Let me start out by saying that I seriously can’t believe how freaking fantastic this healthier birthday cake is. It’s paleo friendly, gluten free, grain free and easily dairy free and so good that everyone will think you got it from some fancy bakery. BUT NOPE, you’ve made it from scratch, with love and you can feel good knowing it’s a bit better than traditional cakes.
The first time I made this cake was a few months ago on a whim — it turned out beautifully and tasted exactly like funfetti cake, so I retested it three more times, just to make sure it was absolutely perfect for you. And it is!
Made with grain free almond flour and coconut flour, naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup, fluffy, and beautiful — this gluten free birthday cake is perfect for birthdays or any special celebration. I can’t wait for you to make it — don’t forget to come back and rate the recipe when you do!
Healthy birthday cake ingredients
This healthy birthday cake is gluten free, grain free and easily made dairy free with a simple adjustment. You won’t need too many specialty ingredients either! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Eggs: you’ll need 4 eggs in this birthday cake recipe to give it the proper texture. I have not tested it with vegan eggs (such as flax eggs) so I’m not sure how it would turn out. Let me know if you try it!
- Maple syrup: this healthy birthday cake is naturally sweetened just with pure maple syrup!
- Tahini: I love baking with tahini because it adds the perfect texture and moisture without creating a different flavor.
- Coconut oil: we’re using some coconut oil to add moisture to the cake. You can also sub ghee, melted butter or melted vegan butter.
- Vanilla & almond extract: both vanilla extract and almond extract give the cake that true birthday cake flavor.
- Almond flour: be sure to use a fine, blanched almond flour to get the right texture. I use Bob’s Red Mill.
- Coconut flour: the coconut flour also creates the perfect texture, just remember not to pack it.
- Baking soda & salt: to ensure proper baking.
- Sprinkles: feel free to use any sprinkles you’d like (even fun holiday ones!) I love this natural brand of sprinkles and this one is another great option.
- Butter: salted (or vegan buttery stick such as Earth Balance), at room temperature
- Powdered sugar: the buttercream frosting is sweetened with organic powdered sugar. You’re welcome to try my paleo powdered sugar, too, just note that the color may be darker.
- Optional: you may need to add a bit of milk to the frosting if it’s too thick. I like to use unsweetened vanilla almond milk but any milk will work.
Tips for making this healthy birthday cake
- You need a few essential kitchen tools for this recipe including: 6 inch cake pans, parchment paper, an offset spatula for the frosting, a good set of mixing bowls and a nice cake stand.
- Remember to use eggs that are at room temperature and that your coconut oil has cooled after melting it. This will prevent the eggs from coagulating in the batter.
- Pack your almond flour but DO NOT pack your coconut flour.
- Make sure you follow the directions as written, and wait until the cakes are completely cool before frosting them. After they are frosted, I recommend storing this dairy free birthday cake in fridge for optimal freshness.
- Do a crumb coat for the frosting first. Frost the layers as you normally would and then coat the outside of the cake with a very thin layer of frosting then place in fridge for 10-15 minutes before you finish frosting. This is so that the crumbs stick to this layer of frosting and not your main layer.
- You can make this cake 1-2 days ahead of time and it will still be absolutely delicious!
How to make dairy free birthday cake
This healthy birthday cake recipe can easily be made dairy free by simply using a vegan buttery stick in the frosting. If you have a favorite dairy free or vegan frosting you can feel free to use that, too!
What makes this birthday cake healthy?
While this birthday cake recipe is meant to be a more indulgent treat for special occasions, I made a few swaps from traditional birthday cake to make it a bit healthier (but still absolutely delicious).
- Instead of using white, refined sugar, we’re simply sweetening the cake itself with pure maple syrup. Avoid that sugar headache! You can also try using my paleo powdered sugar in the frosting instead of regular, organic powdered sugar.
- It’s gluten & grain free thanks to almond and coconut flour.
- It’s packed with healthy fats from the tahini, coconut flour and almond flour.
How to store gluten free birthday cake
You can actually make this gluten free birthday cake recipe 1-2 days ahead of time! I like to make the cakes ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for easy assemble, but you can also store it after you’ve frosted the cake, too! I recommend storing the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
How to freeze homemade birthday cake
Feel free to freeze this dairy free birthday cake either frosted or unfrosted for up to 2 months. I recommend freezing it unfrosted and in individual layers for best results. First, wrap each individual layer in plastic wrap, then aluminium foil and then place the cakes in a zip-top freezer bag. When you’re ready to serve it, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then let the cake come to room temperature before serving.
