Allergens: what to know before you order

This post is not pleasant reading, but it is useful. Not every request can be met in a confectionery, and it is better if that comes out before you order.

What is present in our workshop

Egg, wheat flour, milk and dairy, soy (in chocolate), almond and other nuts. These are not in a separate room: we work with them in the same workshop.

What we can take on

• Gluten-free cake. From separate ingredients, with gluten-free sponge. The texture is denser than the traditional one, and rainbow colours come out more muted. It needs two or three days more.
• Lactose-free cake. With lactose-free cream and butter. The difference is barely noticeable in taste.
• Egg-free decoration. The coating and the decoration can be done without egg; the sponge cannot – for that we have to use a different base.
• Nut-free cake. This is the easiest: we simply leave them out and replace marzipan with sugar paste.

What we cannot guarantee

The complete exclusion of cross-contamination. We use the same worktops, mixers and piping bags. We clean thoroughly, but in the case of a severe, anaphylactic allergy that is not a sufficient guarantee, and we will not dress it up.

In that case we suggest ordering the cake not from us but from a workshop that works exclusively allergen-free. That is not a rejection but taking responsibility.

How to tell us

Not “somebody in the party has an allergy”, but specifically: to what, and how severe. “Lactose intolerant” and “goes into anaphylactic shock from nuts” are two entirely different situations, and we handle them differently.

The cake enquiry form has a separate field for this. Do use it – we really do read it.

In the display

We can tell you what is in every item. Please ask at the counter: it is not an imposition, it is our job.