Birthdays are a huge thing in our house, we love celebrating each other. And, who doesn’t love a Gluten Free Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting birthday cake?
Gluten Free Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
My Gluten Free Vanilla Cake recipe is made with six ingredients total. Yes! You’ve got that right. You can have an amazing gluten-free dessert for birthday celebrations that turns out perfectly every time.
Easy Gluten-Free Cake
Better yet, mixing the batter for this cake is as easy as using a cake mix. The difference? Homemade Birthday Cake tastes so much better, and it’s healthy too!
People fell hard for my Chocolate Birthday Cake, and then asked for a Vanilla Birthday Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, so I had to make another fabulously healthy dessert for y’all.
Happy Birthday Cake
This easy Gluten-Free Birthday Cake recipe is so simple that my boys used to throw it together when they were in grade school.
I love it when readers show me their little ones making my cake recipes over on Instagram.
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Homemade Birthday Cake Recipe
Yup, my cake recipes from scratch are so easy an elementary school student can make them, and this homemade birthday cake recipe is one of my faves!
Gluten Free Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 9 large eggs
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pulse coconut flour and baking soda in a food processor
- Pulse in eggs, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla
- Grease two 6 inch springform pans
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans
- Place cake pans on a baking sheet, then bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes
- Cool and frost with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Serve
Birthday Cake Recipe
For this birthday cake recipe, all you do is throw the coconut flour and baking soda in the food processor, then pulse in the wet ingredients –eggs, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. That’s it!
To learn more about the main ingredient, coconut flour, check out my Ultimate Guide to Coconut Flour.
How to Make a Cake Tall
After that, transfer the batter to two greased 6-inch pans. If you want your cakes to be tall like mine, be sure to use the 6-inch pans.
If you use an 8-inch pan the batter will not fill the pan properly, in turn, your cake will be sad 😟 and flat.
Bake Cake
If you need to know how to bake cake, well, that’s even simpler. Place your cake pans with the batter on a baking sheet, put it in the oven and you’re off to the races.
Frosting Cake
Now let’s talk about frosting cake. There’s one basic step that ensures the results of frosting the cake will be gorgeous.
Let the cake cool for two hours minimum after it comes out of the oven. I have the best results frosting the cake when I bake the cake the night before, and then let it cool overnight at room temperature.
Make-Ahead Birthday Cake Recipe
When we throw a birthday bash that requires a lot of set-up, I make Vanilla Birthday Cake a couple of days ahead of time.
I bake the cakes and cool them in the pans overnight. The next morning, I remove them from the pans and then wrap them individually in foil. I store the Gluten Free Vanilla Cake in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I frost the cake with my homemade frosting the day of the birthday party.
Chocolate Frosting
My homemade chocolate frosting recipe really takes the cake here, no pun intended. I am one of those people who likes a little cake with my frosting.
Homemade Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Use a double batch of Chocolate Buttercream Frosting for this birthday cake. That’s what you see in the photo.
I serve my cakes on cake stands because they have a big wow-factor and look incredibly special this way. More on the best cake stands below!
Dairy-Free Frosting Recipes
If you don’t eat dairy, try my Dairy-Free Chocolate Frosting recipe for an all-out dairy-free birthday cake celebration.
Happy Birthday Wishes
Did you know I launched Elana’s Pantry in 2006? This year is our fifteenth birthday! I love this community so much.
We are a motley crew when it comes to food allergies and I work to create recipes that meet the needs of each person here.
Food Allergies
I want you to be able to break bread, and cake, with friends and loved ones. If a recipe doesn’t meet your food allergy needs, experiment and use substitutions to customize it for you.
That includes substitutions for this Gluten Free Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe.
Substitutions
I wish I had a crystal ball when it comes to knowing how to make perfect recipes. Unfortunately, I don’t. This means I test each recipe dozens of times.
So, the only way to know if a substitution works is to try! Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Cake Stand
Here are some of my favorite cake stands! Use them to create a breath-taking presentation when you make Vanilla Birthday Cake with Chocolate Frosting or any of the cake recipes from scratch below:
Cake Recipes
Although these cakes may not be labeled as birthday cakes, I’ve received several comments that they have become family favorites for birthday celebrations.
Low-Carb Strawberry Shortcake
Most strawberry shortcake recipes from scratch are complicated. My homemade Low-Carb Strawberry Shortcake recipe is incredibly easy to put together.
I love it because the vanilla cake is made with six ingredients total. My family loves it too and tells me it’s one of the best cake recipes with fruit they’ve ever had.
Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Homemade Coffee Cake is one of my favorite comfort foods, and my gluten-free coffee cake is super healthy.
Nut-Free Carrot Cake
This Nut-Free Carrot Cake recipe made with coconut flour is another cake recipe from scratch that’s healthy and super easy to assemble. Throwing a party is enough work, why make the cake difficult?
Mug Cake
My Mug Cake is the perfect single-sized treat. It’s made with five ingredients total –almond flour, cacao powder, an egg, maple syrup, and baking soda.
Make this when you’re craving dessert, but either don’t want to take time to bake a full cake or want to allow everyone to add their own toppings. This would be so much fun with a group of friends.
Strawberry Cupcakes
Back when the boys were growing up, this strawberry cupcakes recipe was the perfect nut-free treat for school!
The recipe is an exclusive from my book Gluten-Free Cupcakes, but I’ve also shared the recipe here on the website with our Elana’s Pantry community.
