For those non-bread confectionery bakers who think they’ve dodged the hail of bullets from Real Bread Campaign’s team of anti-plant bread snipers, think again. The Campaign for Real Cake was launched at Speciality & Fine Food Fair in September, which rails against "highly processed, mass-produced, chemistry set cakes".

The barometer of a "real cake" is whether it can realistically be made in your home kitchen using ingredients in your cupboard. "Some people, especially children, are now only used to processed cake and do not know what real cake tastes like, while for others, real cake is just a fading memory," said Cambridgeshire artisan baker Nutty Tarts, which is behind the campaign. "The result is that cakes lose their specialness and attraction and become just another bland food offer."

The stated aim of the campaign is to:

l produce a petition calling for more real cake

l develop a symbol of recognition for cakes baked in the traditional way, using only kitchen cupboard ingredients

l call on the government for tax breaks/incentives to encourage smaller artisan bakers such as those that benefit microbreweries.

"We welcome all real cake producers to come together and celebrate all that is good about Real Cake and to ensure that every child has the opportunity to taste real cake," said Nutty Tarts MD Deborah Armiger.

Sound familiar? While the highly organised Real Bread Campaign has the backing of food policy lobbyists Sustain, Real Cake at first glance appears to be opportunistic PR. As they say, the proof of the pudding...