More birthday cake themed recipes
Grain Free Birthday Cake Cookies
Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats
Birthday Cake Cookie Dough Energy Bites
I hope you love this delicious, healthy birthday cake recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Healthy Birthday Cake
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients:
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup tahini
- 1/2 cup melted and cooled coconut oil (or sub ghee or melted butter)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups packed super fine blanched almond flour (I use bob’s red mill)
- ½ cup coconut flour (do not pack)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sprinkles
- For the frosting:
- 1 cup salted butter (or vegan buttery stick such as Earth Balance), at room temperature
- 2 1/2 -3 cups powdered sugar **
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Optional: 2 teaspoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/3 cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Line the bottom of three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper rounds. Spray parchment paper and sides of the pans with nonstick cooking spray. YOU SHOULD USE PARCHMENT PAPER or the cake is likely to stick. Please do not forget.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup and tahini until smooth. Slowly whisk in the melted and cooled coconut oil until it’s well incorporated. Then stir in the vanilla and almond extract. The mixture should be smooth and well combined. Note: It is important that your eggs are at room temperature otherwise the coconut oil will coagulate. The coconut oil should be melted but not HOT, but rather closer to room temp.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well with a rubber spatula until smooth. Next, stir in the sprinkles until combined into the batter.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Divide batter evenly between pans and spread out with a spatula to smooth the tops. Allow batter to sit in pans while your oven preheats. Bake for 18-28 minutes in the two 8-inch pans or 25-35 minutes for three 6-inch pans. Cakes are done when a tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting or removing from the pans. The cake should be room temperature when you frost it. This is very important. Cakes can be made a day ahead if you’d like.
- Make your frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the softened butter (or vegan butter) and whip on high until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and beat for 2-3 minutes more. You may need to add in a teaspoon or two of milk to thin the frosting out, but it depends on how you like it. Finally fold the sprinkles into the frosting with a spatula so that they don’t break up.
- Now it’s time to frost the cake: place about 1-2 tablespoons down onto the cake stand and spread out. Invert cake onto the cake stand, add about ½ heaping cup frosting between each layer, repeat with each cake, then frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. If the cake is slightly ‘naked’ on the outside, that’s okay, it’s going to be delicious! Sprinkle with some additional sprinkles on top to make it look pretty.
- Cake will stay good at room temp for a day or so, then should be placed in the fridge. Cake will stay good for 5-7 days in the fridge, and should be covered to ensure freshness.
Recipe Notes
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
104 comments
i will be making this your cookies and bread for my birthday next year on 19 september Thanks Ramya
Amazing! Enjoy!
Can you make this in a rectangle pan? Any pointers on how to be successful?
Thank you! I really appreciate your site!
I have not tried it, but I think a 9×13 inch pqn should work well. I would check between 25-35 minutes!
This looks amazing!! I’m hoping to make it for my sons 4th birthday next week 🙂 what would you recommend for an egg replacement?
I’ve made two of your cakes before and they were a huge hit with my family!!
I haven’t tested it with flax eggs but let me know if you do! So glad you liked the other cakes!
Hi- Avid reader of your website here, I really do enjoy your recipes/ they inspire me to create my own versions of things. Just wondering why you label a majority of your desserts or treats “healthy” vs just birthday cake. At this point the vibe of your website is clear- I am curious why you feel its necessary to label some of your desserts as healthy or healthier, implying that your others are not. Dessert is delicious, but it is really a health food, or does it really need to be labeled as such? Again just interested to hear your thoughts since you have been open about your relationship/ journey with food, its your website and you can label things however you want!
Hi Liz! Thanks so much for your note – I totally understand where you’re coming from here. For a little insight into the back-end process of recipe creation, when naming recipes we have to consider what people tend to search for online so that they can find these recipes. That’s why we often call out gluten free, grain free, healthy etc. When my desserts are made with more nutritious ingredients (i.e. are naturally sweetened, use unrefined flours instead of refined, etc.) we consider them to be a “healthier” alternative to traditional recipes of the same category, so adding that to the title simply helps people find this one! I hope that helps 🙂
I have everything ready to go and there’s no temp for the oven setting! It’s my 65th birthday cake I’m making and my son’s 31st I put the oven on 350 is this correct ? So many ingredients and steps I hope this is correct
Hi Alice! Apologies for any confusion — the preheat temp is in Step 4 because there are a few steps you can do before preheating the oven (so that it’s not running for so much extra time). Enjoy!
Beautiful looking birthday cake I am just curious on the serving size 8-10?
Thank you! It serves 16 – you’ll find that next to the prep/cook times in the recipe 🙂
This is such a pretty cake, Monique!
