‘Greasy, flavourless and bland’: the best (and worst) supermarket party cakes, tasted and rated

Guardian journalism is independent. We earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. There’s no getting away from it: these are all ultra-processed, but which sponges are the life of the party and which are too sweet for comfort? The best (and worst) supermarket dark chocolate Some of these taste tests – for instance, the oven chips one from last summer – surprise me with their overall quality and minimal processing. But others, such as today’s party cakes, sit firmly in the ultra-processed category, and often make contradictory claims, “handmade” and “carefully selected high-quality ingredients” being just two. I want my children to enjoy treats without food anxiety, but we also owe it both to ourselves and to them to know what we’re actually eating. Unusually, the price of today’s cakes didn’t reflect processing levels. While more expensive products are often less processed, even the premium cakes included an array of emulsifiers (including mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, polyglycerol esters and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate), preservatives, stabilisers, synthetic raising agents such as diphosphates, and glucose-fructose