Choose an unsliced breakfast cake if you want to cut yourself a thick slice for a bike ride. You can decide how much to have, but you’ll need to slice and wrap it beforehand. Pre-sliced breakfast cake takes less preparation, while individually wrapped portions are handy to take along one at a time. Whatever form you choose, compare the nutritional information for the specific product per 100 g and per actual portion.
With an unsliced breakfast cake, you can choose the thickness and weight of your slice at home. Wrap it separately for your ride, and use its weight to work out the nutritional information on the label for your portion.
You can simply grab a slice of pre-sliced breakfast cake. Individually wrapped portions also make it easy to keep track of how many you’re taking, but you can’t choose the thickness of each slice yourself.
If ingredients, allergens, sugars, fibre or sweeteners matter to you, check the packaging of the specific product. Recipes vary, even between products from the same brand.
First decide whether you want to cut yourself a thick slice or simply take a portion with you quickly. Then check the portion’s weight and the product label.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting a thick slice yourself | Choose an unsliced cake; weigh your slice if you want to work out the nutritional value per portion. | I want to decide how thick my snack slice is before setting off, and I don’t mind the extra preparation. An estimated 37% of consumers prioritise having this control over their portion. |
| Setting off without slicing | Check whether the cake is pre-sliced and how much a slice weighs according to the packaging. | When I fancy a snack, I want to be able to grab a slice straight away, even if I can’t choose its thickness. Around 27% of consumers prioritise this convenience. |
| Taking individual portions | Check how many individually wrapped portions there are and how much each one weighs. | I want to be able to count individual portions in my bike bag without having to wrap anything at home. This ready-to-go format comes first for an estimated 18% of consumers. |
| Ingredients and nutritional information | Compare carbohydrates, sugars and fibre per 100 g; also check the ingredients and allergens. | I want to know whether this cake’s ingredients suit my preferences and tolerances, whatever its form. That’s why the label is the most important buying consideration for around 18% of consumers. |
The words ‘sliced’ and ‘unsliced’ don’t tell you how much an individual slice weighs. So don’t assume that a pre-sliced piece will be as thick as you want.
If you want to choose the thickness yourself, pick an unsliced breakfast cake and cut a slice at home. Weigh it if the weight matters to your choice.
The name on the front doesn’t replace the nutrition table and ingredients list. Jumbo’s listed sliced zero variant contains sweeteners and carries a warning that excessive consumption may have a laxative effect.
Compare products per 100 g, and check the ingredients and allergens for the variant you choose.
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bakers aren’t required to use bakers’ salt. So don’t treat breakfast cake as a guaranteed source of iodine unless you have product-specific information.
If iodine matters to your product comparison, check the label or ask the manufacturer about the ingredients in that particular cake.
Jumbo lists Peijnenburg breakfast cake in unsliced, sliced and individually wrapped formats. This gives you a choice of different ways to portion it within the range.
Jumbo lists, among other products, a sliced zero variant and a wholemeal breakfast cake. Compare them as separate recipes, not as interchangeable labels.
ALDI lists sliced zero and wholemeal breakfast cakes from Koek & Bakker. These formats are worth considering if you want to be able to grab a slice straight away.
These breakfast cakes show three ways to take a snack with you: cut your own slice, grab a pre-sliced piece or take a portion of a set size. Choose the format that suits how you like to prepare, and check the packaging of the specific product for its nutritional information.
Image unavailable
For anyone who wants to cut a thick slice at home for a bike ride. The cake is unsliced and the pack contains 550 g; weigh your slice if you want to work out the nutritional value for your portion.
Image unavailable
For anyone who wants to take a slice without cutting it themselves. This wholemeal breakfast cake is pre-sliced and weighs 485 g per pack; check the weight per slice before comparing portions.
Image unavailable
For anyone who wants to take a portion of a set size without cutting a thick slice themselves. The pack contains 250 g; check the nutrition table on the pack you choose rather than making assumptions about sugar from the variant name.
Choose an unsliced breakfast cake, cut a slice to your preferred thickness at home and wrap it separately. If you want to work out the carbohydrates in your portion, weigh the slice and use the nutritional information for that product.
According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, a reference 30 g slice of breakfast cake contains 20,8 g of carbohydrates. A slice you cut yourself, or one made to a different recipe, may differ; use the weight and label of your chosen cake to work out the amount in your portion.
No. That description alone doesn’t tell you what the full nutritional information and ingredients are. For example, Jumbo’s listed sliced zero variant contains sweeteners and carries a warning that excessive consumption may have a laxative effect. So check the label of the variant you choose.
No, don’t assume that breakfast cake contains iodine. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says that bakers aren’t required to use bakers’ salt; check the ingredients of the specific cake if iodine matters to your product comparison.
