If you’re baking biscuits, don’t automatically reach for ready-made Dutch breakfast cake or a box of chocolates: breakfast cake is already baked, and a gift box doesn’t in itself tell you whether the chocolate is suitable for baking. First decide whether you want to bake biscuits, make your own breakfast cake or give chocolate as a gift. Then check the relevant recipe or the label on the specific product.
You want to make your own batter rather than buy a ready-baked cake. Jumbo’s breakfast cake recipe uses ingredients including wholemeal flour, soft brown sugar, mixed spices, baking powder and milk. If you want to bake biscuits, choose a biscuit recipe instead of this breakfast cake recipe.
You’re looking for a ready-to-eat cake for breakfast, with a cup of coffee or as a snack. Check the ingredients, portions, allergens and storage instructions for the specific variety you choose; this information can vary between packs.
First decide whether you want to bake something or are looking for a ready-to-eat product or a gift. The checks below apply to different purchase goals, even when the same search brings them together.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who it’s relevant to |
|---|---|---|
| Baking from scratch | Choose a recipe for the bake you want to make and check the ingredients it calls for. | If I’m making my own breakfast cake, I need ingredients for the batter, not slices that have already been baked. Around 46% of consumers prioritise baking from scratch. |
| Ready-to-eat Dutch breakfast cake | Check the label on the exact variety for ingredients, allergens and portion packaging. | For breakfast or with a cup of coffee, I want a cake that’s ready to eat and whose packaging I can check. Ready-made breakfast cake is the main priority for around 36% of consumers. |
| Chocolate as a gift | Decide whether the chocolate is meant as a gift or an ingredient, then check the ingredients and allergens of the product you’ve chosen. | When I give chocolate as a gift, I choose packaging designed for that purpose and don’t assume it’s suitable for biscuit dough. Around 18% of consumers prioritise buying chocolate as a gift. |
The fact that chocolate is sold as a gift doesn’t tell you whether the product you’ve chosen is suitable for adding to dough or using as a decoration.
First decide how you want to use the chocolate in your baking. Then check the ingredients and allergens of the specific product.
For its Naturel Ontbijtkoek 550 g, Jumbo lists gluten, rye and wheat, and says barley and oats may also be present. Peijnenburg says its Naturel 10-pack may contain milk, hazelnuts and almonds. These details apply to the specific varieties mentioned.
Read the label on the pack you’re actually buying, even if you’ve tried another variety from the same brand before.
These examples can help you compare Dutch breakfast cake varieties; they don’t indicate whether a product is suitable as an ingredient for biscuits.
Peijnenburg offers, among other products, an unsliced plain breakfast cake and a Naturel 10-pack with individually wrapped slices.
Jumbo sells a ready-made Naturel Ontbijtkoek 550 g and also publishes a recipe for making breakfast cake from scratch.
Jumbo’s breakfast cake selection includes Snelle Jelle Krachtige Kruidkoek Groot Megapack 585 g.
Jumbo’s breakfast cake selection includes Bolletje Ontbijtkoek Gesneden 500 g.
No, not as a direct replacement for the individual ingredients. Peijnenburg describes its Naturel Ongesneden as a finished cake, while Jumbo’s breakfast cake recipe uses ingredients including flour, sugar, spices, baking powder and milk to make one from scratch.
Read the ingredients and allergen information on the current packaging of the product you choose. The information for Jumbo Naturel Ontbijtkoek 550 g and Peijnenburg Naturel 10-pack shows why details for one breakfast cake variety can’t be assumed to apply to another variety or to chocolate.
Follow the storage instructions for the variety you’ve chosen. Jumbo says its Naturel Ontbijtkoek 550 g should be stored in a cool, dry place; check your own pack for the relevant instructions.
