Tunis cake anyone?

George_Bray

MoaningMyrtle wrote: »

I bought one in Tesco today for £4.99, not as good as the original, but my old Gran appreciates it.

That was in December 2007. This year they are £5.99 and probably smaller.

That's 20% inflation in just one year and the Government keep telling us it's only about 3%.

PasturesNew

I've always remembered the proper Tunis cake, with the thick hard chocolate topping, from the 1970s. But I can't eat a whole one, so I'll have to go without!

GabbaGabbaHey

I had never heard of Tunis cake before, but our local Waitrose has them reduce from £5.99 to £3.99 so we decided to take a punt.

Nice enough, but the combination of light cake and thick chocolate doesn't really work that well. I'd love to have tasted the McVities variety!

Mazcabs

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

HI, Mc Vities have emailed me back, they wrote:

We believe that M&S and Tesco make a Tunis cake, however, here is a recipe to enable you to make one yourself
Regards
Jane Woodward

Thanks for the recipe, I made this cake today, we always used to have one especially for my brothers birthday in early January... My mum and him thought that it was good for a first attempt except I think I left it in for a little bit too long... got 7/10 from my bruv which is good!!

bibicorp

Hi everyone, check out
epicureansanswer.com/favourite-things/tunis-cake
(sorry about it not being a live link, as a newbie I'm not allowed to!)
for a history of the Tunis cake and where you can still buy them!!

memeg

Hi Everyone, I know this is an old thread, but am on the Tunis cake trail again and this thread popped up! Such wonderful memories of Christmas, trailing from shop to shop to secure this treat for our Christmas teatime! Cannot understand McVitie's saying there is not enough demand for them, they sold faster than hot cake?
Both my daughter and myself search every year and we keep missing out on them, only McVitie's is the real deal, not sure a substitute would be the same however, but just seeing it sitting on the table makes Christmas for me. Going to try hard to find one this year, here's hoping! Thanks to everyone for this thread and Merry Christmas!

sharalee99

What fab memories tunis cake brings........I'm told Marks and Spencer will be doing one this year

Despite not producing a Tunis Cake for over twenty years, Marks & Spencer have, thankfully, come to their senses and decided that Christmas 2009 is the right time to buck that trend.
Slightly smaller in diameter than the other supermarkets offerings, with a slightly thinner icing, it was worth the wait. I managed to get my hands on one, direct from M&S’s bakery department and I can’t find a bad word to say about it! The sponge was beautifully moist and the chocolate icing just right.
It comes banded in red foil cardboard and should retail at around the £5.99 mark.


here's hoping it readily available everywhere!

George_Bray

memeg wrote: »

only McVitie's is the real deal

I bought a Tunis Cake (so-called) from Marks and Spencer today and have to report that the above statement remains so true. To say that the M&S Tunis Cake is a disappointment is an understatement. For my taste, it is simply awful - a rip off at £6.99 for a very small cake, and neither the chocolate or cake are very pleasant at all. I think it rivals the Waitrose one I bought several years' back as being the worst of a bad bunch, taste wise. The Sainsbury one I had last year was better but that's still not saying much compared to the McVities version in the 1970s and 80s. Here are two photos. The red wrapper thing had stuck to the chocolate but that was the least of my worries.

sharalee99

Oh no!
As I live on an offshore Scottish Island, I have no M&S here, so my sis went and bought one yesterday to send up to me.......
Hope I'm not as disappointed as you!:rudolf:

Chonty

I just wanted to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the comments on Tunis Cake. I don't remember the McVities one but always remember having a Tunis Cake at Christmas when I was younger.

I'm glad I'm not the only person who goes on a Tunis Cake hunt each Christmas. Having seen the M&S one on Friday and the sell by date on all of them being before Christmas I decided I would look for a recipe to make my own this year.

Will maybe post a photo if it turns out ok.