If you’re looking for a quick and easy nut-free paleo birthday cake recipe, look no further. This Gluten Free Birthday Cake was devoured by the boys and their friends, and I thought it was amazing, too. Who can resist chocolate cake smothered in rich, creamy chocolate frosting? I can’t!
Both of my boys are well into high school now, so I am absolutely cherishing each and every birthday we celebrate before they are off to college! Between the two of them, I can count the number of high school birthday celebrations that remain on one hand. Goodness, how time flies.
Even though the boys are super independent now, and I have more time on my hands, I still have a commitment to creating simple recipes with as little fuss as possible. This homemade birthday cake recipe has only 7 ingredients, and the batter is thrown together in a food processor in a couple of minutes. This cake recipe is easier to make than one from a mix.
Gluten Free Birthday Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 8 large eggs
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup honey
Instructions
- Pulse together dry ingredients in a food processor
- Pulse in wet ingredients
- Grease two 6 inch springform pans with coconut oil
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans
- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes
- Cool and frost with a double batch of Chocolate Frosting
- Serve
This Gluten Free Birthday Cake recipe is based on my Paleo Chocolate Cupcake recipe. The batter I created above will fill two 6-inch cake pans, which are significantly smaller than traditional 9-inch cake pans. I like to use a smaller sized cake pan as it results in a cake that is elegantly tall. The height of this cake really seems to impress the boys and their friends. On that note, this recipe won’t work for standard 9-inch cake pans as you will end up with a pancake, rather than a birthday cake.
I experimented with this Gluten Free Birthday Cake recipe and made it with butter which worked incredibly well. The texture was unbelievably moist and the flavor very sweet. If you want to use butter it is a 1:1 substitute for the coconut oil in this recipe.
This gluten-free, dairy-free birthday cake yields around 10 servings and is absolutely amazing with my dairy-free Paleo Chocolate Frosting. During one test batch of the cake, I changed up the frosting and created an easy chocolate buttercream recipe, which I’d be happy to post. Leave a comment and let me know if you’d like to see it here on the blog! Update: the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe is now live!
If you’re in the mood for easy, gluten-free desserts, take a peak at my second book Gluten-Free Cupcakes. It has everything from Red Velvet Cupcakes to Triple Chocolate Cupcakes, and oh so much more.
Here are some of my other nut-free paleo dessert recipes for you!
Jenny Mathew says
Can i make a vanilla cake with this recipe? I love plain cakes and so does my daughter. I dont see a recipe for vanilla birthday cakes. Thats why I ask. I will try myself otherwise and let you know how it goes
Elana says
Jenny, thanks for your comment. I will be posting a recipe for a Vanilla Birthday Cake soon!
Holly says
Yay!!!
Elana says
Here’s the link to my Paleo Vanilla Birthday Cake recipe:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-vanilla-birthday-cake/
Enjoy!
Elana
Danielle says
Hi Elana- do you pulse in the 1/2 cup coconut oil and if you do do you have to melt it before hand, and then grease the pans with additional coconut oil. I’m new to all of this:) Thank you! Your site is amazing!
Elana says
Danielle, there is no need to melt the coconut oil. Yes, grease the pan with a bit of extra oil. So glad you are enjoying my site :-)
Nicky Barek says
Thank you for this awesome recipe! I made it for my daughter’s 3rd birthday and she devoured it (as did I)! I bought a gluten free cake from a store as well, and this was soooo much better!! It was light and chocolatey and perfect! I will never buy another cake again!
Elana says
Nicky, happy birthday to your little one! So glad to hear that the cake was perfect, we love it too :-)
Kaila Lurendez says
Thank you for making this recipe I’ve been looking for hours and I came across this one. It was my dads 39th birthday and he loves chocolate.He devoured it. Also I made this was so simple and easy. I’m 12 and I was able to make it!
Elana says
Kaila, so glad to hear this was devoured, and happy birthday to your Dad!
Myra Turmenne says
Hi. Can I substitute applesauce for some of the eggs?
Thanks.
Elana says
Hi Myra, I haven’t had any success in substituting other ingredients for eggs in my recipes. If you do experiment please let us know how it goes. In the meantime, here’s a link to my Egg-Free Recipes page for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/diets/egg-free/
Enjoy!
Elana
MrsChris3 says
Hi Elana , I made this today with 1/2 C UNsalted butter instead of Coconut Oil, but everything else per the recipe …Whoa it turned out GREAT! I didn’t have 2 -6″ pans , so I used my glass 7X11( Sprayed it with Coconut oil & baked 30 mins) . Thank you for the recipe.
Elana says
Thanks! So glad you liked it!
minty11 says
Hi,
I’m planning on making this cake,
but I have a 9 inch pan
How do I have to change the temperature and quantity of the ingredients?
Also is there any other substitute for the coconut flour?
Elana says
Hi Minty, I haven’t tried those changes so not sure. If you do experiment please let us know how it goes.
Courtney McManus says
I would love to have this cake for my 2 year olds birthday- however, we will be traveling and will not be in a place that will allow me to bake it at that time. Do you know if this cake would do well if I made it and froze it for two days? Thanks!
Elana says
Courtney, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know how it goes! Happy birthday to your 2 year old!
Allie says
Anyone try baking this yet in a different dimension pan? I have everything but 6″ spring form pans!
Abeims says
I made a double recipe and baked it in a large sheet cake and it worked great.
Marilyn says
How about using a larger pan and cutting the cake in half and making it a layer cake that way??
Julie Rocheleau says
Has anyone tried to make this without the sweetener?
I can’t have any sugar….
Do I need to add something to compensate for the liquid? Pumpkin puree perhaps?
Hayley says
I haven’t made this yet, but I am planning to sub 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce for the honey. I am unable to have sugar either but am not a big fan of stevia. I’ve been having success with subbing the applesauce for sweetener in other recipes (if subbing for a liquid sweetener I just sub directly…if subbing for a solid sweetener, then I add 1/4 c flour to my recipe for every 1 c applesauce I use).
dolphin says
you could try birch tree xylitol which works cup for cup like sugar but safe for diabetics and candida etc… i am going to try this recipe using xylitol, but add maybe some extra butter/coconut oil to make up for the lack of honey… :)
Elana says
Julie, here’s a link to my Keto Recipes Page for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/diets/keto/
Enjoy!
Elana
RC says
I don’t have a food processor – would a stand mixer affect the results? I also didn’t see anything in the previous comments about results from doubling the recipe, but I’m planning on trying it out for my daughter’s birthday cake – thanks for the recipe!
Elana says
Hi RC, I haven’t tried that so not sure.
Laura says
I used by bullet blender and it worked great.