If the recipe calls for chocolate to be measured or melted, and biscuits for the children to break up, choose those ingredients separately. A chocolate box is better suited to giving as a gift or serving alongside the finished bake. Whichever you choose, check the ingredients and allergens on the exact products.
If the children are allowed to break up biscuits or decorate bakes, a recipe with clear, familiar steps can help you choose the right ingredients. Albert Heijn Allerhande offers recipes for baking with children to get you started.
If you want to take or hand out some chocolate, decide whether the packaging should make a ready-to-give gift or contain ingredients for a recipe. Jumbo separates chocolate bars from pralines and chocolate gifts.
If someone has a food allergy, check the ingredients in every chocolate, biscuit, filling and decoration you choose. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority explains how allergens must be listed on the labels of prepacked foods.
First, decide whether the chocolate is an ingredient for a recipe or primarily a gift. Then choose the quantity you need and check the labels on everything that will be eaten.
Best for: a recipe where children break up biscuits or use a measured amount of chocolate.
Trade-off: you’ll need to put the gift and decorations together yourself.
Best for: chocolate you want to give or serve straight away.
Trade-off: filled or assorted chocolates aren’t necessarily interchangeable with the chocolate specified in a recipe.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Baking together | Read the recipe to see what steps it involves, then compare the quantities required with the pack sizes. | If the children can break up biscuits and work with chocolate, I want ingredients that suit those steps. Around 42% of consumers would choose making the recipe together as their main reason for buying. |
| Allergens | Read the ingredients list on each exact product, and look out for any may-contain warning. | If someone sharing the food has a food allergy, I need to know what’s in the chocolate, biscuits and decorations. For around 33% of consumers, this would be their first consideration. |
| Gift and quantity | Decide whether you need a ready-made gift or ingredients for a recipe, then check the pack weight. | If I want to hand something out, presentation matters, but I also need the right quantity for a recipe for a group. This would be the main purchasing consideration for around 25% of consumers. |
A recipe makes the difference between product types clear: Lidl lists 100 g of dark chocolate and 250 g of biscuits separately for arretjescake. A box of pralines won’t automatically replace those ingredients.
A recipe may call for a measured amount of chocolate, while pralines can contain different fillings and other ingredients.
Read the recipe before you shop: buy chocolate and biscuits separately if they’re listed as ingredients, and save a chocolate box for giving or serving.
A flavour name or picture won’t tell you which allergens are in a particular filling, biscuit or decoration.
Check the ingredients list and any may-contain warning on every pack you choose. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority says that legally designated allergens must be clearly identifiable in the ingredients list.
A small gift pack may contain less chocolate than you need for the recipe or group.
Compare the pack weight with the quantity in the recipe to work out how many packs you’ll need.
Speculoos biscuits and spread for anyone who wants a distinctive speculoos flavour in their bake.
Recipe inspiration to help you plan your shopping for a baking session with children.
A shop range where you can distinguish between different types of chocolate.
Baking products and a recipe example that uses separate biscuits and chocolate.
A range of biscuits to compare with the biscuit base your recipe calls for.
For finishing cupcakes or other bakes, you could consider sprinkles. They don’t replace the biscuits or chocolate you use as a base or melt for a recipe.
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For decorating cupcakes or other bakes during a baking session together.
400 g pack. Check the flavour variety, ingredients, allergens and any may-contain warning on the pack you choose.
Use pralines mainly when the recipe is about serving or decorating, and their ingredients are suitable for everyone who’ll be eating them. If you need to melt a specific quantity of chocolate, follow the product type and amount specified. Lidl’s arretjescake recipe, for example, lists dark chocolate and biscuits separately.
Read the ingredients list on the exact pack and look out for any may-contain warnings. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority requires the 14 legally designated allergens in the ingredients list of prepacked foods to be clearly distinguishable.
It warns that nuts may be unintentionally present due to cross-contamination. This isn’t the same as nuts being added as an ingredient. Take the warning into account when choosing food for someone with a relevant allergy, and check the label on the specific product.
Not without checking the recipe: biscuits differ in shape and composition. ALDI, for example, lists digestive biscuits, tea biscuits and sponge fingers as separate products. Choose the type and quantity specified in the recipe, and read the label.
