Gluten-Free Cakes: The Honest Answer
We do not make them. Wheat flour is used in everything this kitchen bakes, every day, on the same equipment — so a cake from here cannot honestly be called gluten-free, whatever its own recipe contained.
That is the whole answer, and it is at the top rather than the bottom because you are probably comparing bakeries with a birthday coming. Below is why the answer is a legal one rather than a preference, what this kitchen can do instead, and the two questions worth asking the next bakery you try.
What can you order here instead?
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
Gluten-free cake Wheat flour is used in everything this kitchen bakes, every day — | Not made here |
8" dairy-free and egg-free cake Set on a set mousse made from cashews — contains nuts, and still not suitable for an allergy For a diet, not an allergy | £120 |
The dairy-free cake is £120 for a 8-inch and contains nuts — see vegan cakes. Everything this kitchen handles is listed on allergens.
Ask about an allergy
We reply within 24 hours with a price. No deposit is taken until you are happy with the quote.
Not ready to send it? What follows answers most of what people ask first.
How long it takes
7–10 days for a simple design, at least 14 for two tiers.
Sooner is sometimes possible: a rush adds 50% when the notice is under 7 days, if the diary is clear.
In a hurry? Bento cakes take 3–5 days.
Delivery
From £30, quoted by distance from RG12 0UY.
Collection from Bracknell is free — see the areas we cover.
Paying
50% deposit to hold your date; orders under £50 are paid in full.
Balance 3 hours before collection, or cash on the day.
The deposit is non-refundable but transferable with 4 days' notice — full terms.
Why can a home kitchen not make a gluten-free cake?
Because “gluten-free” is a claim with a number behind it rather than a description of a recipe. In UK law the words may be used only where the food contains no more than twenty milligrams of gluten per kilogram, and the Food Standards Agency is explicit that a business making the claim has to control for cross-contamination, not merely intend to. In a kitchen where wheat flour is weighed out most days, airborne flour settles on surfaces and equipment for hours afterwards. The recipe could be changed; the room cannot.
What the words mean
Gluten-free — a legal claim: no more than twenty milligrams per kilogram, and evidenced.
No gluten-containing ingredients — a description of the recipe, with no claim about the kitchen.
“We are careful” — an intention. Useful to know, and not a control.
What can this kitchen adapt, and what can it not?
Two things can be left out of a recipe and two cannot, and the difference is whether the ingredient is in the bowl or in the room. Eggs and milk are in the recipe, so a cake without them exists — it is set on a set mousse made from cashews rather than baked, costs £120 for a 8-inch, and suits a diet. Gluten and nuts are in the kitchen, so no cake from here can be free of either.
| Asked for | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free | No | Wheat flour is used here daily; the air and the equipment carry it |
| Nut-free | No | Peanuts and tree nuts are used here, and the dairy-free cake is made of nuts |
| Dairy-free | Yes, as a diet | Not in the recipe, but the kitchen handles milk |
| Egg-free | Yes, as a diet | The same cake: set rather than baked |
The full list of what the kitchen handles, and the hygiene rating behind it, is on the allergens page.
What should you do instead?
For coeliac disease, order from a bakery with a separated gluten-free space and ask it the two questions above; most towns have one, and the ones that do not will tell you so. For an intolerance or a preference, you have more room: ask any bakery what it bakes on the same day and decide with the answer in front of you. And for a mixed party, the arrangement that works is a cake for the table from here and a certified one for the person who needs it — nobody has to pretend, and nobody eats a cake they should not. Our lead time is 7–10 days if the first half of that plan is useful to you.
What else do people ask?
Allergies? Our kitchen handles all 14 of the allergens UK law requires us to declare, so nothing we bake is free from any of them. What is in each cake, and our hygiene rating.