I tend to avoid alcohol unless I know the person, having known a few abstainers in my time. Even if, for any reason,he can't eat cake, I'm sure he would appreciate the gesture. If you make something like a ginger cake or fruit cake, they don't go stale quickly - so if he can't eat it, he'll have a little time to pass it on or donate to a coffee morning or something.
I have, in a similar situation sent money, saying 'after any expenses you incurred, you may like to donate this to your favourite charity'. However, in my case,the person probably had incurred some expense, I had no idea of their financial circumstances, and was not in a position to offer a home made cake. I got a nice thank-you, but no mention of what they did with the money.