FAQ's: Where can I find a dairy free (free from) birthday cake?

Okay, so hands up - when it comes to birthdays, not all of us are born a Mary Berry, so who loves the idea of a ready made birthday cake??

Add your candles... and hey presto - you're all good to go!

Well, maybe not everyone, but I find I do a bit of both - I need one for the party and one for home and oh yes, another for school! No wonder I get very little blogging done when birthday season comes 'round! 

Sometimes I go all out like this:

This cake *may* just have caused me a few nightmares!

But sometimes, my fave Marry Berry Swiss Roll recipe (see here) just has to suffice - very quick, very easy and can be dressed a number of different ways! 

My absolute fave cake recipe!

Birthdays being the normal manic thing that they are, for at least one of these I love to cheat - to take the pressure off. Fortunately, as my kiddo is only dairy free it's a bit easier than I thought to find a dairy free cake... and from the supermarket too!

Asda, Tesco, Morrsion's and Sainsbury's all sell a fairly big range of celebration cakes and the good news is that quite a number of them are dairy free. Even Waitrose is now getting in on the act! 

Well, I say 'dairy free' - they are by no means marketed as 'Free From', but no milk or dairy products are listed in the ingredients of those that we've tried, and no 'may contains' either. And, maybe we've been lucky, but Kiddo has been quite sensitive to traces of milk and no unpleasant reactions have followed.

We've been 'lucky' so far - in that our Kiddo has been able to get the cake of her choice for each of her birthdays! She has already had this Lightening Mc Queen (Disney Cars) which we bought from Asda:

This is the bigger one!

Available for £10.00. For ingredients see here.

This Disney Frozen cake (bought from Tesco, but also at Sainsbury's):

Not quite as big when it's out of the box!

Which costs £10. Ingredients list here.

And also this Despicable Me Minion cake:

Not that big when out of the box either!

Serves 20 - just! But cost just £10.00. Ingredients here.

However, I've not been able to eat a single one of these cakes, as none of them are gluten free. Unless it's soya lecithin, I'm also soya free - which causes The Hub a fair bit of trouble when it comes to my birthday! 

This year, as so much was going on, there was NO cake for my birthday - cue sad face (that said we were about to go on holiday and The Hub was stressed to the eyeballs with stuff going on at work)! 

And THIS despite the fact that it's now become relatively easy to find a Free From cake - in fact all the major players now sell something gluten free (apart from Waitrose, of course) although Tesco's... well they now sell a nice looking little selection in their Free From department, but none of these are dairy free - cue another sad face! 

As of yet, despite the big Free From battle that is going on between the supermarkets, none of the cakes in any of the supermarkets are egg free. I am somewhat bewildered why it has not yet occurred to them that this section of the market remains untapped - especially as it would also appeal to Vegans. So if you are egg free, I'm afraid you will either need to contact a free from or Vegan baker like Hannah Banana (her cakes DO look amazing), or make your own, in which case, check out Lucy's Friendly Foods - she has some amazing dairy, egg and soya free recipes, including meringues!! 

However, on the plus side, Sainsbury's selection is definitely nut free too!

So lets have a little look at some of the options we've tried!

Asda

This cute little Madeira cake, priced £8.00, is just that - 'little' (678g). However it was enough just for us. Kiddo and I enjoyed it. The Hub not so much. It's free from all of the top allergens as far as I can see from the ingredients list, except for egg. However it is only described as 'Gluten Free' and 'Dairy free'. You can also get it in chocolate. However, the chocolate version (ingredients here) is made with soya beans, so is a 'no-go' for me.

Quite dinky!

Asda also make some lovely looking party cup cakes (£3.50 for 9), but sadly these are not dairy free (see here).

Morrisons

Morrisons have a nice looking Madeira Cake, which costs £8.00. It is free from the top fourteen allergens except egg, although it may also contain soya.

They also have a Vanilla tray bake, which is free of all the top fourteen allergens, except egg, although it may contain soya. It costs £3.60 and says it can serve 9 people.

There is also a chocolate traybake, which is made with egg and soya protein but is otherwise fourteen allergen free. As before, costing £3.60, it says it can serve 9 people.

But, by far and away the winners in the ready made birthday cake stakes, are, for me at the moment are...

(cue drum roll)


Sainsbury's!!

Purely because although not all are suitable for us, they now have a range of FOUR cakes that are ALL dairy, gluten, and nut free! 

We only have tried out the Madeira one (which was as pictured at the top of this post, but the design has now changed), because it is also soya free. It's priced £8.00 for 663g of cakiness, and would appeal to the more girly types among us - Kiddo loved it for sure - both the look and the flavour! 

The only one of the top allergens listed is again... you've guessed it, I'm sure... egg! 

This one, priced at £9.00, is perhaps more suitable for little ones (755g). It is also a madeira cake and really quite attractively decorated.

