If you want a dark chocolate flavour in a breakfast cake to enjoy with coffee on the go, only rely on it if the label actually lists chocolate or cocoa; the word ‘dark’ doesn’t prove that it has a high cocoa content. Albert Heijn lists 13% chocolate and cocoa powder in Peijnenburg Chocolade Dubbel Donker, but marks this variety as discontinued. Lidl lists a luxury breakfast cake with dark chocolate and nuts; check the packaging in store if ingredients, allergens or nutritional values will determine your choice.
If you want a breakfast cake containing chocolate to enjoy with your coffee, look beyond the name. Albert Heijn lists chocolate and cocoa powder in Peijnenburg Chocolade Dubbel Donker, but doesn’t give a separate cocoa percentage.
If having a pre-packed portion for the journey matters more to you than the chocolate flavour, the packaging is an important difference. Peijnenburg describes its plain variety with no added sugars as five individually wrapped bars weighing 27 g each.
Dark, wholegrain and no added sugars answer different questions. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre gives an average of 11.2 g of sugars per 30 g slice of breakfast cake; Peijnenburg lists 4.9 g of sugars and 17 g of fibre per 100 g for its wholegrain variety with no added sugars. Compare the values for the variety you’re actually choosing.
Start by deciding whether you’re mainly looking for chocolate, or whether a portable portion or nutritional values matter more to you. A plain variety in convenient packaging isn’t automatically an alternative if you’re after a dark chocolate flavour.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate and cocoa | Look for chocolate or cocoa ingredients in the ingredients list. Check whether a separate cocoa percentage is given if that’s a deciding factor for you. | When I’m having coffee on the go, I want to know whether the dark product name is based on chocolate or cocoa; around 50% of consumers prioritise this flavour criterion. |
| Convenient portions | Compare the weight of each bar or slice and check whether portions are individually wrapped. | When I’m travelling or at the office, I want to be able to take a single portion without cutting into a whole cake; around 25% of consumers place the greatest importance on this convenience. |
| Sugars and fibre | Compare ‘of which sugars’ and fibre per 100 g and per portion of the same variety. | If I regularly have breakfast cake with coffee, I want to compare the nutritional values of different varieties; around 25% of consumers put this first. |
Albert Heijn lists 13% chocolate in Peijnenburg Chocolade Dubbel Donker, as well as cocoa powder. That 13% is not the cocoa percentage of the chocolate and, by itself, doesn’t predict a more bitter flavour.
Check the ingredients and look for a separate cocoa percentage if that’s what will determine your purchase.
Albert Heijn marks Peijnenburg Gesneden Chocolade Dubbel Donker as discontinued, while Lidl lists its luxury breakfast cake as an in-store product. A product page doesn’t necessarily tell you what you can buy at your usual shop.
Check current availability before choosing a specific variety, and look at the packaging in store.
The Peijnenburg Dubbel Donker listed by Albert Heijn contains 37 g of sugars per 100 g. A wholegrain or plain variety with no added sugars has a different flavour profile; the product name alone doesn’t make these varieties comparable.
Compare the nutritional information per 100 g, then check what’s in an actual portion.
The label for Peijnenburg Chocolade Dubbel Donker lists rye, soya and barley, and warns that the product may contain nuts and milk. Allergen information may differ for another chocolate variety.
If you have an allergy, always check the current packaging of the exact variety you want to buy.
Peijnenburg has a chocolate variety that caters to shoppers looking for a dark breakfast cake, alongside plain and wholegrain varieties for other priorities.
Lidl lists dark chocolate and nuts as a flavour variety of its luxury breakfast cake.
This wholegrain breakfast cake listed by ALDI is an option if pre-sliced portions matter more to you than chocolate ingredients.
No, you can’t tell that from the name or the stated chocolate content. Albert Heijn lists 13% chocolate in the overall product Peijnenburg Gesneden Chocolade Dubbel Donker and also mentions cocoa powder, but doesn’t give a separate cocoa percentage for the chocolate.
The label shown by Albert Heijn lists rye, soya and barley; the product may also contain nuts and milk. If you have an allergy, check the current packaging of the variety you’re buying.
An individually wrapped bar gives you a portion to take with you without having to open a pack of slices. Peijnenburg describes its plain variety with no added sugars as five individually wrapped bars weighing 27 g each; the Koek & Bakker wholegrain cake listed by ALDI is pre-sliced, but the slices aren’t individually wrapped.
Not in the case of the Peijnenburg wholegrain variety mentioned here: it meets a different need from Chocolade Dubbel Donker. Peijnenburg lists 4.9 g of sugars and 17 g of fibre per 100 g for this wholegrain variety; check the label for the specific variety if both flavour and nutritional value matter to you.
No, the rule doesn’t prove that a specific breakfast cake contains baker’s salt. According to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, iodine compounds may only be present in bread, bread substitutes and other bakery products when baker’s salt has been added, with a maximum of 65 mg of iodine per kg of salt. For a particular breakfast cake, check the product-specific information or ask the manufacturer.
