Dairy Free Birthday Cake
This fluffy gluten free dairy free cake is moist, tender and so easy to make. It’s made in just one bowl and has a rich vanilla flavor. Top it off with my favorite dairy free vanilla or chocolate buttercream frosting!
I’ve gotten a lot of requests for dairy free (but not vegan) recipes, so next up on the list is this dairy free cake!
It’s made with coconut milk and oil instead of regular milk and butter, but still has that same rich flavor and fluffy texture. I promise you will never know it’s both dairy free and gluten free.
It’s finished off with my homemade buttercream. I opted for chocolate, but vanilla works well too. For that recipe, just use vegan butter instead of regular butter.
A lot of cake mixes, like Betty Crocker, are already dairy free so you just need to use dairy free milk, but it’s so much more fun to make from scratch! If you love this recipe, try my dairy free cupcakes, gluten free donuts or red velvet marble cake next!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make
- Gluten free & dairy free
- Perfect for birthdays and parties
- Moist & tender
Key ingredients
COCONUT MILK. Since this cake is completely dairy free, we’ll use canned coconut milk to add some richness that you can miss out on when you eliminate dairy.
I suggest full fat coconut milk, but you can use light if that’s what you have. Be sure to use from a can, not carton!
NON-DAIRY MILK. In addition to the canned coconut milk, you will need some regular (from a carton) non-dairy milk. I usually use almond, but oat, soy etc. all work.
OIL. I used refined avocado oil, but any neutral flavored oil will be fine.
EGGS. The eggs are key to help the cake rise and get that nice fluffy texture.
SUGAR. I suggest using all white sugar to keep the color of the cake light. I do not recommend subbing for a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup or honey.
FLOUR. I used gluten free all purpose baking flour, but you can use regular all purpose flour instead.
How to make dairy free cake
Shake up the can of coconut milk so the white part and liquid are completely combined, making a smooth milk. I usually add it to a blender to ensure everything is completely smooth.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together all wet ingredients with an electric mixer until well combined.
Beat in the dry ingredients, aside from the sprinkles, just until a batter forms. Fold in the sprinkles, if using.
Transfer to your prepared cake pans, trying to keep each as even as possible. For 8 inch cakes, bake for 40-50 minutes, for 9 inch cakes, bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
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Once completely cooled, frost with my buttercream (just swap for dairy free butter) and enjoy!
How to store and freeze
To keep this cake nice and moist, once it is frosted and decorated, I recommend keeping it covered. I like using a cake stand and cover, but you can also slice it up and store it in a container or on a plate tightly covered with foil.
You can also freeze this dairy free cake! Once it is baked, let it cool completely, then wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freeze safe bag.
Freeze for up to 2 weeks, then defrost and decorate as usual.
This vanilla cake is made very moist thanks to the oil, eggs and milk. Be sure to keep it covered, either with a cake stand, in a container or covered with foil to ensure it stays moist once it is sliced.
Decoration ideas
FUNFETTI/BIRTHDAY CAKE. Add sprinkles into the cake like the recipe calls for, and decorate the frosting with lots of additional sprinkles!
BERRIES. You can take a similar approach that I look with my almond flour vanilla cake. Use either a vanilla or chocolate frosting, then top with fresh berries!
DIFFERENT FROSTING. To mix up the flavors, you can try my strawberry frosting instead of chocolate or vanilla. Or, if you’re feeling up for it. Use a mix of chocolate and vanilla!
Can I make it vegan?
Since this recipe calls for 4 eggs, I do not recommend any substitutions as that will completely change the texture. Instead, try my vegan funfetti cake which is completely gluten and dairy free.
Can I make this into chocolate cake?
Unfortunately, no. This cake was written specifically to be a vanilla cake. However, you can try my gluten free chocolate cake or gluten free snack cake and just use non-dairy milk.
Can I use different cake pans?
I used two 8 inch cake pans. You can use two 9 inch cake pans, three 6 inch cake pans, or one 9×13 sheet cake.
If you use three 6 inch cake pans, the bake time will be a bit longer, closer to 50 minutes, and for the sheet cake it will be about 40-50 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness!
