Tried and tested: The best Christmas cakes
ENSURE you tuck into the best Christmas cake this Christmas.
M&S Collection Hand Decorated Pine Forest Christmas Cake
1.5kg, £17
This spectacular-looking cake is decorated with soft golden icing, leaves and pine cones, so it certainly makes a visual impact. The flavour and fruit content are good but there’s way too much icing – nearly 800g – and it’s too sweet. 5/10
Waitrose Christmas Cake with Tree Decoration
1.5 kg, £15.99
A firm, full-flavoured cake with not too much icing, this has a lovely bitter treacle edge to it, but the drab green decoration lets it down. 6/10
The best Christmas cakes 2012
Tesco Finest Fully Iced Partridge Cake
1.5kg, £18.75
This attractively decorated cake looks very appealing and the flavour is pleasant, but the sponge is a little on the dry side. 7/10
Aldi Luxury All Over Iced Christmas Cake
1.2kg, £6.99
Last year, Aldi’s Christmas cake was too crumbly when cut, but this one is better. It has a golden colour and whole-fruit content, plus it’s very sweet and almost too moist. The icing is OK but the green colouring on the leaf decoration looks old. 7/10
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Partridge in a Pear Tree Iced Rich Fruit Cake
1kg, £10
A small square cake with simple decorations, this has a good colour, not too much icing, and is moist and full of fruit. For the price, it’s excellent. 9/10