{"id":686240,"date":"2026-07-11T16:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T16:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/686240\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T16:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T16:05:10","slug":"greasy-flavourless-and-bland-the-best-and-worst-supermarket-party-cakes-tasted-and-rated-cake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/686240\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Greasy, flavourless and bland\u2019: the best (and worst) supermarket party cakes, tasted and rated | Cake"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of these taste tests \u2013 for instance, the oven chips one from last summer<\/a> \u2013 surprise me with their overall quality and minimal processing. But others, such as today\u2019s party cakes, sit firmly in the ultra-processed category, and often make contradictory claims, \u201chandmade\u201d and \u201ccarefully selected high-quality ingredients\u201d being just two.<\/p>\n

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I want my children to enjoy treats without food anxiety, but we also owe it both to ourselves and to them to know what we\u2019re actually eating. Unusually, the price of today\u2019s cakes didn\u2019t reflect processing levels. While more expensive products are often less processed, even the premium cakes included an array of emulsifiers (including mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, polyglycerol esters and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate), preservatives, stabilisers, synthetic raising agents such as diphosphates, and glucose-fructose syrup, a heavily processed industrial sweetener linked to metabolic concerns. I\u2019ve listed the number of additives in each product, excluding natural colours and flavourings, pectin, citric acid, carbonates and bicarbonate of soda, beeswax and glucose syrup. I also scored the cakes based on their appearance, taste, texture, value, certifications, animal welfare considerations and total sugar content (which varied greatly).<\/p>\n

The best supermarket party cakesBest overall:
Waitrose over the rainbow cake\u00a318 for 1.28kg (serves 16) at Waitrose (\u00a31.13\/80g serving)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n

A deep, 15cm-diameter, 9cm-high, light-purple, orange and yellow layered rainbow cake covered in sprinkles with a pretty piped icing edge. A delicious vanilla buttercream made with real vanilla extract, a soft and moist sponge and, despite tasting sweet, fewer total sugars than most (39.2%). Contains eight additives, including four emulsifiers, and glucose-fructose syrup. Made with free-range eggs and unsalted butter, and palm oil-free.<\/p>\n

Best bargain:
The Bakery at Asda rainbow jazzie cake\u00a315 for 1.3kg (serves 20) at Asda (75p\/65g serving)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A huge rainbow cake (with magenta, yellow and carrot-coloured layers) covered in sprinkles. A fluffy, moist sponge and a classic sweet icing that\u2019s a touch greasy, flavourless and bland (and ergo kid-friendly). Fewer additives than most (six, including palm oil and carminic acid, a red colouring made from cochineal) and, at 33%, the least total sugars in the test. Not suitable for vegetarians.<\/p>\n

And the rest \u2026M&S rainbow layer cake\u00a320 for 900g (serves 8) at Ocado (\u00a32.50\/113g serving)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n

One of the tallest cakes in the test, with five tiers of light, pastel-coloured sponge covered generously with a silky, Madagascan vanilla buttercream. Piped buttercream on top and sprinkles on the sides. Very sweet (41.6%), but only five additives (and no palm oil, preservative or glucose-fructose syrup), which help make this my best splurge.<\/p>\n

Lola\u2019s vanilla layer cake\u00a327.50 for 660g (serves 8) at Ocado (\u00a33.44\/82.5g serving)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A very elegant vanilla sponge with a delicate buttercream icing and multicoloured pearl sprinkles. A delicious compote centre that\u2019s tart, full of flavour and a respite from the uber-sweet buttercream (43.4% total sugars). Made with real butter, double cream and soured cream, as well as 12 additives, including palm oil, titanium dioxide \u2013 which has been banned in the EU since 2022<\/a> \u2013 and propylene glycol.<\/p>\n

Fiona Cairns mini pink boutique cake\u00a39 for 290g (serves 4) at Waitrose (\u00a32.25\/72.5g serving)<\/a>\u00a39 for 290g (serves 4) at Ocado (\u00a32.25\/72.5g serving)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

An elegant, moist sponge sandwich with a fine crumb, thick icing, delicate vanilla buttercream and a few sprinkles, as well as a refreshing blob of raspberry jam. Made with butter and free-range egg, but still contains 10 additives and, at 44% total sugars, the sweetest cake in the test.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

Sainsbury\u2019s Taste the Difference rainbow layer cake\u00a318.50 for 685g (serves 10) at Sainsbury\u2019s (\u00a31.85\/68.5g serving)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A tall, 14cm-diameter and 9cm-high, pink, yellow, carrot and deep-purple rainbow cake with sprinkles on the sides and plain icing on top. A moist, light sponge, and a thin layer of buttery icing with a balanced vanilla flavour. Very sweet (42.1% sugar) and six additives, including palm oil and palm stearin.<\/p>\n

Lidl Rowan Hill Bakery madeira party cake\u00a34.79 for 888g (serves 16) at Lidl (30p\/56g serving), in store only<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A large, 20cm-wide Victoria sandwich filled with jam, with naked sides and frosting and sprinkles on top. A strong value option, though it does contain eight additives (including two emulsifiers, glucose-fructose syrup and palm oil) and 40.3% total sugars.<\/p>\n

Tesco vanilla party cake\u00a310 for 976g (16 servings) at Tesco (63p\/61g serving)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A large, classic, light Victoria sponge with a lovely, fruity raspberry jam centre. Topped with a bland but firm icing and a dusting of sprinkles, very sweet (42.4% total sugars), and has all of 10 additives, including three emulsifiers, glucose-fructose syrup and two palm products.<\/p>\n

Morrisons sprinkle cake\u00a315 for 1.425kg (serves 20) at Morrisons (75p\/71.25g serving)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A four-layer sponge with apple and raspberry jam layers. Covered with icing, with more piped on top and sprinkles all around. The delicious sour jam is a welcome break from the very sweet, fondant-like icing (total sugars: 42.5%). Contains nine additives, including two emulsifiers, glucose-fructose syrup and palm oil.<\/p>\n

Aldi Village Bakery party cupcake platter\u00a34.49 for 12 cupcakes at Aldi (37p\/51g serving), in store only<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

Colourful cupcakes, including vanilla and chocolate sponge, all topped with a generous swirl of frosting and filled with jam or Rainforest Alliance-certified chocolate. A soft and moist sponge, but the icing has a smooth, synthetic, gummy texture. Contains 10 additives, including three emulsifiers, palm oil and palm fat, and 41.6% total sugars.<\/p>\n

For more, read 14 pieces of baking kit the pros can\u2019t live without<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of these taste tests \u2013 for instance, the oven chips one from last summer \u2013 surprise me…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-686240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}