Birthday Cake (Dairy-Free, Wheat-Free)
This cake is every bit as beautiful and delicious as a bakery cake - only much healthier! It is dairy-free and uses Einkorn flour rather than wheat flour. It does still have sugar and eggs, so save it for special occasions!
My daughter Grace asked for a vanilla cake with strawberry frosting for her birthday. I wanted her to have a cake that wouldn't give her a stomach ache, but that also wouldn't stick out as a "healthy cake" at her birthday party. At a minimum, I wanted to avoid wheat and dairy since those are such strong irritants for many with IBD, but I couldn't find any local shops or bakeries that met those requirements, without also using lots of chemical additives like Xanthan Gum. This recipe was the solution!
- 4 cup Einkorn Flour
- 1 cup Coconut oil
- 2 cup Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Ground Vanilla Bean (Can also use Extract)
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt (If using table salt, cut in half)
- 1 cup Non-Dairy Milk (I make a big batch of Almond Milk and freeze in 1-cup portions)
- 3 Egg Whites (Beaten to Stiff Peaks)
- 2 can Vegan Vanilla Frosting (I use Simple Mills - it has a clean ingredients list)
- 1 oz Freeze Dried Strawberries (About 1 Bag)
- Prepare the Equipment
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease the sides of 2 9" round cake pans
Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper
- Mix the cake ingredients
In a stand mixer, beat the 3 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Transfer to another bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
In the stand mixer bowl, cream the coconut oil and sugar until light and fluffy
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each
Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla) in a separate bowl.
Add the dry ingredients and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients
Fold in the egg whites until just combined (there will still be little lumps of egg whites).
- Bake
Pour into prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula
Bake 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely before removing from pans and assembling the cake.
- Prepare the frosting
In a food processor, pulse the strawberries until completely powdered.
Add the canned frosting into the food processor and pulse until combined.
I have tried many recipes for vanilla frosting, and none are as good as Simple Mills - and they take a lot more work!
- Cut the Layers
Remove the cake layers from pan. Cut off the domed portions so you have a low cylinder shape. There are many methods online, but I find it easiest to use a long serrated knife and just slice off the top.
- Create the Crumb Coat
Set the bottom cake layer cut side up. Apply a generous layer of frosting.
Set the top cake layer over it, cut side down. This creates the most level surface on the top of the cake.
Frost the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of frosting. Set in the refrigerator until this outer layer hardens. This "seals in" the crumbs.
- Complete Frosting and Decorating
Apply a new, clean coat of frosting around the top and sides of the cake.
In the pictured cake, I used strawberry frosting on the inside and vanilla frosting on the outside, then marbled the 2 layers slightly by scraping away parts of the vanilla outer layer.
You can decorate with fruit, flowers, or whatever you like!