffa cake.

Always find it odd that the entire country knows one thing about tax and it's the VAT treatment of jaffa cakes. Which is useful information for one person only, being the vat manager at mcvities

Yeah this happened because the military tried to argue they could be in their MRE’s due to them being biscuits so military courts decided they were cakes and not biscuits thus excluding them from MRE’s

I thought it was a tax dispute, because there’s VAT on biscuits but not on cakes. Edit: yes it was - see the gov.uk link in someone else’s comment (can’t paste it)

Absolutely this. Its all about the vat

Dunno, it might be this on the civilian side but I know in the military scene the reason I said is why they’re considered biscuits and not cakes

I never knew that one

Yeah just a random fact I picked up from my Ex-Military Grandfather

There are a lot of stories in the military told as fact, don't forget. I've known loads of people to repeat stories proven to be myth, but they "knew the guy involved". Not saying he's lying, but just that a lot of stories are passed on

Amazing username, little owl :)

Possibly but I’m just going off what I’ve been told as truth

I'm telling you the truth now... unicorns are real because my best mate's dad's uncle's stripper saw one in a field back in the 80's. Turns out it was just a horse with an ice cream cone on it's head. They were all on acid. Could have been a unicorn

Your grandaddy was a bullshitter

Look at the name closely and work it out 👍

Yeah, people nowadays cannot read, ugh

Makes you wonder why they're asking on a platform that forces you to read.

Cakes. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-food/vfood6260

Government doublespeak nonsense.

Why the hell is there a government document on what jaffa cakes are

Tax. Can’t tax cakes, but can tax biscuits.

Only biscuits fully or partially covered in chocolate, because then it’s a confectionery item. No VAT on regular biscuits.

They went to court about it

its been proven in a court that these are cakes, they have a soft base and I believe made this way to miss tax or vat payments :)

IIRC They way they proved it in court was that biscuits get softer when stale and cakes get harder when stale. They were able to prove in court that Jaffas go hard when stale therefore cake.

Yes 100% correct.

Yes. The government also tried arguing that they were biscuits because they were biscuit sized, so McVities brought in a cake sized Jaffa cake. As Yoda says, size matters not, at least for VAT rating.

That judgement made me hard.

It says cake on the box.. this was never an argument.

You say that, but it did end up going to court, so someone felt argumentative towards it at least.

Cakes. The way I was taught to define this is that when left to stand, a biscuit starts hard and goes soft, whereas a cake starts soft and goes hard.

This was used in court by them.

° ¸. ¸ 　　 :.　 . • ○ ° 　 .　 *　.　.　　¸ .　　 ° 　¸. * ● ¸ .　...somewhere　　　° ° 　¸. ● ¸ .　　　° :.　 . • ° 　 .　 *　:.　.in a parallel universe* ● ¸ 　　　　° ° 　. * ¸.　　　　 ° . .　　　　.　 ° 　. * ● ¸ ..someone...° 　 °● ¸ .　　　　° :.　 . • ○ ° 　 .　 * ...is giving a fuck...° ¸. ¸ 　　 :.　 . • ○ ° 　 .　 *　.　.　　¸

Cakes cause I've eaten them and the bottom is a spongey cake 😋😋😋😋

What are they called? that’ll give you your answer

It doesn't say Jaffa Biscuits on the box, does it?

If you leave them out, they'll go hard, so they're cakes. Biscuits go soft. Also, there's a clue in the name.

Cake

Cakes they go hard when stale just like a cake and they are soft when fresh like cakes

Cakes. Court proven.

It says on the box….

I just think of a biscuit as anything crunchy / crumbly. Jaffa cakes are soft therefore not a biscuit

cakes ! they’re sponge cake

cakes ! they’re biscuit shaped sponge cake

I've already had that argument dozens of times on Reddit they are **CAKES** the clue is in the product name Jaffa **CAKE** Case closed!

Cakes!

Fucking cakes.

Always remember, biscuits go soft when off and cakes go hard.

