A FEW weeks ago, you’ll recall that we made fig rolls.

I hope you made a batch and enjoyed them. It set me thinking of all the other biscuits I could try a homemade version of, and a customer at the café mentioned that Jaffa Cakes would be nice. I had to agree – they’re one of my favourite biscuits.

Or is it cakes? I recall that this question actually led to court proceedings between the tax authorities and the manufacturer, as cakes and biscuits are treated differently where VAT is concerned. Biscuits are taxed and cakes are not.

The case was won by the manufacturer on the actually-very-sensible technicality that biscuits go soft when stale, and cakes go hard.

As the Jaffa Cake goes hard when stale (quite how anyone could stand to leave one so long is beyond me!) it was judged that the snack was indeed a cake and not a biscuit.

Politics and confectionery legislation aside, they are an enduring feature of our biscuit shelves, having been introduced to the UK way back in 1927, and they have changed very little since.

The classic layers of soft sponge, sweet orange and rich chocolate have not altered over the years, and they command a large market share with the biscuit-hungry.

The origin of the name comes from Jaffa oranges, a particularly sweet small-ish orange grown in the Middle East, and named after the port of Jaffa, formerly Joppa, where the fruit was packed and sent across the globe.

These days, many different varieties of orange, grown worldwide, are used, due to commercial constraints.

Cultivars such as Hamlin, Navel and the mass-produced Valencia all yield similar juice and pulp, and it is these that form the basis of most commercial products, be it squash, juice, or the lovely jelly that lurks beneath the chocolate on your teatime Jaffa Cake.

The delicious, bitter Seville orange is used mainly in the marmalade-making industry, and are generally available only during the early part of the year.

So, here’s my version of the classic. It’s just a little bit more ‘gourmet’, I suppose.

The sponge is enriched with a little vanilla, the chocolate is thicker and a little darker than normal, and the orange jelly is sharper and more concentrated, giving a real lip-smacking citrus kick.

They are, however, every bit as moreish as the shop-bought version, and will not last long in any household!