There is quite a nice size more adult-looking chocolate cake (743g), but it is made with soya protein, as well as the dreaded-for-some egg. It is priced at £8.00.

There is also a tray bake (726g) priced £7.00, which is a nice idea, for sharing -maybe with a class or toddler group, but which sadly contains the dreaded soya again (boo hiss). So I'm afraid those too are off my list!!

Sainsbury's, like Asda, now have some Free From cupcakes (6 for £3.50). They are plain and ready to decorate, but are not dairy free (sigh).



Tesco

Most of Tesco's ready made Free From cakes are only wheat/gluten free, but they recently produced this vanilla tray bake priced £4.00, it says it serves eight people. There is also this 'Carl the Caterpillar' cake priced £6.00.

One to appeal to the children!

So there you have it! 

Hope you've not been left too hungry after looking at all those cake pics and that this post has given you the information you need. 

Let us ALL eat cake!!!

Related posts: 

Dairy free frozen birthday party

The dairy free baby's party survival plan

Please note: 

This post is not an advert. I have not been paid to write this post. I am not sponsored in any way, even by advertising. I do not receive products free to review, although I have often been offered them. This is to try and maintain an unbiased approach. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's).

All I'm saying is... NEVER again!!

Shopping with food allergies in the UK

From travelling abroad, and chatting online to people who are planning on travelling here, I've discovered that sometimes you need local knowledge to assist you in finding what you're looking for. This post is aimed at those from outside the UK, who are wondering how they'll get on, if they come to the UK! BUT if you're new to food allergies and living here in the UK, you may also find this post helpful!

Supermarkets

Britain has a number of large supermarket chains. Some of which are better than others at catering to the Free From market. Foods that are produced particularly for those who have special diets, are often lumped together in a section known as 'Free From'. Please note that this is not a legal term, but just one that seems to have made its way in to general usage!

Mostly, the Free From aisles in UK supermarkets often seem to major on those who are gluten free, but they often stock a large range of dairy free milk products too - they're just usually found next to the UHT milk or in the chiller section! However, if you examine food labels, you can often find other products that may prove suitable - if you apply directly to the supermarkets, they can send you a list.

Something for everyone! This is the range of dairy free milk available in one Tesco Extra store.

Unfortunately, if you are suffering from other allergies, such as egg or nut, you might not find yourself quite so well served, although Tesco have started to display egg free logos on some of their Free From products.

I find Tesco and Sainsbury's tend to have the biggest ranges - but you usually need to locate their big out of town stores. The area tends to dictate how good the range might be. If it's based in a wealthier area, for example, the Free From range tends to be much larger and more varied. It's what we, in the UK, refer to as a 'postcode lottery'.

That said, you can often find a few dairy free milks in most smaller supermarkets, even in those that are convenience store size, but don't expect too much else, except maybe a soya-based spread or yoghurt!

Sainsbury's 'Free From' aisle, Ashford, Kent

If the Tesco is as good as the one at Brooklands, in Surrey, then you'll find a brilliant Free From aisle, Freezer section and also a chiller section. As well as a varied range of long life and chilled dairy free milk, and the usual chilled spreads, such as Pure, and soya-based cheese and yogurt products, Tesco have recently started selling great dairy free dessert products, such as Pudology. 

In the right Tesco, you can also find Co-yo, a dairy and soya free yogurt product, that up until now, you'd only find in a health food shop, as well as Violife - a dairy and soya free cheese, that again has been hard to get hold of, until now, but is proving popular among the dairy free! There's even dairy free iced coffee, although that's located near the 'normal' iced-coffee, in my store! That's the funny thing about Tesco - it seems there's no standard lay-out. In some stores, some of the chilled Free From products are dotted about and not kept together, so keep your eyes peeled!

Tesco 'Free From' chilled range

Sainsbury's, meanwhile, doesn't have much more than dairy free milk, some spread and soya yoghurt in their chiller cabinet, but their Free From freezer department has a few gems and I do appreciate the expansion of Sainsbury's free from confectionery. It's where I like to go for dairy free chocolate! They stock the very popular dairy and gluten free chocolate known as 'Moo Free,' alongside their own brand and Kinnerton, which is also nut free.

I also like Asda, whose range has definitely improved, over the last year, and Waitrose, which tends to stock more higher end free from merchandise, such as Booja Booja. I'm so thrilled that I can now go to Waitrose and buy a fabulous dairy free ice cream imported from the US. I am not such a fan of Morrison's or Co-op, as, in my experience,  their range tends to be quite small, although I have heard that some Morrisons stock a dairy free cheese known as 'Cheezly'. UPDATE May 2016: Morrison's have recently expanded their Free From ranges- they now stock a lot more products, so if you live nearby, take a look!

