This almond flour cake has a rich vanilla flavor, moist texture and is both gluten free and grain free. It can easily be made refined sugar free, dairy free and is topped with a simple vanilla frosting. Perfect for a healthy birthday cake!
This almond flour cake took so much trial and error, but it is truly the perfect healthy vanilla cake! It’s made in one bowl and so easy to make.
It’s adapted from my almond flour chocolate cake, but with a few essential tweaks since we obviously aren’t using any cocoa powder.
You can give it a rich almond flavor by adding in some almond extract, or keep it simple and just use the vanilla. You’ll notice this recipe calls for 1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla, which is a lot, but it’s key to getting that rich flavor to shine through!
This recipe is completely gluten free, dairy free optional and even paleo and keto friendly which makes it a great baking option for diabetics. If you love this recipe, try my almond flour cupcakes next!
Key ingredients
Eggs. You need six whole eggs for this almond flour cake, which provides a lot of the structure. The eggs will bind everything together, help the cake rise and add moisture.
Almond Flour. The key ingredient! Be sure to use almond flour from blanched almonds and not almond meal. Almond flour has a finer texture than almond meal and will give a lighter texture.
Tapioca & coconut flour. These both allow the cake to have a soft texture without the grittiness that almond flour can sometimes have.
Sugar & honey. I opted to use white sugar to keep the cake a more traditional color, but you can swap for coconut sugar or a keto granulated sugar instead. I do not recommend any substitutes for the honey.
Butter. You only need 1/3 cup of melted butter since the almond flour adds so much fat and moisture on its own! Dairy free or regular butter will work!
Canned coconut milk. This helps add more moisture without the need for too much butter. You can sub for whole milk if you are not dairy free.
How to make almond flour cake
Whisk wet. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth.
Whisk dry. Whisk in the dry ingredients until a smooth batter forms. Be sure to spoon and level all flours, don’t scoop from the bag!
Transfer evenly to your prepared pans. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Bake. Bake for 28-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
The tops of the cakes will brown much more than a traditional vanilla cake, don’t worry, this is just the nature of almond flour and is to be expected!
Cool. Let cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes, then slice around the edge of the cake to make sure nothing is stuck to the sides, then flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Make frosting. Meanwhile, cream the butter for the frosting with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes.
Beat in the powdered sugar, followed by the milk, vanilla and salt. Start with 4 cups of the sugar and add more if you need it thicker.
Frost & serve! When the cakes have cooled completely, add a layer of frosting to the top, then add an optional layer of jam, followed by the next cake layer and finish it off with more frosting.
Top with berries or serve as is!
Decorating tips
There are so many ways to decorate a vanilla cake, I opted for a basic buttercream frosting with berries on top!
You can add sprinkles, swirl some jam on the frosting, use a chocolate frosting, or just some simple whipped cream and berries between layers for a lighter option that’s perfect for summer.
My strawberry buttercream or orange buttercream would also be delicious here!
Frequently asked questions
Do almond flour cakes rise well?
Yes, they can when done correctly! The key is to use enough eggs and baking powder to get that rise and fluffy texture.
This recipe calls for 6 eggs, which might seem like a lot, but it’s essential for a light and fluffy texture and binding everything together.
Do I need to use xanthan gum?
Nope! No xanthan gum is needed in this almond flour cake. That is an ingredient that is typically added to help bind gluten free recipes together, but I found that using enough eggs gets the job done.
The tapioca starch also works as an effective binder as well.
Can I make it vegan?
Unfortunately, no. The eggs are such an important ingredient for both binding and rising, and omitting or subbing for an egg substitute will not go over well!
You can, however, make this cake dairy free. Just use dairy free butter for both the cake itself and the frosting.
Can you substitute almond flour for regular flour?
Generally, no, which is why I suggest making a recipe that already calls for almond flour.
A small portion of all purpose flour can sometimes be replaced with almond flour, but it depends on the recipe. This recipe calls for almond, tapioca and coconut flours and no all purpose flour.
More almond flour recipes you’ll love!
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Almond Flour Vanilla Cake
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- 6 large eggs
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar see notes
- ½ cup honey
- ⅓ cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- optional: 1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Dry
- 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- ¼ cup full fat canned coconut milk
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease and line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Be sure to grease AND line because the cake will stick otherwise!