Thank you!
Hi there! I would love to make this for my birthday next week, but am not a fan of the cake-building process. If I make this as a bundt cake instead, should I adjust the baking time and / or temperature?
Hi! The baking temperature is good, but you’ll likely need to watch as I’m not sure on timing. Also I’m not sure if this would be enough to fill a bundt pan.
Made this cake last weekend for my Gramma’s bday and it was a huge hit! I will warn that it definitely has a coconut/almond flavor to it, which I totally loved but if you’re looking for more of a vanilla cake flavor, I wouldn’t recommend. Also, I was super concerned when I was baking because the batter was so thick, it almost was like cookie dough, but it ended up baking perfectly following the recipe instructions. I didn’t make the frosting, so I can’t comment on that, but overall, this cake was great!
So glad this one was a hit! And yes the batter is thicker than traditional cake batter because of the flours used. Glad it baked up well!
I can’t wait to make this, it sounds delicious. I have recently started eating gluten free so I am so excited to try this. I’m a baker and have had to make changes to my diet so after looking at the list of ingredients I am so looking forward to this cake. I will definitely post once I have results:)
Perfect! I hope you love this one!
This was delicious! I used this recipe for a little quarantine baking fun I was doing with my sisters where we all made the same cake and sent pictures around. I did the dairy free version and made my frosting pink so I could give the cake to my 3 year old niece and she loved it. I would totally make this again – it was delicious!!!
Amazing! Love that idea 🙂
I was wondering if you could make these into cupcakes? My birthday is this weekend, and I don’t have any cake pans but I do have muffin tins! Hoping I can make it work 🙂
Absolutely! Let us know how they come out 🙂
Hi Monique! Is there a temperature + baking time you would recommend if making as cupcakes?
Hi, Abby! I recommend 350 degrees F for 18-25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let me know how they turn out!
I made this cake for my birthday this year and I was so pleasantly surprised with how delicious it turned out! Even the rest of my family who don’t have the same interest in healthier desserts as me, LOVED IT! Can’t wait to make again 🙂
So happy to hear that! Perfect birthday treat 🙂
Made this for my nephew who is vegan gluten free (due to allergies) and I knew this would be a great option for his birthday. I used Bob’s Red Mill powder egg replacer instead of eggs and it turned out great. May not have risen as much as it would have with eggs, but the texture was great and he loved it!
Hi! Can I replace Tahini with Yogurt or any nut butter you recommend?
Made this yesterday for a birthday party and it was a huge hit! I subbed almond butter for the tahini and it tasted amazing. For the frosting I used earth balance soy and dairy free spread so I did have to up the powdered sugar and didn’t need a lot of almond milk. I put it in 3 8” pans for looks when cutting in so bake time was slightly under 18 minutes. Can’t wait to make it again!
Easy, delicious and a real show stopper! No one will believe you that’s it’s gluten and dairy free! 🙂
Absolutely! The perfect treat 🙂
This cake is amazing. I made it as a cake (with fewer sprinkles and no almond extract) and it was a huge hit! You can taste the tahini in my opinion (although could be different with the almond extract) but it is still delicious. Served it to non-paleo eaters and all raved! I also made this into cupcakes with chocolate chips instead of sprinkles. This is on my list of must bakes (I typically bake paleo – gf/df) – and also easy to make! Thanks Monique 🙂
So glad this was a hit! Such a great dessert 🙂
Hi! Hope everything is well with you! I wish you a happy 2021 year!
My name is Eunice and I’m 16 years old. Two years ago I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and I am learning a lot! I discovered a passion for healthy cooking and decided to create an Instagram page this year @ papinhas.e.paparocas
Today I found a pin for your birthday cake on Pinterest and came to check out the site. I LOVED IT!! I already subscribed to the newsletter and I already have lots of recipes saved to recreate!
Thank you very much and congratulations on the content, I really love it !!
Many kisses <3
Hi Eunice! I’m so glad you’re learning a lot through your journey and have discovered a new passion! This is one of my favorite cakes, too 🙂 I hope you find more recipes here that you love! All the best xo
This was even better than expected. My new favorite GF cake recipe. Super moist.
So happy to hear that!
Love love love this cake!!! Absolutely delicious. The texture was perfect!! The tahini flavor comes through for me and I’m personally a huge fan of the taste, but I may try it again with another nut butter(maybe almond butter( as a replacement just to see if it works/ changes up the flavor. I paired this with AK’s Strawberry Buttercream Frosting and it’s a match made in heaven!
