One bite and you’ll never believe this flourless vanilla cake has NO flour whatsoever! It’s delicate, tender and topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar – gluten free and dairy free never tasted so good!
When you need something different than the typical gluten-free vanilla cake recipe, this is the recipe to turn to. It’s a delightful dessert that could easily be served at a bridal shower, baby shower, or even as a birthday cake (here's another delicious birthday cake option!) or wedding cake. To make up for the lack of gluten-free flour, the recipe uses almond meal and ground coconut – these two ingredients are the perfect pairing for this single-layer, moist cake.
Check out this gluten-free cake recipe that is an equally delicious and moist cake: gluten free oat cake.
Flourless Vanilla Cake at a Glance
This tender cake is a cross between a moist sheet cake and a full bodied crumb cake. Whereas a cake that uses a gluten free flour or a gluten free flour blend, like these almond flour chocolate cupcakes, would be light and spongy, this gluten-free cake recipe is a bit more dense. Not in a bad way. But more substantial. I top this single layer cake with fruit and powdered sugar because that’s really all it needs.
Ingredients & Substitutions in this Easy Flourless Cake
The simple ingredients list and any acceptable substitutions:
- Almond Meal - Almond meal is a key ingredient as a replacement for the flour. This is different from almond flour. There is no acceptable substitution.
- Coconut - Use finely shredded, sweetened coconut for the best results. There is no substitute for the coconut, but unsweetened coconut will work also. This will be ground in a food processor.
- Baking Powder - There is no substitute for the baking powder, but make sure yours is certified gluten free baking powder.
- Salt - There is no substitute for the salt.
- Granulated Sugar - Use granulated, white sugar for best results. You may substitute half of the sugar with Swerve sweetener. This will also be ground in a food processor to make caster sugar.
- Vegan Butter - The Earth Balance brand was used in this recipe. Solid coconut oil may also be used. Vegetable oil results in a heavier texture of the cake and is not recommended.
- Eggs - These are whole eggs - whites and egg yolks. In contrast to a white cake, where only egg whites are used. An egg replacer for the eggs has not been tested.
- Pure Vanilla Extract - This is essential for a robust vanilla flavor. There is no substitute for pure vanilla extract.
Exact measurements and instructions for making this gluten free vanilla cake are below in the recipe card.
How to Make this Flourless Vanilla Cake Recipe
Step One: Mix the dry ingredients (almond meal, ground coconut, baking powder, salt, and ground granulated sugar) in the large bowl of a stand mixer on low speed for 10 seconds.
Step Two: Add the softened vegan butter to the bowl of the stand mixture and combine until mixture becomes creamed but still grainy (called the reverse cream method, see note below for more information).
Note About the Reverse-Cream Method
The reverse creaming method is a way of mixing in the fats into a baked good. For reference, these oatmeal raisin cookies use the traditional creaming method. The butter and sugars are creamed then the eggs and rest of the dry ingredients are added. But with reverse creaming, you mix the dry ingredients first, then add the butter, then after the mixture is creamy, add the eggs.
The benefit of this method for this cake has more to do with the structure than the taste. Taste-wise, both methods produce an equally tasty cake, but the reverse cream method produces a more tender cake with a fine, smooth crumb.
Step Three: In a small bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla extract. (Picture is missing 3 additional eggs.)
Step Four: Turn the stand mixer on to low and slowly add the wet ingredients (egg mixture) to the creamed mixture.
Step Five: Turn the mixer to medium speed and continue to mix for 3 minutes until cake batter looks pale yellow.
Step Six: Prepare a 9" springform pan by lining with a sheet of parchment paper and spraying with cooking spray and sprinkling some gluten free flour on the paper.
Step Seven: Scrape the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top.
Step Eight: Bake the cake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until the center of the cake tests done with a toothpick and the top is golden brown. Let cake cool on a wire cooling rack before loosening the sides to remove it.
Serving a Flourless Vanilla Cake
There’s not many cakes out there that don’t need frosting. Most at least need a glaze to give them a little boost. But not this one. This delicious cake is super moist and really doesn’t need a thing. Now I’m not one to say no to frosting, so this gluten free buttercream frosting would be amazing on it (or even a chocolate frosting if that's more your thing), but here’s a way to keep it simple (and quick!)…
- Once it’s completely cooled, carefully move the cake from the wire rack to a serving platter
- Top it with sliced strawberries, blueberries and raspberries – I just randomly placed fresh fruit on the cake
- Then place a sifter on a plate and add a Tablespoon of powdered sugar
- Hold the sifter over the cake and lightly tap it to sprinkle the powdered sugar evenly over it
Note on serving: With all the fruit piled on the cake, it may sink a little in the middle – this is completely normal and does not affect the taste.
Storing this Gluten-Free Cake
This cake stores very well – the easiest way to store it is to move the slices left over to an airtight container. Then store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
This baked cake can also be frozen for longer storage. If freezing the entire cake, wrap it well with plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 1 month. Defrost on the counter and serve cool. Individual slices can also be frozen - defrost those in the microwave and serve.