Get the Book! Gluten-Free Cupcakes
Speaking of cupcakes Gluten-Free Cupcakes is a great investment if you’re looking for birthday cake style recipes.
And I have a Vegan Chocolate Cupcake recipe in the book for all of my egg-free, dairy-free readers!
Gluten-Free Orange Cake with Almond Flour
Because I loved chocolate-covered orange peel growing up, I’ve always wanted to smother Orange Cake in my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe, the same frosting used here in my Vanilla Birthday Cake recipe. I’ve had many readers try this and they all tell me it’s incredible!
Cake Recipes from Scratch
Vanilla Birthday Cake with Chocolate Frosting is one of my favorite cake recipes from scratch. Leave a comment and let me know what your favorite is!
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives. I first shared this Vanilla Birthday Cake with Chocolate Frosting in September 2016.
Triguna says
Wow, such Mouth-watering cakes that I just can’t wait to try this one. Thanks.
Elana says
Thanks Triguna!
Vicki says
Absolutely delicious! I made this for my son’s birthday this weekend. He had asked for a rainbow cake so I split the mixture between four 6-inch pans, using all natural food colouring. and it cooked in just under 15 minutes. A really nice alternative to your wonderful chocolate birthday cake that has made many appearances in our house! I found that I didn’t need to trim the cakes level to stick the layers together with the chocolate buttercream frosting (also amazing!). I think we got 16 slices out of it too, sized for little ones. I will definitely be making it again, it was so easy, looked wonderful and tasted amazing! Thank you Elana!
Elana says
Vicki, thanks for your wonderful comment, it brings back so many wonderful memories for me of when my boys were little and we made this cake!
Setareh says
Hi Elana! Thanks so much for your recipe, I’m hoping to make this for my baby’s birthday. Are there any adjustments that need to be made if we live in altitude (Denver)? I know you live in Boulder, so my guess is no, but just checking!
Elana says
Setareh, no need to adjust anything. Happy birthday to your little one!
RJ Bradley says
Do you think this would do well cooking in an instant pot, covered tightly? Or microwave? Thinking eggs wouldn’t take so well in the microwave. I need an outdoor kitchen.
Elana says
RJ, thanks for your comment! I don’t think either of those will work, but LMK if I’m wrong :-)
Roxie Fiste says
Hi Elana – I’m allergic to coconut so could I sub sesame or almond flour for this cake?
Thank you – I’m loving your keto/low carb goodie recipes!
Elana says
Roxie, I haven’t tried that so not sure. I have a bunch of wonderful recipes made with almond flour in my first book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook which you can get here:
https://amzn.to/20XA3ic
Enjoy,
Elana
Jennifer says
Hi!
We are dairy free and ghee also does not work for us. Can you please recommend an alternative to the salted butter? Would coconut oil work?
Thank you!
Elana says
Jennifer, I haven’t tried that so not sure. Here’s a link to my Dairy-Free Recipes page for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/dairy-free-diet/
I hope you find something you like!
Elana
Max Barnhart says
I make this recipe regularly with coconut oil. It works great! Most of Elana’s recipes work well with a coconut oil substitute.
Elana says
Thanks Max!
Leslie George says
Hello Elena, Thank you for sharing your recipes. I am on a low carb program and the maple syrup is not something that I can eat. Will your recipe work just as well with Erythritol or Monk Fruit sweeteners? Thank you for taking the time to answer.
Elana says
Leslie, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Connie says
I made this vanilla cake today but I noticed that there was a very thin layer of “egg looking thing” at the bottom of the cake, why is it? What did I do wrong? Thanks
Elana says
Connie, that may be an due to under mixing the batter, but more likely because of not using the brand of coconut flour called for in the recipe. For more on that go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/coconut-flour-ingredient/
Enjoy!
Elana
Ana says
Hi Elana, I’ve commented here before and will do again: I love this recipe! I’ve done it using larger spring forms (as one batch), as cupcakes and also using 4 6in spring forms, to get a tall cake with thinner layers.
It’s a keeper and my whole family enjoys it.
Just as a advice to first time users os coconut flour: unlike regular wheat flour, there is an enormous difference between coconut flour brands which affects how much liquid they absorb. The trick is to learn the expected consistency and adjust the liquids accordingly. In my case, I normally use less liquid than Elana’s recipe because I find less enough to get a cake consistency. Today I did this recipe with 7 eggs only. So add liquids little by little, mix and wait a bit for the flour to suck th moisture and add more if necessary.
Elana says
Ana, thanks for letting me know this recipe is a keeper and that your whole family enjoys it! Per coconut flour, here are the brands that work perfectly in my recipes:
https://elanaspantry.com/ingredients/coconut-flour/
Thanks for all of your wonderful comments and observations!
Elana
paula says
hi elana, I cannot find those coconut flour brands where I live. in that case what should I be looking out for in the recipes
Elana says
Paula, thanks for your comment. I would recommend buying one of the recommended brands online :-)
Joanna says
Hi Elana, I love you recipes and I am so excited to bake this cake for my 3 year old’s birthday! Two questions: can I use two 8 inch pans instead of 6 inch? I need it wider to fit my cake toppers :) Also, do you have a vanilla frosting recipe? He doesn’t like chocolate. Thank you!
Elana says
Joanna, the cakes will be super flat like pancakes if you use a bigger pan and may also burn so I would not do that. Here’s a link to all of my frosting recipes for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/category/toppings/
Happy birthday to your 3 year old!!!
Elana