So glad you enjoyed! And yes feel free to try cashew or almond butter 🙂
Hi, I am looking to baking a healthy birthday cake for a 3 year old and cmae across this recipie. This has caught my eye… Just wanted to know could I use almond flour and instead of the coconut flour use gluten free plain flour? Would you by any chance know the ratio? Thank you soo much for this lovely recipie.
I wouldn’t recommend swapping the flours in here – sorry! The texture will change a lot.
Hi! Is there a substitute for tahini in this recipe? Thanks!
Hi! You could try cashew butter.
I want to make these into cupcakes. Have you done this and if so what were the changes
I haven’t, but it should work just fine to leave the recipe as is. You’ll need to bake for 15-25 minutes depending on your oven.
Hi
The receipe look so good
I think I’m gonna make it !!
But what do you mean by “ pack almond flour and don’t pack the coconut flour “ ????
Hi! Pack the almond flour like you would do with brown sugar (i.e. really squish it into your measuring cup). Scoop the coconut flour without packing it down 🙂
This healthier birthday cake recipe looks good, I almost missed the other bakers comments, as I am used to finding them right below.
My big question is can I make it without the sprinkles? Do they add to the necessary sweetness of the cake? Thanks!
We get lots of comments so I try to give people the option to view them all or not 🙂 And I’d recommend keeping the sprinkles in for the sweetness, but I think it will still be delicious without them! Let me know if you give it a try!
This was delicious and the texture was perfect! Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed!
I’d love to make this cake, but looking for some suggestions on swaps for the coconut flour and oil and well as the tahini… I want to make it for my boyfriend’s birthday, but he is allergic to coconut and I don’t have tahini. We just completed the Whole30 program and feel amazing! Sticking to compliant ingredients as much as possible 🙂
Love your website!!
Hi! Unfortunately I can’t recommend a substitute for the flours in here as I’ve only tested as-is. Butter or vegan butter and cashew butter are what I would recommend for the coconut oil and tahini!
Very delicious!! I didn’t have almond extract, so I added more vanilla instead. I used the flax eggs and it turned out pretty good. I might need to add a little milk next time, the consistency of the dough was thicker than with regular eggs, it was hard to spread in the pan. Once baked it was just so good!
I’m glad it still baked up well! Perfect dessert 🙂
Would this buttercream frosting work in piping bags to decorate the cake? I just need to make floral types of swirls as “unicorn hair”, lol. Thoughts?
It should! Sounds awesome 🙂
can i sub maple syrup with raw cane sugar (same amount?) and salted butter for the frosting with ghee? Looks amazing!
I wouldn’t use raw cane sugar, but you could try. And yes ghee should work fine for the frosting, though the flavor will likely change a bit.
Hi Monique! Absolutely love all your recipes. Any chance I could make this in a 9×13 pan? Thanks so much!
Hi, Jackie! So sorry for the delay. Definitely! The bake time may change so just pay attention!
Hi there, I’m keen to make this for my four year old’s birthday party tomorrow but we live regionally and don’t have any almond flour. Could I substitute it 1:1 with all purpose flour? Thanks so much!
Hi, Ella! Sorry for the delay. I haven’t tried all purpose flour in here so am not sure how it would come out. Hope you guys had a great birthday party!
Another amazing healthier cake from Monique! This was so so good! I’m a chocolate frosting girl so I used your chocolate frosting recipe from your paleo chocolate cake. Loved it!!
Oh great idea to use chocolate frosting! So glad you loved it 🙂
I can’t rave about this cake recipe enough, it is INCREDIBLE. I made it for my nephew’s birthday and the adults couldn’t believe it was made with healthier ingredients, we all devoured it! So moist and honestly next time I won’t even frost it because it is so sweet and delicious on its own! Hands down my favorite recipe of yours that I’ve made so far. I used caramel extract instead of the almond extract, insanely perfect birthday cake!
Also, I swapped the tahini with almond butter and it worked out perfectly!
this is my boyfriends favorite cake! it was his only request for his birthday 🙂
Can I make this in a standard brownie pan instead?
I think that should work fine! Just be sure to bake them until a tester comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached 🙂
I’ll be making this cake next weekend for my 1yo and 3yo birthday! Do you think doubling the recipe would work fine, or should I make the recipe twice in order to double? Thank you!
Fun! Totally fine to double the recipe, but the bake time will vary if you change the pans to different sized ones 🙂
This was truly a delicious cake!!! I added guava filling to it and I’m still drooling over how amazing it was. I also got many compliments from my family and guests for the cake. Thank you Lindsay 🙂
I’m sorry for getting your name wrong, Monique! I think I blacked out when I wrote Lindsay lol I work with many Lindsay haha sorry!!!
