American in the UK baffled by Jaffa Cakes but everyone tells her the same thing

Though both countries speak the same language, there are many differences between life in the US and here in the UK – and one American woman couldn’t wrap her head around Jaffa Cakes

An American who moved to the UK to “protect her peace” has been left baffled after spotting Jaffa Cakes in the supermarket. Despite speaking the same language as our friends across the pond, there’s still a world of cultural differences between the US and the UK.

Many Americans often take to social media to share their surprise over unexpected or unusual products they’ve spotted, the social rules and etiquette they’ve encountered, their battles with weather, and much more after relocating to England. One woman found herself perplexed after she saw Jaffa Cakes being sold in the biscuit aisle.

The trusty Jaffa Cake, by best-selling biscuit manufacturer McVitie’s, is a British icon. The sweet and tangy treat is concocted with a sponge base with a chunky layer of orange flavoured jam, which is then topped with a generous dark chocolate layer.

The first Jaffa Cake was created almost 100 years ago and now they’re a firm favourite in many supermarkets and stores across the nation, with in-house versions aplenty.

Regardless of whether it’s the original McVitie’s Jaffa Cake or an own-brand version, they’re typically found in the biscuit aisle despite being legally considered a cake after a 1991 VAT ruling.

This is where American woman Elizabeth Walker’s confusion stemmed from.

In a popular TikTok video, the content creator penned: “Protected my peace so hard I moved to another country and now drink hot tea in 40 degree weather (sometimes I’ll put the milk in first) but am really confused as to why Jaffa Cakes are called cakes and not biscuits.”

The video was inundated with reactions, amassing more than 7.3 million views, 449,000 likes, 10,900 saves and over 2,000 comments from people keen to share their thoughts.

One person said: “When stale, biscuits go soft and cakes go hard. It was a legal case that Jaffa won with that argument to keep the name cake.”

Someone else said: “For tax reasons mostly! And they are cakey on the bottom.”

A third person commented: “Anyone that tells you Jaffa Cakes are biscuits want to see you fail they’re literally made with sponge cake.”

Someone else explained: “McVitie’s went to court, where it was decided by the judge that Jaffa Cakes were a cake, not a biscuit. That meant 0% VAT (cakes), rather than 20% (biscuits).”

Another person simply added: “Because they’re cakes.”

After the strong reactions, Elizabeth created a follow up video in which she lip-synched to the lyrics “it’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me” from Taylor Swift’s hit 2022 song, Anti-Hero.

Over the top of the footage, she added the text: “I was genuinely confused about Jaffa Cakes. Everyone in the comments: hold my beer.”

In the caption, Elizabeth quipped: “Just a confused girl standing in front of TikTok asking it to not scream at her about milk in tea and tax codes.”

In the comments section, one TikTok user replied: “Ha! You did start it.” Elizabeth replied: “I didn’t know what I was starting,” with a crying laughing emoji.