Pro Tips for Making This Flourless Vanilla Cake
1. Room Temperature Ingredients
All ingredients, from the eggs to the almond meal should be at room temperature before using. This creates a lighter, less dense cake and is an essential step in gluten-free baking. About 30 minutes should do it.
2. Measuring Ingredients
For best results, use a digital scale to measure the ingredients. A measuring cup is less accurate and even a Tablespoon more or less of ingredients can drastically change this gf cake.
3. Caster Sugar (Finely Ground Granulated Sugar)
The granulated sugar is this recipe is ground into a finer blend, called caster sugar, for a couple reasons:
- It dissolves quicker, so it eliminates any extra graininess in the cake
- It contributes the delicate texture in the cake
Caster sugar is tough to find in the US, but making your own is easy with a food processor. Place the 250 grams of sugar in the food processor. Turn it on to run for 1 minute. The result is the perfect blend of sugar – not powdery, but finer than granulated crystals.
4. Ground Coconut
Sweetened coconut was used in this recipe – but for the consistency, you want something finer than just shredded coconut at the store. So after blending the sugar, add the shredded coconut to the blender to ground that up next. Add 60 grams to the food processor and mix for 30 seconds. The coconut will still have some shreds, but overall the pieces will be a little larger than the almond meal.
5. Line with Parchment Paper
Parchment paper makes a world of difference in baking this cake. Without it, the cake sticks to the pan terribly and becomes nearly impossible to remove (in one piece anyway!)
Cut a piece to fit the entire bottom of the pan and place it at the bottom – spray and flour it well.
6. Helpful Tools
These tools and equipment will get you the best results:
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment
- OR large mixing bowl
- 9-inch pan (Springform with removable sides)
Flourless Vanilla Cake FAQs
At first glance you’d think the terms would be interchangeable. But the major difference between a white cake and a vanilla cake is the simply the color. A white cake is going to be white, using egg whites and clear vanilla extract. A vanilla cake like this one, doesn’t rely on a ‘white’ color, but moreso on a vanilla flavor.
Caster sugar is a finely ground granulated sugar that is available to purchase online OR can be made at home by grounding granulated sugar in a food processor for 1 minute.
The reverse creaming method is a way of mixing in the fats into a baked good. For reference, these oatmeal raisin cookies use the traditional creaming method. The butter and sugars are creamed then the eggs and rest of the dry ingredients are added. But with reverse creaming, you mix the dry ingredients first, then add the butter, then after the mixture is creamy, add the eggs.
A 9” springform pan is the easiest way to successfully bake this cake. An alternative would be a regular 9-inch pan but it may be a little more challenging to remove it.
With either pan, spray and flour the pan and the parchment paper well. This cake tends to stick to any unsprayed and unfloured surface.
More Gluten-Free Cake Recipes
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Recipe
Flourless Vanilla Cake Recipe: Gluten Free & Dairy Free
Ingredients
- 180 grams almond meal about 2 cups
- 60 grams coconut finely shredded, about ⅔ cup
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 250 grams granulated sugar finely ground, about 1 ¼ cups
- ½ cup vegan butter cubed and softened
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the granulated sugar by pulsing it in the bowl of a food processor for 60 seconds until fine.
- Prepare the coconut by pulsing it in the bowl of a food processor for 30 seconds, until finely shredded.
- Add the almond meal, finely shredded coconut, baking powder, salt, and finely ground sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop machine.
- Add the softened butter to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until mixture is creamed - about 2 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Turn on the stand mixer and with the mixer on low, slowly add the egg mixture and continue mixing. Scrape down the bowl a couple times.
- Turn the speed up to medium and beat for 3 minutes until batter is pale yellow.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 9” springform baking pan by spraying lightly with cooking spray.
- Then cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the base and spray the paper and the inside sides of the pan. Sprinkle with some gluten free flour to evenly coat the pan.
- Pour batter into the pan and let bake for 40-45 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cake will be golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
- Use a knife to loosen the sides of the pan.
- Unhook the pan and turn the cake out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Flip the cake back over to decorate the top of the cake with berries and a dusting of powdered sugar.
Video
Notes
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
- Use a food processor to ground the sugar to make caster sugar and ground the coconut.
- Beat the batter for the full 3 minutes until it's pale yellow.
- Use parchment to line the bottom of the pan.
- Let cool completely before decorating with fresh fruit.
Nutrition
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connie knott
looks great ! if I was to add lemon zest and juice to this how much would I add? would like to try a lemon cake .thx
Christine
Hi Connie,
Sure, lemon would be a great addition - since it's a single layer cake, I'd suggestion a teaspoon of zest.
~Christine
Dorcas
I tried this today and although it is tasty it seems very dense, almost raw in the middle - I even left it in for an extra 10mins - what might have gone wrong? Did I over mix? I did everything the recipe said (although I found it hard to judge how much a cup of cubed butter is, a weight would be more helpful) but the mixture did seem pretty liquid when it went in the pan.
Christine
Hi Dorcas,
Oh goodness, it definitely should not be raw in the middle - it's not as light as a flour-vanilla cake, but shouldn't be dense. I noticed you mentioned 'cup of cubed butter' - the recipe calls for 1/2 cup - did you happen to use a full cup? I ask because that could be it. Also, did the batter look like the pictures?
~Christine