Hahaha no worries at all! So happy you loved it. That guava filling sounds AMAZING omg!
OK You might roll your eyes when you see that I turned the cake into cupcakes but I just didn’t have it in me for all the layers. Still…cupCAKES were dynamite! I love the power of maple syrup to healthify any dessert. I feel confident giving my daughter these cupcakes for her birthday breakfast.
Thank you to Monique for putting together another AMAZE recipe. Seriously, I haven’t had a single dud. I always feel confident buying the ingredients necessary for her dishes because I know they’re going to be successful.
Omg no that’s an AMAZING idea!! So happy you loved them. Happy birthday to your daughter, too 🙂
I made this for my sons birthday and it was incredible. I want to make it again, but I can’t find sprinkles! Could I omit or use chocolate chips instead???
Yes either of those would be totally fine and delicious! Glad you loved it 🙂
I love it! My entire family was blown away. If i want to make the cake using the least amount of maple syrup possible (trying to cut my sugar intake), how much maple syrup would you recommend without it being totally bland?
Hi! This recipe look so fun! Im gonna make this for my 22nd coming up! Im wondering, can I use regular flour instead of almond and coconut? Thanks!
Happy almost bday! TBH I haven’t tested this with regular flour so I’m not totally sure. Let me know if you try it!
Hi! Can I use a loaf pan to make this? If so, how much time and do I need to half the recipe?
Hi! I’d recommend this recipe instead 🙂
the cake mix was unfortunatly similar to cookie dough in consistency and it crumbled when it was cooked. I didn’t have almond flour and used more coconut flour instead, but everything else was the same as in the recipe. did the added use of coconut flour instead of almond flour cause this recipe to not fully work?
Hi, Izzie! Almond flour and coconut flour are not at all interchangeable. Coconut flour is much more absorbent of liquid, which is why the batter was so dry. I’d recommend sticking to the recipe and using almond flour 🙂
Absolutely delicious! About how many calories are in each serving?
So glad you loved it! We didn’t calculate it for this recipe (sorry!) but you can paste the ingredients into an online nutrition calculator 🙂
Made this for my daughter’s 1st birthday and it was AMAZING! Thank you for sharing such a yummy recipe! 🙂
Awesome!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
This came out amazing. It was so simple to make. I only had half the required tahini, substituted butter for the difference. Everything else was as directed.
The icing was more than enough! Wish I had taken a photo…nest time!
Glad to hear that worked well and that you loved it! Thanks so much for the review, too 🙂
I’m baking this cake but with 2 9 inch cake pans instead of 6 inch (couldn’t find in stores). Do you know temp and duration? Will batter fill both pans? Baking today so would love to hear from you soon.
So sorry for the delay! I’d start testing the cake after around 20 minutes in the oven. How did it come out?
Hi! Do you think this would work well as a smash cake for a first birthday party? Curious if it is soft enough for baby to dig in? Thanks – love your recipes!
Hi! I’d recommend trying my Baby’s First Healthy Smash Cake recipe instead!
Omg perfect! Thanks so much!
I made this tonight – the ONLY sub I made was butter (instead of coconut oil) and I used Cashew butter instead of tahini. I was worried my cashew butter was too dry, but it obviously wasn’t, as the biggest problem I had with the cake was that it was gooey & runny even after almost 45 minutes in the oven. I finally thought it was just an issue of what it was like when hot & took them out. When I inverted the pans, the bottom half of each layer was almost raw.
I ended up sliding them upside down on a sheet pan and trying to put them back in the oven to “toast” for 15 more minutes. It still didn’t work GREAT.
My friend and I ended up eating part of it. Gooey & way too mushy, but we both said the FLAVOR was delicious, and actually it might have been too sweet!
I might try it again, but I’m baffled why it was so terrible in texture.
Hi! Hmm that’s so strange, sorry to hear that! It sounds like something went wrong because it should definitely have baked up properly. You used super fine blanched almond flour, not almond meal?
I’m coming back and fixing this because turns out my oven was broken. 🤦♀️ Mea culpa! RIGHT in the middle of baking this was apparently when my bottom element shorted out. I didn’t figure it out until a few days later, after none of the (all conveniently new) recipes I was trying were working.
So for the other readers seeing this… the problem was not the recipe (or the cashew butter!), it was a broken oven.
I told everyone I needed to come back and update my review so here I am! 😁
Amazing! I made this cake for my sons birthday and it was such a hit. One of the best cakes I have ever had. Thank you for yet another great recipe!
So happy to hear this! Glad this recipe was a hit!