A good cup of tea is wasted without the perfect snack to accompany it - which is why I'm sure the Tunnock's tea cake was invented.
Alright, so I'm not certain that is exactly why Mr Tunnock invented the tea cake, but it's what I am going with since I'm such a fan of them.
I'm also very well aware that whenever the favourite Scots brand is mentioned there is a huge debate on which of their iconic snacks is the best. Is it the caramel wafer, the snowball, or the teacake?
And - if I have to be completely honest here - the tea cake takes the winning spot for me, but maybe that's just my personal opinion.
These chocolate and marshmallow mouthfuls of goodness have been delighting many of us Scots for years and have become almost as iconic as Irn Bru or haggis.
Like so many good things these days, many supermarkets have been trying their hands at their own versions to see if they can live up to the branded version.
But are they any good? That's the real question here.
Which is exactly why I visited four different supermarkets to find out if any of them could stand up against the mighty Tunnock's. Let me tell you something, this was more difficult than I expected.
Heading to M&S, Asda, Iceland and Morrisons, I went on a mission to find the best supermarket version of the iconic Scots snack.
The process
First things first, I found it rather difficult to find own-branded tea cakes from quite a few supermarkets - maybe that's a testament to Tunnock's popularity.
In the end, I managed to pick up a few options from M&S, Morrisons, Iceland and Asda.
I did try to keep this as fair as possible by making sure they were all the same, but I did find that I had to opt for a few jam filled ones from Asda and Iceland.
Oh, well. Can't be much of a problem, can it?
So, I grabbed myself a quick cuppa - because this test would not be complete without one - and a plate of tea cakes and set to work.
Here's what brands were tested:
- Tunnock's Tea Cakes - £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 things first, I would need to start this test out with a reference, which is why I decided to set the standards with a Tunnock's tea cake.
And it was exactly how I remember. The chocolate was soft and milky, the marshmallow was light and airy and the biscuit below was moist.
Truly, this Scottish snack is a work of art because it still tastes amazing all these years later.
I also noticed that these were arguably the largest of the bunch, which means I got more for my money - result!
Honestly, this is going to be a touch act to follow.
5/5
M&S
For just £1.50, M&S is offering a packet of 16 chocolate teacakes, which is 10 more than Tunnock's, so I can't really complain money wise.
The M&S teacakes are pretty similar to Tunnock's and I have to give them credit for being almost too similar. Without their packaging it would be hard to know which is which.
Made with soft marshmallow on a crumbly cocoa base that is covered in milk chocolate, I was expecting this one to give me the same results.
And I will admit, that M&S give it a good go on taste. The chocolate was rich and milky and the biscuit wasn't too crunchy.
Its only downfall was the marshmallow tasted a little too artificial and just a little too sticky - it was really missing the creamy marshmallow that Tunnock's are well known for.
All in all, not a bad start, but could have been better.
4/5
Iceland
On to Iceland next, which is when the teacakes started to get a little smaller - which was a little sad, but alright.
This one is described as "scrumptious marshmallow sitting on a crumbly chocolate biscuit base, all smothered in delicious milk chocolate."
Should taste quite well then, shouldn't it?
Well, unfortunately that was not the case.
The marshmallow wasn't light or airy and was actually quite hard to chew, which was just slightly bizarre.
I also found the chocolate base to be a little to stodgy and quite soggy. I have to say, this was not a good teacake and I quickly jumped to the next.
2/5
Asda
Alright, so I know Lee's Teacakes are not strictly Asda's own, but it was the only ones I could get, so we're rolling with it.
This one is slightly bigger than the Iceland one, so I give it winning points there.
As soon as I took a bite, I immediately had mixed feelings.
I'll start with the positives, because I loved the biscuit base and the jam added a really nice touch to the flavour.
Maybe the jam gives it an unfair advantage, since the previous ones only had marshmallow, but I'm a sucker for jam.
However, once again, the marshmallow is just not right and just a little too sweet and sticky. We're really struggling to get that light and airy effect.
Overall, not a bad go, and it was definitely a better try than Iceland.
4/5
Morrisons
Last but not least, I tried out a mini chocolate and filled tea cakes from Morrisons Market Street and I have some thoughts.
The chocolate? Milky and thin. The marshmallow? Light, airy and creamy. The biscuit base? Moist but not soggy.
To put it simply - this was the best supermarket version and I applaud them for being almost as good as Tunnock's, which isn't an easy feat to achieve.
As soon as I took a quick bite from this mini delight I realised how similar it was to the light Scots snack.
The only downfall was that it was rather small and was gone in one bite. I could easily have gone for a bigger cake.
4.5/5
The overall verdict
If you want the best teacake to go along with your cuppa, then Tunnock's is still arguably the ultimate go-to choice.
There's just something about these delicious cakes that Tunnock's has over everyone else and it has proven to be difficult to replicate the taste.
Mainly down to the marshmallow - quite a few own-branded ones just couldn't quite get it to be light enough.
That being said, if you do want to pick up a good supermarket option, then Morrisons is hands down the winner and would be my new go-to if I was willing to cheat on the Scots brand.
M&S and Lee's teacakes are also fairly decent and I won't knock them for only having one small downfall.
Unfortunately, Iceland just couldn't measure up to the competition with their soggy biscuit and chewy marshmallow.
Tell us what you think of a Tunnock's tea cake in the comments below.
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