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Not only have Greggs expressed their interest in a gluten free range for 2016 - UK cake shop chain Patisserie Valerie have announced they will be launching a brand new gluten free cake range. And it hits the shop tomorrow.
I've never been in a Patisserie Valerie shop before - there is not one near me anyway - and every time I've visited London I've walked past it and thought 'oh, look at all those amazing cakes I cannot eat'.
And while their gluten free range is pretty good - I was lucky enough to get a sneaky preview this weekend - it's still not quite the classic patisserie I had hoped I might finally be able to try in gluten free format.
The new range includes:
- Belgian chocolate brownie
- Marble cake
- Flapjack
- Chocolate muffin
- Ginger biscuit
The range of gluten free Patisserie Valerie cakes!
Plus, customers can also order a gluten free double chocolate celebration cake which comes in an 8 inch size (serving 8-10 people) and costs £34.50. Each of the individual cakes are £2.45 to eat in or £2.10 take away.
In terms of taste, I really enjoyed all of the products. Surprisingly, the three things I thought I would enjoy the least - the gluten free ginger biscuit, flapjack and muffin - were my favourites! The flapjack was really gooey, the biscuit had an amazingly rich flavour and chewy texture, and the muffin was amazing - so moist and packed with loads of chocolate chunks!
Scoffing a gluten free ginger biscuit!
While I enjoyed these products, I am still trying to establish how they stand in terms of cross contamination. There is no mention of this anywhere in Patisserie Valerie's press release, which states they have been working on the gluten free range for a while after a lot of requests from customers.
I've emailed them to find out, and will of course update when I find out more. I know while many are excited for these new gluten free ranges popping up everywhere, others feel gluten free has been commercialised and has just become a mainstream fad.
The way I see it, is the more choice coeliacs have, the better. Yes, there may be all these other people who are ditching gluten for the fashion statement, and even though I probably will never go to Patisserie Valerie and buy these products because of my nutrition and lifestyle choices, for many it's nice to have the option.
Gluten free marble cake? Er, yes please!
Yes, I choose to eat healthily and enjoy eating protein bars or grabbing some freshly cooked chicken over cake most days, but there are many who miss these kinds of foods so dearly post-coeliac diagnosis, and for them, it's great.
Have you tried the new Patisserie Valerie gluten free range? What do you think? Comment below and let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear them!
Good to know,thanks. For proper French patisserie you need to go to Helmut Newcake in Paris (helmutnewcake.com). I do hope something similar will arrive in the UK soon.