The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

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The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by pete9012S »

The Great Carrot Cake Challenge


We're trying out all the Carrot Cakes available to us and giving them marks out of ten.

First off the mark was Tesco's Finest @ £2.65.

It was moist,tasty and the topping was just right.
It went lovely with a large mug of Yorkshire Tea.
We gave it 9/10.
(It even came with serving instructions on the box!)

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/ ... =253046846" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Next up tonight is Sainsburys Carrot Cake -Taste the Difference @ £2.65


http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/ ... fference-5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We will keep you informed of it's taste and marks out of ten.
Any considerations of which Carrot cake to try next and your own observations/ratings would be moist,sorry most welcome! :D :D :D
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Katharine »

I'm pretty certain I had a slice of carrot cake at Old Thatch a few years ago - sadly that's no longer a contender :cry:

Hope you enjoy your quest for the perfect carrot cake Pete - the sacrifices you are prepared to make for the good of humanity are truly amazing. :wink:
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Courtenay »

I like carrot cake. 8) Will be watching this thread with interest, thank you Pete.
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by pete9012S »

Well the Sainsburys cake has been tasted and tested.
It seems unfair to only use only mere words to try and imbue a sense of this epicurean ambrosial delight.
The cake was moist,tasty,moreish,with a hint of ginger,vanilla with gentle but persistent toffee overtones.

A generous creamy mid-layer filling, much deeper than the Tesco offering seems to be the great secret of this cakes success.
The marks out of ten? Well honestly,I didn't think anything was going to better the Tesco Carrot Cake and originally meant to score that one 8/10.
After discussing it with my wife,we both agreed the Tesco Carrot Cake deserved 9/10.

So were does that leave Sainsburys Carrot Cake?
It has been judged by us to be 9.5/10. Almost absolutely perfect in every way.
Nothing more could be wanted or expected from a slice of Carrot Cake.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/ ... fference-5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Perhaps you have tried Sainsburys Carrot Cake and agree/disagree with our findings/research?
Your opinion would be most welcome.

Next up for test: DELUXE Hand Finished Carrot Cake - Lidl @ £1.79.

Now I know what you're thinking,how can this vastly cheaper cake than the £2.65 behemoths above stand any chance of competing on any level.
Well that's my job,and that's what I am going to find out:Once more unto the breach, dear friends.. :D :wink:
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Katharine wrote:I'm pretty certain I had a slice of carrot cake at Old Thatch a few years ago - sadly that's no longer a contender :cry:
So did I. Luckily it didn't have nuts, as I'm allergic to them. When buying a carrot cake I have to look for one without nuts, so my choice is limited.
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Courtenay »

pete9012S wrote: Well that's my job,and that's what I am going to find out:Once more unto the breach, dear friends.. :D :wink:
Cry God for Carrot Cake, England and St Honore*! :mrgreen:

*Patron saint of bakers and pastrycooks
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by pete9012S »

Is this too ostentatious?

http://www.marksandspencer.com/triple-l ... arrot+cake#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

It's got nuts all over the side of it, Pete. I don't like nuts. I'd be scraping all those off first! :lol:

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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Courtenay »

Well, price-wise, Pete, it's nowhere near in the same league as any of the others!!
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by pete9012S »

LIDL DELUXE Hand Finished Carrot Cake @ £1.79.

Before I begin this review, I feel it is important to inform all Carrot Cake Lovers everywhere that Courtenay recently enjoyed a really nice Carrot Cake in Norwich:
Courtenay wrote:Haven't seen Pandora's Kitchen, Pete. But I did have an excellent carrot cake for afternoon tea today at the legendary Briton's Arms, the oldest remaining building in the beautiful medieval street of Elm Hill. I'd rate the cake 9/10.
Not sure how much Courtenay paid for her slice of Carrot Cake or how big the slice was,but 9/10 is a very respectable score and is surely well worth seeking out if you are in the area.