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients. Be sure to shake up the can of coconut milk before measuring so it's not lumpy and pours out smooth. If you have a hard time with this (certain brands can be tricky) blitz it in the blender for a few seconds!
- Whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients until a smooth batter forms. Be sure to spoon and level all flours, don't scoop from the bag!
- Transfer evenly to your prepared pans. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Bake for 28-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- The tops of the cakes will brown much more than a traditional vanilla cake, don't worry, this is just the nature of almond flour and is to be expected!
- Let cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes, then slice around the edge of the cake to make sure nothing is stuck to the sides, then flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Meanwhile, cream the butter for the frosting with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in the powdered sugar, followed by the milk, vanilla and salt. Start with 4 cups of the sugar and add more if you need it thicker.
- When the cakes have cooled completely, add a layer of frosting to the top, then add an optional layer of jam, followed by the next cake layer and finish it off with more frosting.
- Top with berries or serve as is!
Shelly says
I plan to make this for a friend’s birthday. She cannot have sugar. Have you tried substituting Allulose for sugar in this recipe?
Claire Cary says
I have not. I’d suggest the 1:1 sugar sub from In The Raw.
Scarlett says
That filling looks amazing in the case. Am I missing the filling recipe somewhere?
Claire Cary says
There’s no recipe, it’s just any berry jam and the buttercream! Totally optional, but delicious.
Vandana says
Any chance you can sub the butter in the batter for applesauce?
Claire Cary says
I don’t recommend doing that for all of the butter, but you can try for half of it! Just a 1:1 sub.
Keeley says
Hi there, I am baking this for my stepmom’s birthday! Can i take out the tapioca starch and just add more coconut flour? The only tapioca flour I could find was a 6 pack for $98 and I will likely only use this to bake once or twice.
Claire Cary says
You can definitely try, but the final texture and flavor will be a bit different!
Joanne says
I made this cake for a luncheon with friends and it was a huge hit! I made the cake as written (except that I was out of honey! Substituted maple syrup and it worked fine). I didn’t make the frosting. I used Greek yogurt with very little sugar and in the middle I put an apple peach compote (sugar free, homemade) and on top decorated the yogurt with fresh fruit and berries. I will absolutely make this again and looking forward to trying more of these beautiful recipes.
I’m a bit frustrated trying to open your web page on my computer ( I’m using my phone now and it works but the computer is bigger and easier except that it won’t let me accept the cookies and enter your page. The page that shows the consent for data use doesn’t move and there is a grey strip at the bottom over the Manage Settings and Accept All buttons. So I can’t accept or move it or do anything. Maybe it’s made for a larger screen? Can you fix this please? Thanks in advance. Love your recipes!
Claire Cary says
So happy this recipe was a hit! If you could send me an email with a screenshot of the problem you’re having, I’d be happy to have my developers look into it!
Gail says
This recipe is amazing! Followed instructions to the T and came out beautifully for my daughter’s 20th birthday 🥳 🍰 ❤️. Received many compliments. Thank you for sharing xx
Claire Cary says
Thank you, Gail! So happy you enjoyed this one.
Nikita says
Can I replace the tapioca starch and coconut flour with cornstarch and gluten free flour?
Claire Cary says
That would create a totally different recipe! If you don’t want to use theses flours, I’d suggest my traditional gluten free vanilla cake.
Stephanie Guerrero says
Made this cake for my mom and sister for Mother’s Day! It did not disappoint. I followed the recipe exactly as it was written. The texture, the flavor- it was all perfect. Zero complaints, zero adjustments needed. Thank you so much for this recipe. I will be making this again soon!
Claire Cary says
Thank you, Stephanie! Just made my day 🙂
Judy says
I made this cake turned out good. It is dark at the top, hard to get out of pan. Need to grease baking pan and use was waxed paper.
Claire Cary says
The cake will be a bit darker on the top than a regular cake, this is just the nature of almond flour. Definitely follow the instructions and use parchment paper in the pan- not wax paper!
Doris says
This recipe sounds delicious. Please tell if there is anyway possible to make this recipe vegan
Claire Cary says
Unfortunately, the eggs are a key ingredient here and there isn’t a way to make it without them. May work on a vegan version soon!
