Larva lamped: Colin the Caterpillar loses to eight lookalikes in cake taste test

Larva lamped: Colin the Caterpillar loses to eight lookalikes in cake taste test Which? testers complain M&S sponge is ‘too dry’ as Waitrose’s Cecil tops the tree with ‘best buy’ gong After a busy 35 years as a British party favourite, not to mention a bruising court battle with an alleged copycat , you might think Colin the Caterpillar had earned his place at the top. But the “original” chocolate caterpillar cake has now been labelled the worst, bested by lookalikes in a taste test. In a contest against eight supermarket rivals including Cecil, Charlie and Wiggles, Colin came bottom with a score of 64%. Almost half (44%) of the 75-strong panel of cake-testers assembled by the consumer champion Which? complained Colin’s sponge was “too dry”. By contrast, the Waitrose progeny Cecil triumphed with 78% and was awarded a coveted “best buy” gong. With his hard chocolate shell and white chocolate perma-grin it is probable that Colin will put on a brave face. After all more than 1m Colins are bought every year. However, it may be time to do some work on himself. The taste test highlighted that he packed the highest levels of sugar (46.3g) and fat (21.3g) per 100g among the caterpillar lineup. At £9.50, Colin was also one of the most expensive. While M&S was the first to sell a caterpillar cake, Natalie Hitchins, the head of home products and services at Which? , said rivals such as Waitrose and even the no frills chain Iceland had created worthy alternatives. “There are better options out there than the original Colin,” she said. Colin the Caterpillar made his debut in August 1990 and has, like Rihanna and Beyoncé, become known to fans by just his first name. His fame has led to brand extensions, including his cake girlfriend Connie and a homewares spinoff (paper plates, napkins and straws). While Waitrose’s Cecil was one of the priciest cakes tested, he was also the heftiest at 744g, making him more cost-effective by weight than many of the others. Charlie, representing t...