If you’re baking or serving someone with coeliac disease, choose a Dutch breakfast cake labelled ‘gluten-free’ and take care to prevent gluten-containing crumbs or flour dust from getting onto it during preparation. You can slice or dice a whole, uncut cake yourself; an individually wrapped bar gives you a set portion. For both options, check the current label for other allergens and nutritional information.
You’re looking for Dutch breakfast cake labelled ‘gluten-free’ and want to prevent it coming into contact with gluten-containing crumbs or flour dust when it’s cut, handled or served. The Dutch Coeliac Society recommends preparing gluten-free food separately.
You want to cut slices or cubes for several people, perhaps to serve as a dessert. With an uncut cake, you can choose the shape and size yourself; an individually wrapped bar doesn’t offer that flexibility.
Alongside gluten, milk, lupin, possible traces of nuts or sesame, sugar and fibre may all affect your choice. So compare the packaging for the exact variety you plan to use.
First, check the gluten-free label and make sure you can prepare the cake separately. Then choose between a whole cake that you can portion yourself and an individually wrapped bar.
| What to consider | What should you check? | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing gluten-free food | Look for the ‘gluten-free’ label on the packaging and make sure your work surface and utensils are free from gluten-containing residue. | If I’m baking for someone with coeliac disease, I want to prevent the cake coming into contact with crumbs or flour dust when it’s cut or served. Preparing gluten-free food is the top priority for around 50% of consumers. |
| Shape and portion size | Compare a 285 g uncut cake, listed as nine portions, with a 65 g individually wrapped bar. | For a platter of slices, I want to cut the cake myself; a bar may be enough for one guest. Shape or portion size takes priority for around 30% of consumers. |
| Other allergens and nutritional information | Read the allergen statement for the exact variety and compare sugar and fibre per 100 g and per portion. | If a guest also needs to avoid milk or lupin, I want to know what the chosen variety contains; nutritional values may also influence my choice. These label details matter most to around 20% of consumers. |
An ingredients list with no obvious wheat ingredient is not the same as a ‘gluten-free’ label. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, that label may be used when the food sold to the final consumer contains no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten.
If you’re choosing for someone with coeliac disease, look for packaging labelled ‘gluten-free’ and check the current ingredients and allergen information before use.
Even a product labelled gluten-free can come into contact with gluten-containing crumbs or flour dust during Christmas baking. The Dutch Coeliac Society recommends preparing gluten-free food separately.
Use a clean work surface and clean utensils, and keep gluten-free ingredients separate from products containing gluten.
According to their product information, the Peijnenburg Dutch breakfast cake and the AH Gluten-Free bar contain milk and lupin. The AH bar also lists sesame and certain nuts as possible allergens.
Check the packaging of the variety you buy for allergen information, and compare the nutritional details if sugar, fibre or portion size matter to your choice.
The name ‘Dutch breakfast cake’ doesn’t tell you whether a product is made with iodised baker’s salt. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre also notes that using baker’s salt in bread is not compulsory.
For a specific Dutch breakfast cake, rely on the ingredients and nutritional information on the packaging rather than assuming it contains baker’s salt.
The 285 g uncut gluten-free Dutch breakfast cake is an option if you want to slice or dice it yourself for Christmas baking. Albert Heijn lists this variety as nine portions.
The 65 g Dutch breakfast cake bar is designed as an individual portion, so you don’t have to cut up a whole cake yourself.
No. Choose a product labelled ‘gluten-free’ rather than relying only on the absence of wheat in the ingredients list. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, the food sold to the final consumer must contain no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten to carry that label.
Prepare and cut gluten-free Dutch breakfast cake separately, using clean hands, a clean work surface and clean utensils. Keep it away from gluten-containing crumbs and flour dust; the Dutch Coeliac Society recommends using a clean chopping board and clean cutlery, among other steps.
No. According to the product information, both Peijnenburg Gluten-Free Uncut Dutch Breakfast Cake and the AH Gluten-Free Dutch Breakfast Cake Bar contain milk and lupin. The AH bar may also contain sesame, almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts. Read the allergen information on the packaging you buy.
No, you can’t tell from the product name. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says baker’s salt contains more iodine, but its use when baking bread isn’t compulsory. Check the packaging for information about a specific Dutch breakfast cake.
