'I compared spooky Colin and Cuthbert caterpillars to see who you should buy'

26 October 2023 , 18:50

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Emma pitted the caterpillar cakes against each other (Image: Manchester Family/MEN)

Part of the Halloween fun is devouring tasty spooky treats, and knowing that if you go trick or treating, you'll be coming home with lots of sweets and chocolate to enjoy - it's something people of all ages can appreciate.

But if you're having a Halloween party, you might be putting on a spooktacular spread, so you'll want to know that what you've bought is the yummiest food possible. And, as Manchester Evening News reporter Emma Gill pointed out, "We all know there's beef between M&S and Aldi when it comes to caterpillar cakes." So she decided to pit the two Halloween versions against each other to see who would come out on top.

Emma didn't think her decorations would look very good (Manchester Family/MEN)

Emma wrote: "While M&S has brought back its popular Yummy Mummy Colin the Caterpillar, with Aldi's you have to do Cuthbert's makeover yourself.

"I followed their guide to 'Cuthbert's monster makeover' which involved creating some bat wings and fangs from black icing, piping on some cobwebs, and repositioning the Smartie-like sweets to give it some scary eyes.

"I'm not sure anyone at Aldi has actually attempted it for themselves as the images shared by the retailer appear to be computer-generated and I for one was not convinced mine would look anything like the photos.

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"It would help if Aldi actually sold the products needed - I had to visit Asda to get the necessary black and white icing - but I was quite impressed with the end result. I'm sure an experienced cake decorator would do a much better job and my bat wings haven't exactly stayed in flight mode, but on looks alone, I'd say he definitely gives Colin a run for his money and makes a nice bright centrepiece for any Halloween treat table."

But what about the taste? Of course, everyone knows that we eat with our eyes first, but it is all about which one tastes more delicious and will leave partygoers feeling most satisfied.

Emma said the M&S cake tasted luxurious (Manchester Family/MEN)

She continued: "On taste too, it's a closely fought battle. Cuthbert's chocolate sponge filled with chocolate-flavoured buttercream, covered in milk chocolate is pretty tasty, with those Smartie-like sweets giving it an added crunch. It doesn't have that cheap taste that often accompanies unbranded chocolate.

"But the Colin, with its soft sponge filled with thicker layers of rich chocolate buttercream, is just that bit more luxurious. And when you add the double coating of chocolate around the cake - both milk and white - well, there's only one winner. The Yummy Mummy is quite simply as scrummy as it gets.

"At £12, it's more expensive than the £5.49 Cuthbert, but it's bigger too, 850g compared with 625g. And when you factor in the price of the icing - which came to £3.10, there's a difference of just £3.41. It's worth the extra to avoid that decorating alone."

Emma Gill