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!
Kelly says
Hello Elana,
I’m new to paleo cooking. I want to make this for my boyfriend. Is the 1/2c coconut oil solid or liquid ? Thanks . I’m looking forward to making this.
Elana says
Hi Kelly, liquid or solid will work :-)
Kelly Feeney says
I made the cake with cocoa powder from Trader Joes and it worked fine, lovely flavor. I made the buttercream frosting with 55% dark chocolate baking chips and butter–other than needing to put the frosting into the freezer to thicken– frosting came out perfectly. We had it on New Year’s Eve and it was delectable. For once a forgiving gluten free baking recipe. I did buy the recommended cake pans which are essential I am sure.
Elana says
Hi Kelly, so glad to hear that you are finding this cake and frosting delectable :-)
Cricket says
I tried this by doubling the recipe and placed it in a 9×13 pan. I baked for 50 minutes and it was done. I live at high altitude so that might effect your time if different just keep checking it. Also when I doubled I couldn’t use my food processor so I used my kitchen aid and whisked the eggs first then added all the wet and then stirred in the dry after pulsing them in a food processor. Turned out great. Thanks for all the comments that got me to that point.
Camille says
Thanks for your tip. I want to make this for a family of 7 so I need a bigger cake. Glad I saw your comment.
Nina says
Thanks Elana, your recipes are always my go to as I know they will always work out fabulously. So I am planning on making this for my son’s first birthday in a few weeks time. We are having lots of guests (around 60!) and I am planning on making this a tiered cake, and most likely doubling the recipe to make in a larger pan. If you or anyone else has any tips/recommendations on how to do this, it would be much appreciated! In particular, if I was to double the recipe, what size pan do you think would be best? A little nervous, but will do a trial run this week to see how it turns out. Many thanks.
Elana says
Hi Nina, I haven’t tried making this into a larger cake, so not sure if that would work. If you do experiment please let us know how it goes. Happy birthday to your son!
Dana says
Hi Elana,
Love your recipes– they are a staple in my paleo home! Quick question about substituting butter. Do you sub salted or unsalted butter? Do you melt or soften it? Thanks again!!
Elana says
Hi Dana, I use salted butter at room temp (it’s between melted and fridge temp) and cut the salt in the recipe in half. Hope you and yours enjoy my Paleo Birthday Cake!
HEIDI says
Anyone know how I can revise this for a diabetic? I know I can add Stevia, but what to sub for the 1/2 c honey?
Gordon says
Agave nectar should work. It’s mostly fructose, so won’t have much effect on your blood sugar levels
Elizabeth Priest says
Looks great as chocolate, but my kid won’t eat chocolate cake lol
Elizabeth Priest says
Have you posted the frosting yet? Have you tried making this with vanilla cake and vanilla frosting our found a good recipe? Thanks!
Elana says
Elizabeth, yes I have! Here’s the link to the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
https://elanaspantry.com/chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Hope you love it as much as we do :-)
xoxox
Elana
Sharon says
Thank you, Elana. I am sugar free, using only use pure liquid stevia, so I appreciated the comments about a substitute for honey.
Just a note, rather than searching through comments for an answer or asking you the same question again, visitors can use the “find” option in the Word menu (typing “honey” for example) which will highlight everywhere that word is mentioned (should save everybody time).
Also, can you include the photo in your printable recipes? I’m using cut/paste to Word so I can include the photo.
Thank you, Sharon
Elana says
Thanks Sharon! I will look into getting the photos to print with the recipes :-)
Elisa says
Oh my goodness, this looks and sounds absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Samantha says
Is the coconut oil melted down or room temperature?
Elana says
Hi Samantha, either way will work :-)