Don’t choose dark or chocolate spiced breakfast cake as a regular snack while your baby is still learning to feed themselves. The breakfast cake varieties reviewed contain sugar and salt; the chocolate variety also contains seeds and cocoa. According to the Voedingscentrum, you can start offering brown bread or wheat bread without seeds from 6 months, as long as the texture is suitable for what your baby can already eat.
If you want your baby to eat larger pieces independently, focus first on their eating skills and the texture, rather than the flavour of a packaged cake. The Voedingscentrum says your baby should be able to sit upright and swallow and chew well.
Ingredients and nutritional values vary between spiced breakfast cake varieties. For a 30 g slice of spiced breakfast cake, the Voedingscentrum gives average values of 11.2 g of sugars and 0.17 g of salt. When buying, check the nutritional information for the product you choose.
A chocolate flavour that appeals to adults doesn’t tell you whether a product is suitable for babies. Check the ingredients, allergen information and texture of the specific variety. The Peijnenburg Tussendoor+ Choco reviewed here contains seeds and cocoa, among other ingredients. That doesn’t make it a product intended for a baby’s first tastes.
First, check whether your baby can manage the texture. Then compare the ingredients and nutritional information. A dark flavour or handy pack doesn’t mean a spiced breakfast cake is right for this stage.
| What to consider | What should you check? | Who is this most relevant to? |
|---|---|---|
| Texture and eating skills | Check whether the texture suits your baby’s ability to sit, swallow and chew. For a first choice of bread, look for varieties without seeds. | If my baby is still practising eating independently, I don’t want to offer a piece that’s too difficult to manage. For around 46% of consumers, a texture that suits their child’s development comes first. |
| Sugars, salt and sweeteners | Read the ingredients list and compare sugars and salt per portion. If the pack says ‘no added sugars’, check for sweeteners too. | If you’re comparing a packaged cake with a simpler food, you’ll want to know what your baby will actually be eating. For around 45% of consumers, the ingredients and nutritional composition are the top priority. |
| Dark flavour and convenience | For the variety you’re considering, check for cocoa, seeds, allergen information and texture rather than relying on the flavour or packaging alone. | You might be looking for a chocolate flavour or something easy to take with you, but you’ll want to know whether the extra ingredients are right for this snack. For around 9% of consumers, flavour or convenience is the main reason for buying. |
According to Peijnenburg, Peijnenburg Naturel zonder toegevoegde suikers contains xylitol and 0.70 g of salt per 100 g. So the statement about sugars doesn’t tell you everything about what’s in the product.
Check the ingredients and salt content on the label too, and assess separately whether the texture is suitable for your baby.
The Peijnenburg Tussendoor+ Choco reviewed here contains sunflower seeds and cocoa beans, among other ingredients. According to the product information, it may also contain milk, hazelnuts and almonds. These are relevant differences compared with a simple food without such additions.
Check the label of the exact variety and choose a texture that suits what your baby can already eat.
Peijnenburg’s regular wholegrain spiced breakfast cake lists 39 g of sugars and 0.51 g of salt per 100 g. The wholemeal claim doesn’t change these values.
Compare the nutritional information per portion, and don’t let a wholegrain claim be the only reason for choosing this cake as a snack for your baby.
A general statement about baker’s salt doesn’t tell you which ingredients are in an individual spiced breakfast cake.
Check the label or ask the manufacturer about the specific product if its iodine content matters to your choice.
Peijnenburg offers wholegrain spiced breakfast cake, a plain variety with no added sugars, and Tussendoor+ Choco, among other products. Compare the individual products, as their ingredients and nutritional values differ.
Jumbo has its own-brand wholegrain spiced breakfast cake. Its product information is useful for comparing ingredients and nutritional values, but not for deciding whether it is suitable for a baby.
Jumbo lists several Snelle Jelle varieties in its spiced breakfast cake category, including spiced cake and varieties with a sugar-related claim.
These products are fruit and vegetable purées to consider as foods for practising with, not dark spiced breakfast cake. A purée isn’t the same as a piece of food a baby can hold independently, so choose how to offer it based on your baby’s eating skills.
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A vegetable purée to consider as an alternative to spiced breakfast cake when introducing first tastes. The pack is labelled 4M+ and contains 125 g. Regardless of the age label, think about how you offer the purée.
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A fruit purée to compare if you’re looking for a food to practise with instead of spiced breakfast cake. The pear and raspberry variety is labelled 6+ months and contains 100 g. For baby-led weaning, consider separately how best to offer it.
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A fruit purée to consider alongside spiced breakfast cake when choosing a food to practise with. This apple, strawberry and pear variety is labelled 6 months+ and contains 200 g. Choose how to serve it based on what your baby can already eat.
Not as a regular choice for a baby’s first tastes. The breakfast cake varieties reviewed contain sugar and salt, while the chocolate variety also contains seeds and cocoa. You should also consider whether your baby can manage the texture. The Voedingscentrum suggests simple foods such as vegetables and fruit as options while your baby is getting used to solid foods.
According to the Voedingscentrum, you can start offering brown bread or wheat bread without seeds from 6 months. With baby-led weaning, only offer larger pieces once your baby can sit upright and swallow and chew well. Stay with them while they eat.
No, it doesn’t automatically tell you the iodine content of an individual spiced breakfast cake. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority describes the use of iodine compounds through baker’s salt in certain bakery products. For a specific product, check the label or ask the manufacturer.
Yes. If your baby has a known allergy or has had a reaction before, check the label of the product you want to offer. Jumbo lists gluten, rye and wheat for the wholegrain spiced breakfast cake reviewed here. The Peijnenburg Tussendoor+ Choco reviewed here may contain traces of milk, hazelnuts and almonds. If you suspect a food allergy, the Voedingscentrum recommends contacting your GP.
