Pimp That Snack

Jaffa Cake of Justice

by Heather Lindsay 8 photos Rated 85% 395 votes when voting closed

My housemate Nick and I stumbled upon Pimpthatsnack.com due to his love of Custard Creams and the proposition of a giant one. However, we were quickly awestruck by the glory of the pimped out Jaffa Cakes and soon decided that this would make the greatest birthday cake ever for Nick’s 23rd.

I knew full well that this pimp had been done many times before, and to be honest I wasn’t really sure how I could improve on it. So, despite a lack of individuality (and wanting to give Nick his ultimate birthday present) I forged ahead to Somerfields with a Jaffa Cake on my mind and a dream in my heart.

250 g plain white flour free (had in the house)
250 g unsalted butter 0.76
250 g caster sugar 0.65
6 eggs 0.57
2 packs of jelly 0.66
1 Large bar Dairy Milk 1.42
Jaffa Cakes (for research) 0.79
1 tsp Baking Powder free (had in the house)

Total: £4.85

Now, I was fairly impressed that all this could be done for less than a fiver. And I also took the liberty of finding out what the cost would be if you didn’t have flour and baking powder in the house… a mere £1.00 extra. That still ain’t bad.

Ingredients laid out: eggs, sugar, flour, an orange, orange jelly, a Dairy Milk bar and normal Jaffa Cakes

The tools for my masterpiece.

A wide bowl of orange jelly setting in the fridge

The first step I took was to make the jelly. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that, despite the fact that I bought very cheap no-name jelly, it still retained the shocking electric orange colour (and smell…and flavour…) of the Hartley’s we know and love. The two packs of jelly were made with half the normal amount of water (1 pint) to create a thicker jelly, and it was left to cool in the fridge.

Egg yolks added to creamed butter and sugar in a plastic bowl, hand mixer alongside

Next up was the cake, which was a simple equal parts recipe of eggs, butter, sugar, flour. Granted, I think now that we could have done with a slightly lighter, spongier recipe for authenticity, but for taste it was *gasp* better than the real thing.

I creamed the butter and sugar, added the eggs and mixed well, then added the flour and baking powder. I was forced to use a tart pan which produced rather out of place ridges along the outside of my cake, but we didn’t have anything else and my ghetto philosophy prevented me from buying a new pan.

I baked it at 180 C for an unknown amount of time, checking it every 20 minutes out of fear. Once complete, I let cool overnight to avoid jelly-melting-on-warm-cake disaster and slept an evening of pleasant jaffa-ey dreams.

The baked sponge base on a plate, topped with a smooth dome of set orange jelly

The placing of the set jelly on the cooled cake can only be described as strange. I don’t know why or how; you’d have to do it yourself to find out.

Chunks of chocolate melting in a bowl over a pan of water on the hob

The last step was to melt the broken up chocolate over a double boiler, and then attempt to cover the cake without melting the jelly, which was easier said than done. It took more than a few very thin layers on the jelly which I had to let dry in turn.

A wedge on a plate showing the sponge, jelly and chocolate layers, cut cake behind

The cut giant Jaffa Cake with a normal one sitting in the gap for scale

The completed Jaffa of Justice! It was bigger than I expected, and a lot tastier as well. I admit that dark chocolate would have probably been more realistic, but it was Nick’s birthday and I think he preferred milk chocolate.

A grinning man holding out a plate with a huge slice of the cake

All in all, it was a satisfying snack experience (can you see the joy on our other housemate Eli’s face??!), and provided hours of admiration from friends down the pub on a Saturday night.

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