Free From & Plant-Based Cakes: You Shouldn't Have to Miss Out

There's a particular kind of awkwardness that comes with having a dietary requirement at a celebration. The moment the cake comes out and someone quietly mentions they can't eat it. The slice that gets passed over. The well-meaning host who didn't quite think it through.

It shouldn't be like that. A birthday, a wedding, a christening or a graduation should be an occasion where everyone at the table gets to fully participate, and that includes the cake.

What free from actually means in a bakery context

Free from is a broad term that covers a lot of ground. For some people it means gluten-free, for others dairy-free, vegan, or nut-free. In some cases it's a combination of several. The challenge for bakeries is that genuinely catering for dietary requirements isn't just a matter of swapping one ingredient for another. It requires thought, care and a proper understanding of how different ingredients behave when you change them.

A gluten-free cake that's dry and crumbly isn't a solution. A vegan cake that tastes like a compromise isn't good enough. The standard we hold ourselves to at BKRY is that a free from cake should be just as good as its conventional equivalent, not a consolation prize but something worth choosing in its own right.

What we offer at BKRY

Our free from and plant-based range covers a variety of dietary needs, including gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options across our cakes, cupcakes and treats. Everything is made fresh to order at our Caversham bakery, and our free from bakes can be customised in the same way as our standard range, so if you need a gluten-free celebration cake in a specific flavour and style, that's entirely possible.

If you're ordering for an occasion where dietary requirements are a factor, the most straightforward approach is to check out our Free From range which details which allergen we can cater for in each style.

An important note on cross contamination

We want to be straightforward about this, because we think honesty matters more than reassurance. BKRY is a busy working bakery, and while we take every care with free from orders, we cannot guarantee the complete absence of cross contamination in our kitchen. Allergens including gluten, dairy, eggs and nuts are present in our bakery environment on a daily basis.

For customers managing a lifestyle preference or a mild intolerance, our free from range is a great option and something we're genuinely proud of. For anyone with a severe allergy or a condition such as coeliac disease where even trace amounts are a concern, we would always encourage you to discuss your needs with us directly before ordering so we can give you an honest picture of what's possible and help you make the right decision for your situation.

Ordering for a mixed group

One of the most common scenarios we bake for is a celebration where most guests have no dietary requirements but one or two do. In this situation, a mixed treat box works really well. Our BKRY box brings together a selection of our bakes, and we're happy to separate items for allergens so that everyone knows exactly what they're eating without any awkwardness on the day. 

For larger celebrations, a free from cutting cake or cupcakes alongside the main display cake means everyone gets a proper slice rather than a modified version of someone else's dessert.

A note on plant-based baking

Vegan baking has come an extraordinarily long way in a short space of time. The plant-based cakes and treats we make at BKRY are ones we're genuinely proud of, and many of our customers who don't follow a vegan diet choose them simply because they taste great.

If you've had a poor experience with vegan baking in the past, whether a dense texture, an odd aftertaste or something that just didn't quite work, it's worth giving it another try. The ingredients and techniques available now produce results that simply weren't possible a few years ago.

We are particularly proud of our Vegan Banana Cake. The recipe is even on our blog here- the best banana cake you’ll ever make (and its vegan!) – BKRY

For anyone who's ever been the person who couldn't have the cake

If dietary requirements are something you navigate regularly, you'll know how much it means when someone has genuinely thought about it rather than treating it as an afterthought. A celebration where you can eat everything on the table, including the cake, is a small thing that feels quietly significant.

That's what we're aiming for with everything we make in our free from range. Not a workaround, but something worth having.

You can browse our free from and plant-based collection at bkry.co.uk or pop into the shop on Church Street in Caversham to find out what's available.