Nestled next to The Senator’s Inn within Savoy, RegCakes has provided gluten-free baked goods to our area for nearly ten years. Their move next to The Senators Inn was recent earlier this year, as they were in Lincoln Square Mall from 2021 to 2023.
Since 2015, RegCakes has grown from a cottage food operation to today with a full-scale retail location with multiple cases of gluten-free food on offer.
While having gluten-free food isn’t uncommon in our area, selling only gluten-free food is a rarity and a real gift to those who need it. Though not gluten-free myself, I’ve tried RegCakes in the past and enjoyed it, so I was curious about their menu. I shared these treats with my partner, so she could offer her input, as well.
To kick things off, we went with a gluten-free cinnamon roll ($3) that we warmed up for 30 seconds in the microwave. I wouldn’t leave it in any longer than that unless you like cinnamon rolls scalding hot, though. The time of 30 seconds was just enough to fully melt the frosting, which my partner and I both loved. Ironically, the cinnamon roll itself had texture closer to bread than we expected for being gluten-free. Though we both wanted a little more cinnamon, we enjoyed the cinnamon roll overall. We were lucky buying this on sale!
Curious how RegCakes handled one of my favorite treats, we bought a gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookie bar ($4). Using a fork to eat, we were surprised by the fragility of the bar. We enjoyed the light frosting and dark chocolate chips, though the texture was not what we expected. I’m used to chocolate chip bars being thick and dense, but this tasted much closer to cake. It was a dessert that could use a glass of milk to offset the dryness.
We also wanted to try at least one cupcake, so we went with a lemon blueberry ($4.25). What a refreshing snack! RegCakes used plenty of fresh blueberries that made the cake incredibly moist. The frosting was quite thick with a noticeable lemon aftertaste. We made short work on this one! If this is anything to go by, we can easily recommend all fruit desserts made by RegCakes.
For something more on the savory side, we snacked on a brioche roll ($3.50). Of course, we had to heat up the roll and put some butter on it for an accurate comparison to how we usually eat bread. Biting into the roll, it was nice, soft, and relatively moist though less so than the cupcake. With an initially good first impression, I couldn’t help noticing an aftertaste that reminded me that, yes, I was not eating a gluten-based roll. This was more noticeable than with the cookie bar since there was only butter to mask the taste.
Despite not going out of my way to eat gluten-free food on a daily basis, I enjoyed this deep-dive into gluten alternatives at RegCakes. Even trying four wildly different items, I missed entire categories of foods like take-and-bake pizzas, hot sandwiches, cookies, brownies and more.
While I’m not sure if I’d get the brioche roll or chocolate chip bar again, I’m very open to trying more cupcakes and likely the pizzas, as well.
Next time I’ll try to remember to bring cash so I can take advantage of their 4% cash discount!
RegCakes Bakery
801 N Dunlap Ave
Savoy
T-F 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sa 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.