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!
rosanna slade says
Hi could I leave out the cocoa powder and make this a plain cake??
Elana says
Hi Rosanna, thanks for your comment. I don’t think that would work. Perhaps you might like to checkout my Paleo Vanilla Cupcake recipe:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-vanilla-cupcakes/
They make perfect cupcakes, but I’m not sure they’ll work as a cake, if you experiment, please let us know if it works.
Enjoy!
Elana
Elana says
Quick update! Here’s the link to my Paleo Vanilla Birthday Cake recipe:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-vanilla-birthday-cake/
Enjoy!
Elana
Elyssa says
Hi. I can find every size cake pan in my home except for 6 inch. The 4 inch seems way to small for my family of 6
If I used a 8 inch, would I double the receipe?
Elana says
Hi Elyssa, thanks for your comment. I haven’t tried making this in an 8-inch pan so not sure if that would work. If you do experiment, please let us know how it goes.
andrea hansen says
Hey Elana, love your cake, mine turned out great! Wondering why u use soda instead of powder… MY cake was delicious but flat, i notice in your picture yours looks like it rises…
Elana says
Hi Andrea, so glad you liked the cake. This recipe is designed for two 6-inch cake pans, if you use two 9-inch cake pans it will only fill those size pans up around halfway and your cake will seem flat. It’s less of a rising issue than a spacial issue. If you make it again please let us know how it goes!
Layla says
if I were to substitute the honey for sugar, would I need to add any additional liquid?
Elana says
Hi Layla, thanks for your comment. I haven’t cooked with sugar since the year 2001, no joke, so I’m not sure. If you do experiment I hope you’ll stop back by and let us know how it goes :-)
Samantha says
Do you happen to know the caloric information for the recipe?
Elana says
Hi Samantha, thanks for your comment. Some of my readers use this website to calculate nutrition information:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/brand/nutrition-facts-calories/elanas-pantry
I hope this is useful!
Elana
Samantha says
Okay, thanks!
Tee says
Hi Elena, I just made your cake, and it came out delish. I’m so excited to find an easy gluten free recipe that I can add to my diet. I had your almond flour dessert recipe cookbook from the library before I even came upon this site, and then made the connection. Thanks so much!
Elana says
Hi Tee! So glad to hear that you are enjoying this cake and my cookbooks!
Rushmi says
Thank you so much for this cake Elana. I am on a strick sugar free diet at the moment and REALLY miss cake. This recipe has made me very happy.
Question can I freeze un-iced cakes?
Elana says
Hi Rushmi, thanks for your comment! I haven’t tried that so not sure, if you do please let us know how it goes :-)
Mel says
This is a great recipe! I had to slightly adjust my cooking temp and I had to cook my cakes for 20mins longer. But turned our awesome! and yum!
Michele says
I’ve made this AHHHHHMAZING cake 3 times. Maple syrup works great. Thank you for wonderful recipes.
moira says
if using maple syrup is it still half a cup? thanks!
Ana says
Can I substitute the honey for maple syrup?
Elana says
Hi Ana, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you experiment with the recipe please let us know how it goes!
Katie says
Best cake ever! Love this and love the frosting! I made once for my daughters 2nd birthday and my husband and daughter just made for my birthday. It comes out a bit flat if you use a regular cake size but you could double and put frosting in the middle. Thanks for this recipe :)
Elana says
Katie, so glad to hear that you are loving this cake!