A Jubilishious Week

I don't know if you know this or not, but Allison and I are big fans of the Royal family.  Don't look at me that way, after all, as Canadians she's our Queen too.  Since we're only a short airplane trip to London, we decided that visiting her Royal Highness Her Majesty during her Diamond Jubilee would a great deal of fun.  Fortunately England knows how to throw a great royal party, and the sweet treats reflects the atmosphere.

The most common Jubilee sweet treat we found was the Jubilee cake.  There isn't one particular place where you buy a Jubilee cake, instead it's a theme cake you find all over the country.  So each bakery, grocery store, and coffee shop has their own interpretation of the Jubilee cake.  But there are some basic similarities between these cakes.

First of all, a Jubilee cake has to be a white cake.  It also has to have a raspberry and cream filling or topping. It's also adorned with white, red and blue icing, although some just have red and white as well.  I'm not sure who sets the standards for these kind of thing, maybe the Queen?  It's strange how so many businesses decided that this will be the official cake, and each place makes a very similar treat.

While the bakeries and coffee shops sold their Jubilee cakes, other sweet companies also had some special treats for this festive occasion.  Cadbury, the most famous brand of  chocolate in the UK, released a giant sized version of their flag ship bar the Dairy Milk for the occasion.  The package is reminiscent of their classic packages from 60 years ago, but with a Diamond Jubilee twist.

M&Ms also released a special edition version of their treat for the occasion. The Union Jack design, and British themed dress on the M&Ms characters were full of Jubilee spirit...

But the M&Ms inside were pretty much the same as you might find for any other British or American holiday.  I know that M&M's has the ability to print special logos on their candy now, and maybe a crown, instead of an "M" would have been more appropriate.

Finally, the Royal Family themselves released some limited edition treats for the occasion as well.  Most notably they have official Jubilee mints.  All other Jubilee treats are tributes, and only these are the official, approved by the Queen herself (or so I'm told).  At least her Royal Highness Her Majesty is concerned for the breath of her subjects.

CC