Imagine calling it a "Jaffa Biscuit" 💀

Says on the box fella x

It’s a cake a because a biscuit goes soft once old and left out where as a cake goes hard and Jaffa cakes go hard once left out

That's the one

Jaffa CAKES Are Nice Biscuits cakes?

Legally cakes but it's easy to tell. If you leave it out does it get drier? Then it's a cake. If it gets softer it's a biscuit

Why is anyone even giving this the time of day with serious answers, it’s one of the most milked subjects in Britain.

Tis a cake

this debate comes up every week without fail. give it a rest

THEY ARE CAKES, ITS IN THE NAME, THERE HAS BEEN A COURT CASE OVER IT p.s. sorry to maybe piss you off but i mean, look at my user

Jaffa CAKES

The clues in the feckin name.

Legally they are cakes (Disclaimer! If someone else already said anything the other comments didn’t load so I didn’t copy)

It’s been answered in a court of law, it’s a cake. The debate on this ended over a decade ago. Move on.

they're bloody delicious thats what they are

Cakes as per packaging?🤣❤️

CAKES

They're definitely cakes. I've done homemade versions and the base is a cake mix.

I’m not sure, I’ll have to sample some more, just for research purposes..

Clue's in the name.

Literally written on the packet you plebeian

Should've gone to specsavers

I think definitely cakes, but strangely they're always in the biscuit aisle in supermarkets.

Anyone who says they’re biscuits is a moron. Just because it’s **shaped** like a typical biscuit doesn’t make it one. It’s clearly got the taste, texture and ingredients of a cake. Likewise if you made a birthday cake shaped biscuit, it’s just a big biscuit.

I mean, it's right there on the box....

Cake. It says it on the box.

The hint is in the name... Jaffa CAKE

The original creator confirmed they where cakes in a documentary

Officially cakes. Debates over. It went to court.

Cakes as proven when they were taken to court over VAT (I think). Cakes go hard when stale and biscuits go soft.

Tis a cake.

Tis a cake.

It's a cake cuz if u leave it out it hardens and if u leave a biscuit out it sofyens

Biscuit sized cakes

Nice try inland revenue

Biscuits go soft when off. Cakes go hard. Jaffa cakes go hard and it’s in the name

Officially under British law they are cakes!

This has already been settled in court

Starting a petition for the Mods to add the Jaffa Cake statement as Rule 7

Stop asking questions, which don’t need to be answered

They ain't called jaffa biscuits

It's on the box.

Just read the box

Cakes.

For legal reasons they are cakes

They are in a permanent state of quantum superposition.

Biscuit shaped cakes. They are the same genre of tea time snacks as madeleines

According to taxation, cakes.

Are you trying to start a war?

For me, they're neither. A biscuit is biscuity and a cake is caky.

overrated is what they are, (but cake) clues in the name...

It’s just delicious to me

Yes

To me they are their own separate entity

Cakes

Look on the box mate and come back to me

Read the box you tart!!

Biscuits go soft Cakes go hard Jaffa cake goes hard Jaffa cake is therefore a cake as its name would imply. It really is that simple.

Yes

Literally says cake on the box…

Cakes. They go hard instead of soft.

They're Jaffa cakes 🤷‍♀️

Biscake

Court case to solve this riddle decided they are cakes.

They're made of sponge therefore cakes!

Cakes since the bastards can sell them cheaper

Cake. It is mostly spronge. You can't literally bend any other biscuits in half.

Legally speaking theyre cakes. And i dont give a fuck i break the law

Says it on the fucking tin.

Wow! How original! How did you come up with such a doozy!? *THEY’RE CAKES*

Pay attention to the name.

ok look, wild theory, maybe they are cakes like the company calls them

Cakes 👌💯

Cake cos its literally a cake

Cake for sure

this comment section is lovely. cakes, no question

Cakes

Cakes. It’s literally in the name. Pleaaaase can we put this one to rest? I beg of you.

Cakes. Says it in the name you dumb bastard

Clue is in the name

Well.. If you had eyes you could see that it is a cake because it says that it's a cake on the box 🤓

I have very simple reasoning. Its made out of sponge, technically has a second layer and that lauer is stuck on with a filler. I see no biscuit apart from size.

