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Roscones are a typical and much loved Christmas dessert in Spain. Having originated in France, the cakes consist of fermented and baked dough, filled with cream and custard and topped with dried fruit. Sometimes small added details such as almonds are placed on the cake to intensify the flavour.

 

Because of their much loved status, the Organisation of Consumers and Users ( OCU ) has chosen the top dessert after an elaborate study that aims to find the best quality product. The researchers try to discover the most delicious and originally faithful cake to place at the top of the poll of best in Spain.

 

The research is carried out on supermarket Roscóns that can be brought around the country and that are already pre-packaged, so that everyone can go out and buy the winner of the test.

 

In this case, the OCU has selected a total of fifteen cream-filled roscóns that are available for sale in different Spanish supermarkets. The experts of this organisation report that these products are cheaper than those from a bakery or artisanal workshop.

 

The cakes this year that have been judged have come from Ahorramás, Alcampo, Aldi, BM, Carrefour, Dia, El Corte Inglés, Eroski, Hiperusera, La Despensa, Lidl and Mercadona.

 

The study begins by judging labelling, fat quality, flavour, aroma and texture, before the judges take their time to consider which of the cakes is the best.

 

The conclusions this year have been a little alarming as nine of the fifteen products gave a disappointing result and did not reach the acceptable rating. Many of them replaced cream with unhealthy mixtures of vegetable fats and the majority of them abused the use of additives and preservatives.

 

Nevertheless, according to the OCU the roscón with the best results and ratings was the one from El Corte Inglés. The product made with cream and butter scored a total rating of 70.

 

The quality of the filling and the taste are noteworthy in the cake from El Corte Inglés and although it is the most expensive of all those analysed, it is also considered to be the best quality and with the fewest additives.

 

The OCU continued to praise the roscón by stating "It has a well-fermented bun, with adequate fillings, of good size, with pearl sugar and a juicy texture. The bun is tasty, you can appreciate the butter and a balanced orange blossom flavour, and it offers abundant cream with balanced sweetness. It does not use brightly coloured candied fruit, it only uses cherries and candied orange."

 

The winning cake from El Corte Inglés is priced at 17.50 euros.

 

In second place was the Lidl roscón with a score of 68, which was closely followed by the one from Dia with 66 points.

 

 

Images: Archive