When choosing biscuits for a cake, start by thinking about the role they’ll play. Classic Lotus Biscoff is a good fit for a pronounced caramelised speculoos flavour, but it isn’t a substantiated choice for reducing sugar. If sugar content is your main consideration, compare the labels on Céréal Sugar-Free and Verkade San Francisco Naturel Zero. Check the allergens, sweeteners and warnings on the packaging too; your choice of biscuit doesn’t determine the sugar content of the whole cake.
If you’re looking for biscuits to make a base, crumb layer or decoration, compare the claim on the packaging with the ‘of which sugars’ row in the nutrition table. ‘Sugar-free’, ‘no added sugar’ and a shop category such as ‘sugar-conscious’ don’t tell you the same thing about a specific product.
You want to keep speculoos’s caramelised flavour and crunchy texture in your cake. Lotus describes Biscoff as a crunchy biscuit and an ingredient for baking, but that doesn’t make it a choice for reducing sugar; consider the other ingredients in your recipe too.
If other people will be sharing the cake, check the ingredients in the base and decoration too. Jumbo’s product information for the Céréal and Verkade biscuits mentioned here lists allergens and maltitol; check the label on the pack you’re using before buying.
First decide whether flavour is the biscuit’s main job, or whether the stated sugar content matters most. Then compare the ingredients of the exact product with what you need for your cake.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Sugars and product claims | Compare ‘of which sugars’ per 100 g and check whether the packaging says ‘sugar-free’ or ‘no added sugar’. | I want to take the sugar content of the biscuits into account before deciding how many to put in the cake. For around 40% of consumers, comparing labels comes first. |
| Flavour and how you’ll use the biscuits | Decide whether you’ll crush the biscuits for a base, crumble them for a layer or use them whole as decoration, then choose the flavour profile you want. | If I want the crumb layer to have a distinct speculoos flavour, that matters more to me than a more neutral biscuit. Flavour and how the biscuits will be used in the cake are the main considerations for around 40% of consumers. |
| Allergens and polyols | Read the allergen information, check for maltitol and take any warnings on the label into account. | If I’m sharing a cake, I want to know what’s in both the base and the decoration. For around 20% of consumers, this is their first concern. |
A shop category doesn’t tell you how much sugar the biscuits you want to use in your cake contain. According to Jumbo’s product information, Céréal Sugar-Free contains 0.4 g of sugars per 100 g, while Verkade San Francisco Naturel Zero contains 1.7 g per 100 g. The claims on their packaging also differ.
Compare the ‘of which sugars’ figure per 100 g and read the ingredients list before deciding how many biscuits to use in your recipe.
Biscuits with claims about sugar may contain maltitol. Jumbo lists 29 g of polyols per 100 g for the Céréal product mentioned here; Verkade San Francisco Naturel Zero carries a warning that excessive consumption may have a laxative effect.
Check the label of the exact product and consider the total amount of biscuits you’ll be using in a cake you plan to share.
Lotus promotes Biscoff for its crunchy texture and caramelised flavour. A Lotus cake recipe also uses the biscuits alongside light brown sugar and Biscoff spread, so the biscuit’s name tells you nothing about the sugar content of the whole cake.
Choose Biscoff when speculoos flavour is your priority. If sugar content matters most, compare the nutrition tables of the biscuits you’re considering first and assess the whole recipe.
The biscuits in a cake base may contain allergens too. Jumbo’s product information lists wheat, almonds, egg, milk and soya among the allergens in the Céréal product; for Verkade San Francisco Naturel Zero, it lists milk, soya and wheat, among others.
Before buying, check the current packaging of every biscuit product you’ll use for the base, crumb layer or decoration.
For a cake where you want the caramelised speculoos flavour to stand out.
For anyone considering a speculoos-flavoured biscuit labelled ‘sugar-free’.
For anyone considering a biscuit with no added sugar instead of a strongly flavoured speculoos biscuit.
No, the claims don’t mean the same thing. Jumbo’s product information describes Verkade San Francisco Naturel Zero as having ‘no added sugar’ and lists 1.7 g of sugars per 100 g. The Céréal product mentioned here is labelled ‘sugar-free’ and contains 0.4 g of sugars per 100 g. Always check the nutrition table for the exact biscuit as well as the claim on the pack.
Lotus Biscoff is a good fit if you want to use its caramelised speculoos flavour, but it isn’t a substantiated choice for reducing sugar. Lotus also uses Biscoff in a cake recipe with light brown sugar and Biscoff spread. So consider both the biscuit and the rest of your recipe.
Check the ingredients, the stated polyols and any warnings on the packaging. Jumbo lists 29 g of polyols per 100 g for the Céréal product mentioned here; Verkade San Francisco Naturel Zero carries a warning about a possible laxative effect if consumed in excess. Also consider how many biscuits you’ll use in the cake.
Check the allergen information on the current packaging of the biscuits you’re using for the base. Jumbo’s product information lists wheat, almonds, egg, milk and soya, among other allergens, in the Céréal product mentioned here; for Verkade San Francisco Naturel Zero, it lists milk, soya and wheat, among others. Check separately any biscuits you’re also using for a crumb layer or decoration.
