They are a favourite of Mary Berry and Nigella Lawson, adorning fashionable patisseries and popular at children’s parties.

But a leading dietitian claims the rise of red velvet cupcakes is fuelling an increase in food allergies.

Dr Isabel Skypala, a consultant allergy dietitian at the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, said changing diets meant adults were increasingly being exposed to new foods which were triggering reactions.

Speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, she cited red velvet cupcakes as an example of a food which could be more dangerous than they seemed.

"When I started working at the Brompton I started seeing children with food allergies at first because you never saw food allergy in adults.