If you have ever been an unsupervised middle schooler you know there was only one category of treat that could tame your hunger after a long day of book reports, long division and trying to listen to your I-pod mini through your sweatshirt sleeve during a boring science lesson. This category is of course the snack cake. Is there anything better than pinching your pointer finger and thumb on a sleek plastic wrapper and listening to the crackling as you open up a delicious morsel or sugar and frosting. With a snack cake by your side, NEXT blaring from the television, and a gang of friends signing on to AIM messenger, you were the epitome of an unsupervised middle schooler. While snack cakes are like pizza, even a bad snack cake is still pretty darn good, there needs to be a definitive list of the greatest snack cakes of all time. Here it is…the top 10 greatest snack cakes of all time.

10. Fudge Rounds

So some of you may be a bit surprised that the all mighty fudge round is barely cracking the list at number 10. While the fudge round is a classic snack cake that has a cult like following, I’m going to make the claim that it is a bit overrated. Now don’t get me wrong the F.R. (as I like to call it) is very enjoyable and I clearly put it in the pantheon of snack cakes, I just feel that it does not have enough fudgy taste to truly distinguish from it’s chocolate cake base. If you are going to call yourself a fudge round you better be loaded with fudge. At the end of the day it is a great snack cake , but I think as a nation we needs to pump the breaks just a tad on the unbridled love for the F.R.

9. Little Debby Chocolate Chip Cakes

The list started off hot and heavy with the fudge round but at number 9 comes a bit of a lesser known and underrated snack cake. The Little Debby Chocolate Chip Cake blends delicious chocolate cake with a delinquent white chocolate coating and a white frosting surprise on the inside. The white chocolate coating really gives this snack cake an identify and I implore you to head to your local grocery store and gives these a shot.

8. Drakes Coffee Cake

Talk about a mess! Crumbly, crispy and refreshing the Drake’s coffee cake is part of a healthy breakfast or balanced after school snack. Now, I have to admit I am partial to the D.C.C in part to its star role on Seinfeld. Look if a snack cake also doubles as an actor I gotta give it all the credit it deserves.

7. Zebra Cake

Here comes another staple in the snack cake line up. The zebra cake is one of the most fun snack cakes you can grab and it tastes darn good too. Is it white frosting with chocolate frosting stripes, or chocolate frosting with white chocolate stripes? Nobody knows, but all we do know is that this cake is great. Zebra cakes are a classic and they satisfy every time.

6. Hostess Cupcake

Speaking of classics, here is another of the most iconic snack cakes of all time. The Hostess cupcake with it’s majestic icing loop, iconic creamy center and stability of a sturdy plastic container guaranteeing each cake remains in pristine condition. Dare I say the only reason this immortal cake did not crack my top 5 is that the chocolate cake base is ( at times) a bit dry. Like a bald eagle soaring over a rustic mountain range has come to symbolize the United States, the Hostess cupcake is the image of the ideal snack cake and has for a long time represented this brand well.

So as you can see this is a tough list to create as there are so many great snack cakes that either did not make the top 5 or missed the list in general. I have deliberated on this list for many nights, tossing and turning while thinking …dreaming of chocolatey frosted cakes and vanilla cream fillings. So here is the top 5. The upper eschilon of snack cake history. Before you read this list all that I ask is that this list is not used to divide an already divided nation. I can only hope that this list is used to proctor healthy and whole hearted debates lined with a understanding of respect and dare I say love. If you do not agree with the cakes do not fret. Crack open your favorite cake, break it in half for your neighbor and relish as one nation with liberty and snack cakes for all.

5. Oatmeal Cream Pie

Do not @ me bout the OCP. The oatmeal cream pie disregards the industry’s standard of a snack cake and does not relay on chocolate or swirls of frosting to pack a flavorful punch. The OCP stands the test of time and is not only rich and satisfying but unbelievably refreshing. There is not better way to begin my top 5 than the oatmeal cream pie.

Cosmic Brownie

Now we are getting into the heavy hitters. Rich chocolate brownie that sticks to the roof of your mouth topped with candy pieces. A classic move is to eat the candy bits off one by one before you delve into the brownie itself. This snack cake DOES NOT do well in a warm environment so make sure you keep it out of direct sunlight. Keep it cool, keep it insulated and you will not be sorry.

3. Nutty Bars

Chocolate, peanut butter, and wafer. Chocolate, peanut butter and wafer. Chocolate peanut butter and wafer. A simple idea that has stood the test of time and delivers an all star product every-time. Eat it layer by layer like an archaeologist methodically excavating an ancient tomb or dive right in like Tom Brady off a cliff. The Nutty Bar proves that chocolate and peanut butter is arguably the greatest combination in the world (Besides from Ortiz and Ramirez as a 3, 4 duo) and uses it to its advantage.

2. Oreo Cakester

The Oreo cakester is the bad boy of snack cakes. It is not a classic, it is not historic and it does not come from snack cake royalty (Little Debby, Hostess or Drake’s) It breaks all of the unwritten snack cake rules and it does not even care. Plain and simple Oreo cakesters are amazing. The frosting which is wedged in-between light and flavorful cake pieces is so out of this world and distinctively different from all other snack cake frostings. Think about what this is, they took an Oreo and turned it into a snack cake, how can it not be unreal. The Cakester turned the snack cake industry upside down and dominates the competition.

1. The Yodel

The greatest snack cake of all time is the Yodel. The Yodel checks off all the boxes in the snack cake scorecard. It is an absolute icon of the industry, it combines a flakey chocolate shell, moist chocolate cake and a swirling cream filling. Even the white cardboard holder adds a great versatility to the snack cake so you can freely enjoy it on a park bench or busy subway car. At the end of the day if you have a Yodel in hand you are happy. And that it how I ultimately came to a decision, in my mind I lined up all the world’s snack cakes on a buffet table, looked up and down each item and every time I choose the Yodel. Thank you world, I hope to share a Yodel with you all someday.