Carrot cake

Planet Organic, iced
£2.65 per slice, 020 7221 7171
Seeds on top are a no-no. But there's a good balance of icing to cake, it's been thoughtfully spiced and it's not too sweet. By far the best.
4 stars

Tesco finest, carrot and orange
serves 12, £3.29
Solid, dense and seemingly healthy. The icing is a peculiar-smelling mixture of cream cheese and sugar, but it sets off the carrot rather well.
3 stars

Authentic Bread Company
serves 6, £3.95, Authentic Bread Company, 01531 828181
Good spice.Tastes comforting but it needs more carrot to be carrot cake. Might work as a teabread though.
3 stars

Somerfield best ever, carrot and orange
serves 6, £2.55
Too pale. Has the consistency of breadcrumbs with peculiar lumps of orange peel dotted around. Smothered in sickly icing too.
4 stars

Chocolate cake

Sweet Things, wheat-free
serves 1, £2.99, Selfridges, 0800 123 400
Very rich and very tasty. Lovely cracked surface and a moussy centre. Confused as to whether it's a cake or a brownie but delicious.
4 stars

Tesco finest, chocolate indulgence
serves 8, £1.75
Initially felt too light, but it's actually rather delicious. Balanced, with just enough cream and a solid chocolate flavour.
4 stars

Authentic Bread Company, wheat-free
serves 6, £3.95, 01531 828181

Is it home-made? It's nice and moist but I can't taste any cocoa. As a plain sponge though, it's good.
3 stars

Primrose
serves 8-10, £18, 020 7483 4222
It's pretty gaudy to look at and the icing is rather grotesque. There's just not enough chocolate. But at least it's moist.
2 stars

Coffee cake

Tesco finest
serves 8, £1.75
The cream is horrid - but the cake is delicious. I can taste fresh espresso, it's not artificial, it's perfectly bitter and has a good kick. Without icing, I'd give this top marks.
4 stars

Sainsbury's taste the difference
serves 6-8, £1.85
Yes, there's definitely coffee in here. The cream's good but it's too sweet for me and to be honest, a little dry. I'm a fan of sugar but there's too much of that too.
3 stars

Konditor and Cook, coffee and walnut
serves 8-12, £18,
www.konditorandcook.com
Underneath all this icing there's a fine cake trying to get out. It's moist but there's far too much sugar to get through first and the icing is grainy.
2 stars

Sainsbury's coffee
serves 4-6, 90p
Wow, what's with the chewing-gum icing all over the top? There's almost an equal ratio of icing to cake. It's moist though, which, frankly, saves it.
1 stars

Lemon drizzle cake

Daylesford, organic
serves 6-8 £4.60, Harvey Nichols
This looks like honest cake. It's not overcrowded on the sugar front, it has a lovely texture and is pleasing on the knife. There's an impressive zesty bite too.
4 stars

Primrose
serves 10, £15
While this tastes of fresh lemon and has a great pithy bitterness, it's a little dry and flaky. If it was a touch fresher, it would be lovely.
3 stars

Sainsbury's taste the difference
serves 6, £1.85
Why on earth would you put cream on a lemon drizzle cake? It tastes like lemon but it's far too sweet. Very kitsch, very Seventies.
1 stars

Tesco finest
serves 6, £1.49
Very pale, almost blond and too sweet. Where is the lemon flavour? Is there actually any lemon in here? Not for me.
No stars

Coffee shop blueberry muffins

Pret a Manger, blueberry
£1.40 each, available nationwide
This one's in a different league. I can actually see fruit. It's light, fresh and moist. But there's no need for the jam at the bottom!
4 stars

Coffee Republic, blueberry
£1.65 each, available nationwide

Light texture and fairly squishy but it's not giving me much taste and it doesn't look that appealing.
3 stars

Starbucks, blueberry
£1.70 each, available nationwide
There's spice, lots of that, and there's a strong cinnamon taste. It's also quite moist but it seems a little bulky and bready for a muffin.
3 stars

Planet Organic, blueberry
£1.79 each
Odd colour, far too dry, over-baked with an overwhelming taste of flour. It's been over-kneaded and generally overdone.
1 stars

Fruitcake

Fiona Cairns
serves 8, £18, Selfridges
A very moist cake. It's been spoiled by the ridiculous icing and fondant teapots - but that's a matter of taste I suppose. All in all, very good indeed.
4 stars

Harrods, iced top bar
serves 4, £7.95
It's a little dry to cut but there's a decent amount of fruit and it's suitably dense, just as fruitcake should be. There's some great spice in here too. Verging on Christmas cake though.
3 stars

Honeyrose Bakery, with brandy serves 4, £7.95,
www.honeyrosebakery.com It's nice and sticky, and warm on the tongue. But on second taste, it's perhaps too moist. It could be uncooked cake mix.
2 stars

Waitrose
serves 6, £1.89
It's a little dry to cut, almost brittle. There's some great spice in here, and some moisture buried in the raisins, but it could be a lot fresher.
1 stars

Cupcakes and fairycakes

Tesco finest, mini loaded chocolate cupcakes
£1.85 for 9
A good product. The right size and a good balance of topping and sponge. Nice and moist and not too sweet. Could do with more chocolate but otherwise, they're almost perfect.
5 stars

Lola, vanilla fairycake
£1.65 each, Selfridges
There's an abundance of icing and it tastes a little grainy, but the sponge has great flavour. In fact, it's the best sponge of the lot.
4 stars

Primrose, vanilla cupcake,
£2.10 each, Fortnum and Mason
Again, what's with the fancy toppings - especially in this day and age? There's too much buttercream. The sponge is nice.
3 stars

Fiona Cairns, vanilla dolly mix fairy
£5.95 for 6, Selfridges
I'm not a fan of colourings and this is a bit sweet. There's a great sponge, but the icing has ruined it. This may work for children but not for me.
2 stars