More dairy free desserts!
- Vegan Brownies
- Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Dairy Free Brownies
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake
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Dairy Free Birthday Cake
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ¾ cup white sugar
- ⅔ cup plain oil
- ⅔ cup full fat coconut milk
- ½ cup non-dairy milk
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
Dry
- 3 ½ cups gluten free all purpose baking flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line two 8 or 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- Shake up the can of coconut milk so the white part and liquid are completely combined, making a smooth milk. I usually add it to a blender to ensure everything is completely smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together all wet ingredients with an electric mixer until well combined.
- Beat in the dry ingredients, aside from the sprinkles, just until a batter forms.
- Fold in the sprinkles, if using.
- Transfer to your prepared cake pans, trying to keep each as even as possible.
- For 8 inch cakes, bake for 40-50 minutes, for 9 inch cakes, bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once completely cooled, frost with my buttercream (just swap for dairy free butter) and enjoy!
Notes
Comments
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Hi, i’m planning to make this for my daughter’s birthday, do you think u could use coconut sugar instead of white sugar? Thank you
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You can, but it will be a much darker color!
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I am attempting to make a rainbow cake with 6 colored layers. I saw a recipe using boxed cake mix but I need to make a dairy free cake. Do you think this recipe will work with food coloring? Do you think I could double the recipe and divide the batter into 6 portions for 8 inch cake pans. How would you adjust the cooking times?thank you so much for your time!
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yes, adding food coloring would be fine! But if you want six 8 inch cake pans, you would need to triple the recipe. Bake times would be the same if you’re using 8 or 9 inch pans. You can also double the recipe and use 6, 6 inch pans but add about 15 minutes of bake time.
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I was wondering how many cups the batter makes.
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Probably around 5 cups!
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Do you think it would be fine to mix with just a spoon or whisk? I want to make this with my toddler and I think it’ll be more manageable that way 🙂
I’m excited to try this recipe!-
A whisk should be fine!
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What milk alternative do you use please? I haven’t successfully baked with oat milk previously.
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Almond or soy are my personal favorites.
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We used Fairlife lactose free milk and the recipe came out great. Turns out the toddler has a severe lactose intolerance but this milk is AOK for his tummy!
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Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and the recipe for the frosting. My son is allergic to dairy and he turned one this month. I used your recipe to create his smash cake and he loved it. Thank you for helping me make his special day complete.
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Perfect! So glad this recipe worked for you 🙂
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Is there a coconut milk replacement that would work? Trying to bake for someone with a lot of allergies! Thank you
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You can try soy milk!
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Hi there! Do any of these wet ingredients need to be at room temp? The eggs?? Almond milk? Thanks!!
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It’ll mix more easily if the milk and eggs are at room temperature, but since there is no butter, it’s ok if it’s straight from the fridge!
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Hello,
Can I use coconut milk as the non-dairy milk and coconut oil instead of plain oil?
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You can, but the texture may be a bit more dense and less fluffy.
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Could I use water instead of the dairy-free milk?
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Should be ok!
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Thanks for the recipe!
Can you put a layer of jam/jelly as well as a layer of icing in the middle?
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Yes, definitely!
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How many days ahead of time can I make this cake?
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You can make ahead of time and freeze the cooled layer for up to 1 month. If you want to keep it in the fridge after baking, I’d prep no more than 2 days ahead.
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Would this be enough for 3- 6inch cakes? And what about cupcakes? would you just adjust the cooking time? Thanks!!
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yes, you can do 3, 6 inch cakes! Bake time will probably be about 50 minutes, but I’d keep a close eye. You should get about 2 dozen cupcakes, baking for about 20-25 minutes is my guess.
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Your Dairy free buttercream recipe has butter listed in the ingredients? Do I just substitute the butter for lard?
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No, just dairy free butter! I like Earth Balance.
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I am giving this a try at weekend for my daughter’s birthday. It looks lovely!!
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Can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
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Amazing cake! Made for my moms birthday and it was such a big hit.
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