Co-op's Charlie beats Colin from M&S in blind taste test of caterpillar cakes
A caterpillar cake taste test has seen Co-op knock Marks and Spencer's original Colin off the top spot for its "ultimate combination" of chocolate, sponge and buttercream.
The consumer watchdog, Which?, blind taste test of caterpillar cakes from eight supermarkets found Co-op's Charlie, costing £8 for 660g, to be the finest, awarding it a 72% score and a coveted "Best Buy" recommendation. Which? said the cake "wowed tasters" with its "ultimate combination of rich chocolate flavour, moist sponge and soft buttercream".
Coming in a close second was M&S's Colin at £8.50 for 625g, achieving a 71% and a "Best Buy" recommendation, beating most of its rivals with its "superior sponge and delicious chocolatey flavour". However the result will be a bitter blow for M&S, whose Colin cake has been widely copied by rival grocers.
M&S took Aldi to court for what became a long-running legal dispute in which the former accused the discounter of copying Colin with its "Cuthbert" product. An undisclosed settlement eventually reached by the two grocers did not deter Aldi from going on to release an ad in which it announced it was "like M&S, only cheaper", and showing rival caterpillar cakes Cuthbert and Colin breaking into a scuffle at a party.
Morrisons ' Morris the Caterpillar Cake (£7.50 for 624g) received a score of 70%, with testers finding its sponge "a little disappointing". Morrisons and Sainsbury's tied for third place. Sainsbury's Wiggles the Caterpillar Cake (£7.50 for 627g) was criticised for lacking "much-needed moistness". Almost a third of tasters thought the chocolate shell was too thin.
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Waitrose's Cecil the Caterpillar Cake (£8.50 for 720g) scored 69%. Tasters liked the strong chocolate flavour, sweetness and thickness of the chocolate shell. However, nearly half felt there was too much sponge compared to buttercream.
Aldi's Cuthbert, the cheapest option at £5.49 for 625g, scored 68%. Nearly half of tasters found the sponge too dry. But Which? said it wasn't a bad choice for a budget birthday cake. Tesco's Slinky the Caterpillar Cake (£7.50 for 648g) also scored 68%. Tasters found it "too dry" and lacking in buttercream. Asda's Letty (£7.50 for 615g) came last with a score of 67%. Tasters were disappointed by its weak chocolate flavour and dry sponge.
Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which?, said: "For a lot of us, a caterpillar cake is a must for a birthday or celebration. Our test results show you don't have to go out of your way to get the best, or splash too much cash. Our panel rated Co-op as our highest scoring caterpillar cake overall. As well as being budget-friendly, Co-op's Charlie the Caterpillar had a rich chocolate flavour and plentiful amount of buttercream."
"The scores across the board were quite close, so you can't go too far wrong with a caterpillar cake, but if you want the best, we advise you to head to Co-op or M&S."
Nicole Tallant of Co-op was delighted and said, "We're thrilled that Which? has settled the big caterpillar cake debate and named Co-op as being the best tasting on the high street for the second time."
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