Now back to Lidl's offering.
Well,I had my doubts initially as to how a £1.79 Carrot Cake could possibly compete against the big boys of the shopping world,Sainsburys Tesco's etc etc.
But Lidl & its great German counterpart Aldi often produce foods and goods at an amazing price without sacrificing quality or value.

Sadly not in this instance.
The cake was firm,lumpy,stodgy and tasted of a strange mixture of cinnamon,ginger,five spice and was oh so very pungent indeed.

The cake itself tasted like the mixture had not been mixed together properly and was uneven and doughy throughout.
The 'hand finished' topping could not redeem this cake.
The icing was hard,crunchy and not very nice.
It was in no way a moist cake and tasted like it had been stored next to a radiator for a few months.

I was amazed to learn that just before I bought my cake it had been on a half price special offer of Deluxe Hand Finished Carrot Cake (360g) 89p (was £1.79) a few weeks earlier.

Frankly even at 89p I would think twice.
Could I have received a rogue cake or one of a bad batch? Somehow I doubt it and suspect that when a firm try to sell a Carrot Cake at 89p something has to suffer.

I wonder whether Lidl themselves realise their Carrot Cake isn't up to much and are trying to clear all their stocks off the shelves of this lacklustre product?

So marks out of ten.
A disappointed 3/10
I think this is a fair mark, as I paid full price and can't quite imagine any cake tasting worse than this one.


Image
On a lighter,hopefully more moist and succulent note,I have just returned to our tasting lab with The Co-operative Truly Irresistible Carrot Cake
This is the most expensive cake yet at £2.75. I have just taken a generous slice into my wife with a large cup of tea and the noises of nibbling and contentment from the bedroom would seem to bode well for a good report and high mark for this Co-op Carrot Cake.

I have yet to try it myself,but will do so I assure you, after I have had my bacon and eggs.
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by pete9012S »

Sincere apologies for those who may have been waiting expectantly for the review of The Co-operative Truly Irresistible Carrot Cake @ £2.75.

Right,well let's begin.This was the cake my wife kept harping/sorry referring to when I mentioned the idea of finding the most scrumptalicious carrot cake.
Quite what made her so convinced of this cakes superiority is not known to me,nor by my wife herself after questioning her for that matter.

So let's get down into the cake.At first bite you realise it's not a bad cake,but then again it's not a ground breaking, earth moving, moreish delight of baking either.

It doesn't do anything wrong,but there's something about its texture that doesn't set your culinary taste buds on fire either.
In fact,if truth be known,for the price of it,this is a rather flat,humdrum offering.

How it can be positioned at a more expensive price than the Tesco/Sainsburys offering is something of a mystery.

Marks out of ten?

I would struggle to give this cake 7/10.My wife fully concurred with my own research and findings,so we are both in agreement.
It's not a 6/10,but then again,for the high price it doesn't quite rate as a 7/10,so we have settled on giving this cake 6.5/10.

I'm sorry if you feel that's a little harsh,but our taste buds and a fresh cup of Yorkshire Tea for us,has to be the final arbiter.

What cake is up for test next I hear you cry?
Well,we'd really like to try Aldi's Specially Selected Carrot Cake

Image

http://offers.kd2.org/en/us/aldi/pwSR/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This cake is actually in the frozen section of the store,but may sadly be only available in America,which is slightly outside of our normal shopping zone.

I feel sure that Aldi will offer a cheaper carrot cake akin to Lidl's somewhere in its shop.
This will no doubt be a cheaper offering than the last few we've tried,but sometimes Aldi does deliver quality at a very reasonable price.

Will report back with findings once sample cake has been located and purchased... :D
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Courtenay »

We're hungering for your verdict, Pete. :wink:
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Moonraker »

Pete: will you marry me?
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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by pete9012S »

Moonraker wrote:Pete: will you marry me?

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Re: The Great Carrot Cake Challenge

Post by Katharine »

I've always wanted to be a bridesmaid. :D

Will the wedding cake be made from the best carrot cake Pete can find? If so, please put me down for a very big slice.
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