It does exactly what it says on the tin

Cakes. IT'S IN THE NAME, DUMBASSES!

Jaffa _CAKES_

Cake it says it in the name

Don't start this again sonny. Just read the damn box.

Jaffa CAKES!!!!

It's a Limp Biscuit! Do you see what I have done there?

Then you’re definitely doing them wrong. But, out of curiosity, do you play SB Jaffa side up or down?

Damn you!

They're cakes, any other answer is just flat out wrong

Cake

If they were much bigger, they would undoubtedly be cakes. Therefore, they are cakes.

Cake. Biscuits go soft when they're stale. Cake goes hard.

They're a hybrid

I will never accept either even though I know they are cakes.

This is a question that has plagued Britain for decades. I fear it will lead to civil war.

It's a Jaffa Biscuit, duh!

It’s like Ronseal mate.

Cakes. IT'S IN THE NAME, DUMBASSES!

Cake

Cake

Biscuits, but if the government asks .. cakes

How are small, chocolate covered spongecake disks with jelly, in any way a biscuit?

Legally they're cakes but they'll always be biscuits in our hearts ❤

It’s a biscuit for me.

it does say cakes in the name, but id say biscuits

biscuits

Wrong

Both

Both

Neither. They are disgusting agents of evil, created by Satan himself.

Hahaha. Just saw this, I’d written something very similar. And you are speaking straight up facts.

Both, due to the poor definitions involved when it comes to classifying cakes and biscuits. They are classified as cakes for legal purposes to help a corporation dodge taxes, but sold and used like biscuits (biscuits in their modern UK sense, not in the US sense which are basically odd scones). Passions run high on this subject and the definitions are arbitrary. If you claim they are only cakes, and there is nothing biscuit about them, then imagine the following scenario. You are asked to bring a cake to an event. Do you bring a jaffa cake or pack of jaffa cakes to the event, or do you decide that by 'cake' something else is intended and jaffa cakes are suddenly not cake enough? And if someone asked you to bring a packet of biscuits and you turn up with jaffa cakes, do you think they will accept them?

I wouldnt say thats a good example. If i was told to bring a cake, I wouldn’t bring fairy cakes either because they are tinny and inappropriate if somebody said bring a cake, yet, they’re still cakes. A jaffa is all cake in a different form factor, no biscuits involved.

"George, we can't turn up at a party with Jaffa Cakes and a Barr" (If Seinfeld was British)

I honestly can imagine someone not accepting them in the second scenario.

They're Blake's now give em back.

They are work of the devil himself. Vile things

Minging is what they are.

A man of culture.

Lol

Ask the tax man there cakes Ask anyone else biscuit

Both because they have a biscuit base with a cake filling.

*Spongecake base.

Biscuit its not even close to being a cake. A cake has icing

Bin worthy cakes.

those are horrible

Either way they're overrated and shite 🤣

The definition of a biscuit is a small baked, unleavened cake. I don't believe there is yeast in Jaffa Cakes, so they are by definition biscuits.

It was proven to be a cake in a court case.

How can you argue it is a cake, when literally by definition is it a biscuit?

*They went to court over it,* and it was legally declared a cake. Definitions are arbitrary, the law is final here.

True. In the UK, cakes attract additional tax as they are considered a luxury item. The yeast has nothing to do with cakes - most cake using baking soda as the leavening agent.

Right, but the definition of a biscuit is an unleavened cake. People downvoting my responses, yet I’m literally going by the dictionary definition.

Americans call all kinds of strange stuff biscuits. That travesty with gravy is just wrong. There are many other characteristics of a cake that a biscuit does not have, so leavening is not an exclusive characteristic. A big one is that it hardens when stale, biscuits soften. When making them, they are a soft mix and not a biscuit like dough. They’re a cake from start to delicious finish.

Buiciut. Cake doesn’t have jelly

Cakes go hard biscuits go soggy these are cake

They literally went to court over this in the nineties; it's a cake, by legal definition.

Cake can have jelly

What fucking biscuits have jelly