Lena says
Can I substitute tapioca flour for the tapioca starch?
Claire Cary says
That should be fine!
Olivia says
Also-how much does this cake rise? Would you say it is tall like a traditional cake?
Claire Cary says
Yes, it rises very well!
Olivia says
Thank you! I’ve made recipes almond flour cakes that use only a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup or honey, and while it is tasty, it does not have that tall cake look and were more dense. So my question is if the use of coconut sugar in this cake makes it taller and fluffy or is it something else?
Claire Cary says
Yes, the granulated sugar definitely does that (I used white sugar for the photos, but you can use coconut though the cake will be darker). Any cake that is sweetened with all liquid sweetener is naturally going to be much more dense.
Olivia says
Could I reduce the sugar to 1/2 or 3/4 cup? Thank you
Claire Cary says
3/4 cup of sugar will be fine, but I don’t recommend going lower than that!
Marie says
Hi, can I use cream cheese frosting instead?
Claire Cary says
Yes, totally just depends on your preference!
shirley says
can i use a bundt pan for this recipe?
Claire Cary says
Yes, that should work! Bake time will be a bit longer most likely, I’d add probably 10-20 minutes.
Emma says
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I’m going to try it – wondering if it’s a good cake to make a day or two in advance then frost/assemble on the day? Thank you!
Claire Cary says
Yes, you can definitely do that! Just be sure to let the cake layers cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap, place in a ziplock bag and store in the fridge until you’re ready to frost.
Denise says
I made it! It’s absolutely delicious. I used 3/4 cup of coconut sugar instead of the one cup of white sugar. It was plenty sweet. Thank you for the great recipe.
Claire Cary says
So glad it worked with that sub! Thanks, Denise!
Firouzeh says
This is the best gluten free cake which I ever made.
If you are not even gluten free eater, it’s worth to try!
I baked it for the birthday cake.
Claire Cary says
Makes me so happy to hear! Thank you 🙂
Sami says
Could I use arrowroot instead of tapioca?
Also As there’s severe egg allergy,can you please suggest the best egg replacer.And instead of honey what’s the best alternative .
Claire Cary says
Unfortunately, I don’t recommend this recipe if you can’t use eggs! The structure will not hold up well.
Antonia says
Could I use coconut oil instead of butter? And leave the coconut sugar out?
Claire Cary says
Coconut oil will work, but butter works best for the best flavor. Definitely don’t leave out the granulated sugar or the cake will have virtually no flavor!
Jen says
Hi there
Can I use more honey instead of sugar and if so, how much honey will be needed
Thanks
Jen
Claire Cary says
Unfortunately, no, that will completely change the wet/dry proportions and throw the whole recipe off.
Miriam says
Can I substitute corn starch instead of the tapioca starch and is there something I can substitute for the coconut flour? Thanks 😊
Claire Cary says
You can try corn instead of tapioca, but I don’t recommend any subs for the coconut flour. This recipe can be tricky so I recommend following it as closely as possible for best results!
Chrissy says
I made this cake last night for the first time and while the texture is beautiful, the cake is too sweet for my taste. I typically reduce the amount of sugar in cake recipes but I decided to use the full amount in this cake as not to alter the texture. I will probably only add 1/2 cup sugar next time, especially since the honey adds a nice flavor. I used only 2 cups of confectioners sugar for the frosting and it was also still too sweet. Easy to make though and I will try again!
Claire Cary says
Totally understand! Everyone has different preferences but hopefully those adjustments will make it perfect for you.
Kelli says
Hi!
I have an ingredient question! I was wondering for the full fat coconut milk- I noticed in the frosting ingredients you specifically mentioned canned full fat coconut milk. In the the wet ingredients , you mention full fat coconut milk. Should these both be canned full fat coconut milk?
I am going to get ingredients at the store tomorrow so I just wanted to make sure I have the right ones!!
Thank you and can’t wait to make it!!
Claire Cary says
Yes! For both the cake and frosting, you’ll need the canned full fat coconut milk.
lindsay says
This was one of the best cakes I have made. It was so moist light and fluffy. Everybody loved it. But the best part was no one could tell it was gluten and dairy free! Thanks for sharing!
Claire Cary says
Hi! So glad to hear that, miss you guys 🙂