A breakfast cake with chocolate, caramel and sea salt is a good choice for Vlaggetjesdag if you’re after a distinctive sweet-and-savoury flavour; Jumbo lists a Peijnenburg variety like this. If you specifically want a high cocoa content, don’t rely on the word ‘chocolate’ alone: check the ingredients and any stated cocoa percentage on the packaging of the exact variety. Wholemeal breakfast cake or a variety with no added sugars are other options, but they won’t necessarily give you the dark chocolate flavour you’re looking for.
You’re looking for a breakfast cake with a distinct chocolate flavour for Vlaggetjesdag, perhaps combined with caramel and sea salt. Whether it has a high cocoa content depends on what’s stated on the packaging of the variety you choose.
You’re serving breakfast cake to several guests and want to be able to check the ingredients, allergens, portions and shelf life of the variety you buy. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority points out that allergens must be clearly listed on the label of prepacked foods.
For everyday use, you might compare a wholemeal variety or a breakfast cake with no added sugars with a chocolate variety. Check the nutritional information for each product: these features don’t, by themselves, tell you anything about its chocolate flavour.
First decide whether chocolate flavour, ease of serving or the information on the label matters most to you. Then check the packaging of the exact breakfast cake you want to buy.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Dark chocolate flavour | Read the ingredients and check whether a cocoa percentage is stated. Also consider whether additions such as caramel and sea salt suit your taste. | I want a bold chocolate flavour for the celebration, but I won’t assume it has a high cocoa content based on the product name. For around 42% of consumers, flavour is the top priority. |
| Serving and portioning | Choose between an unsliced cake and pre-sliced portions; check the pack weight and, where stated, the number of slices. | If I’m sharing the cake, it makes a difference whether I have to slice it myself. Ease of serving is the deciding factor for around 33% of consumers. |
| Ingredients and nutritional information | Read the allergen information and compare the sugars and fibre in the exact varieties, ideally on the same basis, such as per 100 g. | I want to check the allergens for my guests, and compare nutritional values for my own choice. For around 25% of consumers, this label information matters most. |
A chocolate flavour or filling doesn’t tell you how much cocoa the breakfast cake contains. A variety with caramel and sea salt might taste quite different from the dark chocolate flavour you’re looking for.
Before choosing based on cocoa content, check the ingredients list and any stated cocoa percentage on the current packaging.
Wholemeal and no added sugars address different questions from cocoa content. Nutritional values can also vary between breakfast cakes.
First decide which feature matters to you, then compare the ingredients and nutritional values of the specific varieties.
Ingredients and allergens can vary between varieties. According to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, allergens must be clearly listed on the label of prepacked foods.
Before serving, read the allergen information on the packaging of the breakfast cake you’ve bought.
Alongside other Peijnenburg breakfast cakes, Jumbo lists a sliced variety with chocolate, caramel and sea salt.
Albert Heijn lists AH Bio chocolate breakfast cake as a chocolate variety in its own-brand range.
ALDI lists a sliced wholemeal breakfast cake from Koek & Bakker in a 485 g pack.
Lidl lists breakfast cake under the Tastino name.
Check the current packaging of the exact variety for its ingredients and any stated cocoa percentage. The word ‘chocolate’ alone doesn’t confirm a high cocoa content. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority identifies the ingredients list and, where applicable, the quantitative declaration of ingredients as relevant label information.
Read the allergen information on the packaging of the variety you’re going to serve. According to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, allergens must be clearly listed on prepacked foods; don’t rely on a general brand name or product range page.
Don’t assume this applies to every breakfast cake. The agreement published in the Government Gazette in 2008 describes the promotion of iodised baker’s salt in bakery products, among others; it doesn’t set a general requirement for every breakfast cake. If iodine content matters to your choice, check the product information for the variety you’re considering.
No. Compare the sugar content in the nutritional information for the exact varieties. ‘No added sugars’ and total sugar content are different pieces of information; wholemeal, in itself, doesn’t tell you anything about the chocolate flavour either.
