If you're looking for a quick and easy gluten-free birthday cake recipe look no further. This nut-free Paleo 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 that 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.
This Paleo 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 Paleo 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!
Comments
339 responses to “Paleo Birthday Cake”
Would carton egg whites work in place of the 8 eggs? Thanks!
Joni, I would not recommend that :-)
Eggs are in short supply where i live right now, but I do have egg whites in the carton. Thank you for your quick response! I will wait till I have a surplus of eggs and look forward to trying it then. It looks super yummy!
Joni, happy to help! Keep me posted on how you’re doing :-)
Thanks Elana, another success. Eaten with fresh raspberries and almond milk by a friend over for lunch :-)
Rebecca, thanks so much! Glad you’re enjoying this recipe :-)
If you make it a day ahead- should you refrigerate it? Or keep it out at room temp? Thanks so much!
Jana, in that case I would let the cake cool in the pan, then remove it and store well covered in the fridge :-)
Thank you so much for your recipe, I have used it as our part or whole of multiple 3d unicorns, volcanoes, large Lego blocks transformer trucks and more over the last few years. Tonight I am using it as the bottom half of a sphere for a star wars death star. Though it did take almost 2 hours to bake in a hemisphere! I have just doubled or quadrupled the recipe depending on the cake and it is easy to use a food processor too! I look forward to trying your frosting recipes in future.
It is lovely being able to cater for our family as well as guests. Thank you again.
Catriona, what an amazing comment! I love that you’re using this cake for so many fun things :-)
I would love to see pictures of some of your creations!
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe! Have you tried making this with double the serving size? Will I just need twice the amount of ingredients and double the size of the pan? Are there any tips I will need to modify for this size? We’ve got about 20 people coming to my daugther’s party, and we’d love for them to eat the same cake my daugther can eat without having to buy a separate cake for the rest of the non-gf guests. It’s the one time where she can feel like she’s not “different” from everyone else.
Rachel, thanks for your comment! I haven’t tried that so not sure. I hope the party is amazing :-)
Hi Elana!
I am new to your blog and I just made this cake for our Teacher/Staff Appreciation at my daughter’s school. Everyone just raved about how delicious this was!
A few things I did differently was use an 8×8 round pan instead and I put it in the oven for 32 minutes. It turned out PERFECT! I also decided to decorate the top of the cake with an assortment of fresh berries. Your Paleo Chocolate Frosting recipe held them in place, which was helpful. :)
Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful recipe! I am thankful that I can make this for my 5-year-old daughter who can’t have anything with Gluten in it.
Justine, thanks for letting me know that everyone at school raved about how delicious this cake was. I’m so happy to be part of your daughter’s healing journey and she’s very lucky to have a mother like you :-)
I Do not have springform pan‘s what size of a sheet pan would you recommend, 8 x 8 square work good ?
Thank you
Kristy, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
I made this cake in a Bundt pan for a party. It was very short but the taste is what matters most and it was very good. Thank you. :)
Christy, thanks for your comment! If you use the pans called for in the recipe this cake will be very tall, just like in the picture. So glad to hear this was very good :-)
Was it the traditional 6 inch Bundt pan? I am about to do that as in my town I couldn’t find the 6 inch.
Cloud, if you click the highlighted text in the instructions portion of the recipe you will be taken to a place online to buy the pan called for in this recipe :-)
Hi, I really want to make your chocolate birthday cake recipe however my Son is on a yeast free diet – can I substitute xylitol for honey??
He’s also got issues with salicylates – could I use buckwheat flour instead of coconut flour and ghee instead of coconut oil??
Sorry for all of the questions.
Thanks
Natalie
Natalie, thanks for your comment! I’m so sorry, I haven’t eaten any grain or seed-like flours like buckwheat for around 20 years so wouldn’t even know where to start with that. Best of luck :-)
Elana!!! Don’t be creeped out but I could just hug you silly!!!! I am on a very special program to completely reverse a chronic disease and eliminate all medications. So far, three meds are gone! I have no grains or dairy so when I found your site, I nearly fainted! I am overjoyed. I have craved a piece of toast for a long time now and I can make your amazing bread and have toast!!!! I made your chocolate bday cake tonight in preparation of a tea party I’m throwing this coming weekend. The cake baked beautifully. I will bake it for 25 minutes next time…30 minutes was a tad too long. Also, I think I will substitute maple syrup for the honey. But the paleo frosting was INSANELY GOOD!!!!!! Whipped beautifully like I was on Iron Chef!!! My Husband tasted it and flipped out!!! I cannot thank you enough for sharing your passion and your incredible talents. You have taken the time and expertise to make this easy for the rest of us. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I am now the president of your fan club!!!! Be well nice Lady.
Robin, hugs right back to ya! I loved hearing about you and your husband flipping out over my paleo frosting recipe and am so glad you enjoyed this cake. I hope you’ll keep me posted on how you’re doing and am so glad to meet you here :-)
:) The maple syrup was perfect!!!! It brought out the flavor of the cacao beautifully and was chocolatey and rich! The birthday tea was a great success and I actually baked the cake in a bundt pan (rose very pretty to about 2.5-3 inches) and instead of whipping the frosting, I left it as a ganache and drizzled it lovingly over the sides, placing a gorgeous white hydrangea in the center hole. My gal pals could not believe this was a paleo creation and all want your autograph!!! I wish I could share my photo of the cake with you!! ❤️❤️
Robin, it is so wonderful to hear things like, “I…drizzled it lovingly over the sides.” Are you on Instagram? You could post a photo there and use the hashtag #elanaspantry so I can see it. Thanks for your amazing comment :-)
When you made it in a Bundt pan how long did you bake it for? Did you use the recipe as written for the Bundt pan size? Thanks!
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