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With their sweet disk of orange jelly, comforting sponge base and delicate layer of chocolate, there’s no doubt that Jaffa Cakes are a delicious British treat.
But what’s more up for debate is their identity – are they cakes or biscuits?
Well, the mystery may finally be solved this National Cake Day thanks to the world’s most popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.
“Jaffa cakes are cakes,” ChatGPT said, largely because they become tough when stale, which is “a feature of cakes, not biscuits.”
Google’s Bard – ChatGPT’s main competitor – seemed more adamant, saying: “Jaffa cakes are a cake, not a cookie.”
It’s not a trivial matter: Jaffa cake consists of a disc of orange-flavored milk chocolate jelly and a sponge base – but is it a biscuit or a cake?
Both Bard and ChatGPT pointed to a legal decision from more than 30 years ago to support their answer.
In 1991, McVitie’s, which has been making the orange-flavored dessert since 1927, went to court to demand that Jaffa Cakes be classified as cakes.
McVitie’s has been challenged over its classification of orange and chocolate sweets as ‘cakes’ by Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise.
ChatGPT said: “The distinction is important for tax purposes as in the UK; cakes are considered a staple food and are not subject to VAT, whereas biscuits are.
“The court ruled in favor of McVitie’s, saying that Jaffa Cakes are indeed cakes.”
“So, in the eyes of the law, Jaffa Cakes are Jaffa Cakes.”
“This was determined by a court case in 1991, where HMRC challenged McVitie’s classification of Jaffa Cakes as cakes,” Bard agreed.
“So, next time you enjoy a Jaffa Cake, you can rest assured that you are eating a cake, not a cookie.”
This is not the first time that artificial intelligence has been enlisted to help resolve the controversy surrounding conscription, which has been described as “one of the greatest causes of discord between British families.”
“Jaffa cakes are cakes” largely because they become tough when stale, which is “a feature of cakes, not biscuits,” ChatGPT said.
Dr Heloise Stephens, from the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford, trained the algorithms with nearly 100 recipes for traditional cakes and biscuits in 2021.
She then ran two java cake recipes through the algorithms, which unambiguously identified them as cakes “without a doubt.”
According to Dr Stephens, it was reported that McVity’s arguments during the 1991 court case were “not scientifically motivated” and were merely a ruse to avoid paying VAT.
This evidence is therefore often dismissed by those who claim that Jaffa Cake is a biscuit – and even the most adamant members of the cake camp must admit that they have a case.
Many people think of Jaffa Cakes as biscuits because they are traditionally served with tea and can be found in the biscuit aisle of supermarkets.
They are also the same size and shape as biscuits such as Digestive, Hobnob and Rich Tea.
Moreover, Jaffa Cake can be held and dipped without leaving much residue on fingers, unlike a slice of cake or a cupcake.
“Most cakes will be sticky, and as a result, the experience of eating a Jaffa cake will be more similar to that of a traditional biscuit,” Dr. Stephens said in her research. Research paper.
Dr. Stefans trained two algorithms on 100 traditional cake and biscuit recipes. Below are visual examples of the Cakes and Biscuits category
Famous people who believe that Jaffa cakes are biscuits include cookery writer Nigel Slater, who once said: “Jaffa cakes are all biscuits.”
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also sparked controversy when she said in 2018: “In my humble opinion, jaffa cake is definitely a biscuit.”
Meanwhile, those in the cake camp include actor Stephen Fry, screenwriter John O’Farrell and chef Nigella Lawson, who say they are “cakes disguised as biscuits”.
MailOnline has contacted the owner of McVitie’s – which goes by the name United Biscuits – for comment.
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