'Free From' aisle, Asda, Chandler's Ford, Hampshire

Marks and Spencers have finally begun to take note of the Free From market. The other year they brought out some some gluten free products and last year followed suite with a 'Made Without Dairy' range of milks, dairy free spread and even chocolate! However, only the larger ones seem to really be worth visiting. 

Smaller chains such as Aldi and Lidl, don't really stock much in the way of Free From products, down my way, but do seem to flirt with the idea from time to time! I got really excited when Aldi began to stock a few items not so long ago - a loaf and some soup, but these soon disappeared. However, Lidl has just recently advertised a gluten free promotion.


Ocado

Is an online supermarket, but is not available in the whole of the UK. You may need a UK-based friend or relative to supply an address, to where you can get your stuff ordered. They have a fantastic Free From range, which is much better than the other supermarkets, and their website has a very useful filtering system to help you work out which products are suitable for you. The only draw-back is the delivery fee! Find out more here.


Vegan & Health Food Shops

There are other options for Free From shopping other than the supermarkets - I often visit my local independent health food shops. Independent stores can be slightly more expensive, but often stock products that chains will not and, in my experience, might be open to trying or ordering in products that you've seen online, but can't buy elsewhere!


Holland and Barrett

Holland and Barrett is a well-known health food chain store, found in high streets, throughout the UK. It very much depends on the shop as to how good the Free From range happens to be. Some stores have a chiller and freezer section and some do not. Bizarrely, the best stores are not always in the biggest towns. So, for example, I live near Southampton, Winchester and Eastleigh. Of all of these, Eastleigh is the smaller town, but has the better range!

Good branches of Holland and Barrett will stock a good range of dairy free UHT milk and yogurt, including this dairy and soya free yogurt. They sell Booja Booja dairy and soya free ice cream, some gluten free and Vegan frozen pies, as well as a variety of dairy free cheeses. They are also expanding their chilled ranges to include Violife cheese and Pudology's new dairy and soya free yogurts!!

Dairy free chocolate can also be found here, particularly at Easter and Christmas, when their range quite noticeably expands!


London

London has some amazing Health Food and Vegan shops where you can find some great Free From products:

Whole Foods Market The biggest is the one in Kensington, where, in fact, there's so much choice, it's bewildering! Whole Foods Market also have a cafe!

Vegan X Is a Vegan clothing and food store, based near King's Cross.

Whole Foods Market, Clapham Junction, London

Home Counties

The Home Counties (the outlying counties clustered around London) are also generally quite well served - both by the supermarkets, and health food shops, on the whole.

If you find yourself in Surrey, check out Food for Thought is a good-sized health food shop that has two branches in Surrey - one in Kingston and the other (larger one) in Guildford.

In Hampshire, there's a large Vegan store in Southampton, which I have yet to visit!


The Regions

However, here are one or two gems out in the more regional areas of the UK that are worth knowing about:

Alternative Stores in Newcastle also have an online store that delivers throughout the UK

Goodness Direct are mainly an online Health Food Shop, but are based in the Northampton are. You can pick up your shopping direct from their base in Daventry, if you are based nearby.

And here (based on personal experience) is where to go on the Isle of Wight!

However, keep your eyes peeled, 'cos Free From food can turn up in the strangest of places! I've noted some short runs of dairy free milk and other products in 99p shops, whilst some garden centres, and farm shops also now stock free from. Just look at these products, found in Haskin's Garden Centre, near Southampton:

OK, I admit it's mostly gluten free! 

Scotland

From what I can gather Scotland, like any parts of the north, doesn't seem quite as well served as some other parts of the UK. 


Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is another case in point, altogether! Shipping seems to be the major problem, in this case. For anyone travelling to this part of the UK, I would suggest you contact Laura of Dairy Free Kids (via Face Book or @dairyfreekids, on Twitter). She's from the Republic of Ireland, but is probably still likely to know more than I about shopping in Northern Ireland!



Reading Food Labels

All food products in the UK must be labelled according to the EU's new regulations see here for clarification. This is meant to help food shoppers with allergies find out which food will be suitable for them. It also applies to food sold in cafes/restaurants whether sold loose or packed. 

Some manufacturers may include extra advice, concerning the risks of any products made alongside other products containing relevant allergens, but they are not required to do so, by law. In fact, sometimes this can be more of a hindrance, as some stores, afraid of being prosecuted seem to slap 'may contain' warnings on almost everything! 

If you have a dairy allergy, take particular care when buying Vegan products listed as 'dairy free' they may not be quite as free from dairy as you assume - they're often manufactured on the same lines as dairy products, so check their labels! I have been caught out by this several times, so do take care!


Over to you!

Do you live here in the UK, and have something to add? Or, have you visited here and made some great finds? Please add your top tips in the comments section below! 

Many thanks and Happy Free From Shopping!


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Self catering in Switzerland?? What you need to know about shopping Free From