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It’s the simple things in life, right? The sun shining, a good hair day and your local supermarket launching a tempting new sweet treat.
And Tesco might have nailed it with its latest release.
The retailer has teamed up with Studio Bakery, a family-run bakery business from Lancashire, to start selling the brand’s giant slices of cake inspired by a nostalgic favourite – you know, that one you always wanted to reach through the screen and smash your face into in Matilda.
The aptly named Matilda Cake, is a beast of a chocolate cake slice that claims to serve 10 and sees 12 layers of chocolate sponge and 12 layers of ganache stacked one on top of the other.
Priced at £16 for the slice, (which is meant to serve 10 people) the product can be found in Tesco’s bigger stores, but not the Express ones.
On social media, shoppers have hailed it the ‘best chocolate cake they’ve ever had’, with Frankie French posting in the Food Finds UK Official group to say: ‘Best chocolate cake I’ve ever tried, this Studio Bakery Big Matilda Cake. Can’t wait to be able to buy it in Tesco.’
Connor James replied to say he thought it looked ‘amazing’ as Cerise Gant commented: ‘Oh this will be lethal’
Paige Mitchell was also excited by the new product, writing: ‘Oh my that will fulfil my pregnancy cravings.’
‘I’ve tried it, it’s delicious,’ claimed Ashleigh Howard, and Simon Hodgson wasn’t keen to share his, replying: ‘Serves 10, who are they kidding?’
Others compared it to the Costco chocolate cake, the Ultimate Bruce cake from Kake Temptations and the iconic Bertha from Get Baked, a Manchester-based company that sells out slabs of its giant chocolate cake each week.
Having tried the Get Baked version, which costs £20 plus postage, I knew I had to see how this one compares.
My first impression is that it doesn’t look as visually appealing as Bertha. The sponge looks dense and dry, and the ganache is lacking a shine.
But it’s very much a case of appearances being deceiving as the Matilda cake is much moister than it looks.
It’s rich, without being too sickly sweet, and oh so enjoyable with a cup of tea.
The box recommends heating it up, so that’s what I did and I loved the flexibility of being able to enjoy this as both a piece of cake and a hot, molten chocolate pudding, depending on what you’re in the mood for.
There’s also a claim on the box that it serves 10, but I’d say you’d be cheating people out of cake if you stretched it that far. In the Metro office the slice was split between six of us and there were no leftovers. Make of that what you will…
How does the Matilda Cake compare to Get Baked’s Bertha?
This cake is soooo much better than your average supermarket chocolate cake, there’s no denying that.
But when it comes down to the wire, the overall quality is higher with the Get Baked product, in terms of the look, taste and even the packaging.
Yes, you’re spending more, but you definitely get what you pay for in this situation. Bertha’s sponge is fresh and moist, the ganache is silky smooth and glossy and it’s wrapped carefully in tissue paper inside a visually striking box. In every way possible it feels like a premium product.
The Matilda Cake doesn’t quite live up to that, but it’s a close second.
This doesn’t surprise me too much though, after all, it is being mass-produced for a supermarket, so it didn’t really stand a chance.
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