Costa Coffee has won the Best Quality Cake 2008 accolade at the Quality Food Awards for its Raspberry and Almond Bake.

The Bake, which was shortlisted against Asda’s Extra Special Chocolate Cake and Asda’s Extra Special Victoria Sponge, was described by judges as an “excellent, moist cake with a great raspberry hit”. It is also the first time that coffee shops have been able to enter the awards.

The product, developed by Cakehead, based in Stamford, was launched in April 2007 and is one of the coffee chain’s best-selling lines. Costa category brand manager Kate Cosgrove said the award highlighted the company’s commitment to ensure it offers its customers a high-quality food range.

On the same day as the awards (27 November), Costa has also come out on top in a consumer survey, which named it as the brand they felt had done the most to tackle social and environmental issues. The survey of 1,000 ‘concerned consumers’ was featured in The Times.

Giles Gibbons, founder and CEO, Good Business, said: “With over 75% of concerned consumers saying they have a higher opinion of companies that continue to spend money on social and environmental activities, even when economic conditions are difficult, this position is likely to help Costa survive the mounting pressures on the sector.”