If you’re baking a cake for someone with coeliac disease, first choose a biscuit whose current packaging says ‘gluten-free’. A plain biscuit or digestive is a good choice for a crumb base, while chocolate chip or filled cookies give you a more distinctive cookie flavour and a different texture. Also check for other allergens separately, and avoid contact with gluten during preparation.
For a cake base or topping, the ‘gluten-free’ label on the biscuit packet isn’t the only thing that matters. Your worktop, utensils and other ingredients must also be kept free from contact with gluten. The Dutch Coeliac Society recommends using a clean worktop and warns against airborne flour containing gluten.
A gluten-free biscuit isn’t automatically lactose-free or free from milk ingredients. Check these labels separately, and read the ingredients and allergen warnings for the product you choose.
A digestive, oat biscuit, chocolate chip cookie and filled cocoa biscuit are all different options for a base or topping. Choose the type of biscuit that suits your recipe, then check whether the specific variety meets the dietary requirements.
If you’re baking for someone with coeliac disease, start by checking for a gluten-free label. Then decide what texture you want and check each product for any additional dietary requirements.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free preparation | Check the current packaging for a gluten-free label. Keep your worktop, utensils and other ingredients separate from products containing gluten. | When I’m baking for someone with coeliac disease, I want to prevent the biscuit or cake from coming into contact with gluten during preparation. Around 46% of consumers prioritise gluten-free preparation. |
| Biscuit texture | Choose a plain biscuit or digestive for crumbs, or a cookie if you want pieces or filling to be part of the cake. | For my cake, I want to decide whether the biscuit will form a crumb base or feature as a recognisable topping. Around 36% of consumers give texture top priority. |
| Other ingredients | Read the ingredients list and the ‘contains’ and ‘may contain’ statements. Check separately for lactose, milk, nuts, soya and oats if necessary. | If someone needs to avoid an ingredient as well as gluten, I don’t want to rely on the word ‘gluten-free’ alone. For around 18% of consumers, checking for additional ingredients is the main concern. |
Vegan and gluten-free describe different product qualities. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, the ‘gluten-free’ label may be used for products containing no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten.
If you’re baking a cake for someone with coeliac disease, choose a biscuit whose current packaging explicitly says ‘gluten-free’.
A lactose-free chocolate biscuit may still contain soya or carry a warning about the possible presence of other allergens. For example, the product information for Céréal Gluten-free & Lactose-free Chocolate Biscuits lists soya.
Compare the full ingredients list and allergen warnings with the ingredients the person you’re baking for needs to avoid.
Oat biscuits need to be checked separately for gluten-free status. The Dutch Coeliac Society also reports that a small number of people with coeliac disease react to pure oats.
For an oat biscuit, check the gluten-free label on the specific packet and take any known reaction to oats into account.
Contact with crumbs or flour dust during baking can compromise gluten-free preparation. The Dutch Coeliac Society therefore recommends working on clean surfaces and avoiding airborne flour containing gluten.
Clean your worktop and utensils before using the biscuit, and keep gluten-free ingredients separate.
Albert Heijn’s range includes Chocolate chip cookies and Double cookies labelled gluten-free.
Digestives Milk Chocolate are a gluten-free biscuit option if you want to use biscuits in a crumb base.
Céréal Gluten-free & Lactose-free Chocolate Biscuits are a specific option if you need both labels.
Verkade describes Oaties and Oaties Milk Chocolate as gluten-free oat biscuits. In one of the brand’s recipes, plain Oaties are crushed into crumbs for a MonChou cheesecake.
Albert Heijn lists Schär Digestive choc gluten-free among its gluten-free snacks.
Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, products labelled ‘gluten-free’ must contain no more than 20 mg of gluten per kg. If you’re making a cake for someone with coeliac disease, check that the current biscuit packaging carries this label.
Not automatically: ‘vegan’ says nothing about gluten content. Albert Heijn says that AH Glutenvrij Double cookies carry both labels, but you should check the gluten-free label separately on any other biscuit.
Check that the specific oat biscuit is labelled gluten-free, and take the person you’re baking for into account. According to the Dutch Coeliac Society, a small number of people with coeliac disease also react to pure oats.
Use a clean worktop and clean utensils, and keep all ingredients away from crumbs and flour dust containing gluten. The Dutch Coeliac Society particularly recommends using a clean worktop and preventing flour containing gluten from becoming airborne.
No, lactose-free doesn’t rule out other allergens. The product information for Céréal Gluten-free & Lactose-free Chocolate Biscuits lists soya and the possible presence of nuts, among other allergens. Always read the current ingredients list and allergen warning.
