The best Christmas cakes and bakes – tested by Georgina Hayden – The Guardian
Panettone and yule logs
Vergani pistachio and chocolate panettone
750g, £18.80, eataly.slerp.com
The dough is light, nice density, perfectly proved, really good aeration. The pistachio is lovely and prominent throughout. A really great Christmas variation.
★★★★★
Waitrose tiramisu panettone
750g, £7.50, waitrose.com
Gimmicky and fun. The middle bit is not bad. I like the chocolate topping. The dough is a bit dense.
★★★
Marks & Spencer triple chocolate panettone
750g, £10, ocado.com
Very nice panettone. Good topping, and I really like the pools of chocolate in the dough. It tastes like it could do with a bit more proving but, other than that, a good option for a chocolate lover.
★★★★
Aldi Specially Selected yule log
435g, £3.29, aldi.co.uk
Doesn’t push the boat out, it’s just a nice, standard, nostalgic yule log. Exactly what my mum or my granny would have.
★★★
By Sainsbury’s chocolate yule pups cakes
5 x 135g, £2.20, sainsburys.co.uk
Cute to look at, my kids would go mad for them. They would be good at a family party. Nice idea, everyone loves a dog, but too sweet for me. Even the filling is quite sweet.
★★
Mince pies
Tesco Finest all butter pastry speculoos tarts
4, £3, tesco.com
The pastry is nice, really short, but I don’t like the topping. And I’m not getting enough mincemeat.
★★
Morrisons Free From gingerbread crumble mince pies
4, £2.50, morrisons.com
Gingerbread and mincemeat is a good pairing. I quite like a crumble top. I would want it warm with some cream. I wouldn’t have guessed it’s gluten free.
★★★
Aldi Specially Selected all butter classic mince pies
6, £1.49, aldi.co.uk
Granny would approve. I like how gooey the filling is. All you need from a shop-bought mince pie.
★★★★★
Waitrose No.1 brown butter mince pies with Courvoisier
6, £2.40, waitrose.com
Ooh, very nice, I get the booze straight away. The pastry is fine and nicely golden. The mincemeat is chunky and punchy because of the Courvoisier.
★★★★
Stollen and more
Taste the Difference millionaires torte
1.08kg, £10, sainsburys.com
Looks festive. But I’m not a fan …….