Do you have a birthday coming up, or a party to go to, and in need of a simple, grain-free yellow cake recipe? Or do you just feel like baking a cake or cupcakes?
I’ve found the yellow cake recipe using almond flour to be a bit finicky, which is partly due to the nature of “souffle-type” cakes. To remedy this, I’ve been testing various versions of this recipe, with interesting results. My conclusion is that whipping egg whites is fun and brings air and height to the cake, but also brings a degree of difficulty to a recipe that I’d rather not have if I don’t need it.
So the recipe below does not require egg-white whipping. The cake might be less spongy, but I love the flavor and consistency. It may not be as light as a yellow cake layer using all-purpose flour, but the flavor makes up for it (in my opinion) but I’d love your opinion, if you’re up for it. And if you are diving in, this recipe is for one yellow cake layer, or one round of cupcakes, because I think they’ll make great cupcakes as well. For a layer cake, just double the recipe and pour into two baking pans.
One minor snafu I’ve had that you want to be aware of. I’ve been so heads-down testing that I didn’t realize I had run of out of blanched almond flour. I thought I had one bag left, but when I opened the box from Honeyville, it was almond meal. I mistakenly ordered almond meal instead of blanched almond flour. Bad timing. So, I’m taking a little brake from testing almond flour recipes.
Yellow Cupcakes {almond flour}
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup applesauce unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups blanched almond flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F/165°C.
- Fill your cupcake molds with parchment cupcake liners.
- Combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl and blend with a spoon.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and blend well with a spoon.
- Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full with cupcake batter.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until they are golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes before frosting them.
Nutrition
Could I sub applesauce for both the oil and the honey? Trying to make a 1st birthday cake for my little one.
Thanks,
Debbie
Debbie, I haven’t tried both, but it could work. Would love to know if you do try it. It will be less sweet but should hold together well.
I made 6 big cupcakes with this recipe. I used flax eggs. They are so moist and delicious! When I put them in the pan I wasn’t so sure, they looked odd. But after baking they turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Great to hear! Yes, the batter is more fluid but they come out great
Thank you so much for this easy, minimal ingredient, delicious SCD cake! Please never take this recipe down, it’s a keeper for sure! I get cravings on SCD , and am always looking for a good, delicious snack. I have some experience with SCD baking and am aware that many of these cakes aren’t big risers, but that’s perfectly fine by me. What I do is make two round cakes and layer them with frosting, that makes them a taller cake. For a party I did three layers, and it was a hit.
I’ve also used this recipe and just doubled the entire recipe and poured it into a Bundt cake mold, increased baking time to 40 minutes, and boy is that good with frosting, its my new favorite! I use olive oil for the oil and grease the pan with butter.
This is so delicious! Thank you so much.
Thank you! Good to know. I do want to retest this and update it, so good to get the feedback. Cheers!
Could this be baked in a loaf pan instead of a cake pan? I haven’t found a good grain-free pound cake recipe and am thinking that this one would be a good stand-in, especially in a loaf pan for the traditional pound cake shape. My only concern would be getting the outside too brown while trying to get the middle cooked through…
I haven’t tried it, but it’s not quite as dense as pound cake. That said, it might work. I do have a pound cake recipe in my SCD cookbook.
Substituted this cake for pound cake to create a gluten free raspberry trifle. Good flavour!
Yum!
No, you should leave it up! It was yummy! I’m trying it again and will report back about yield. 🙂
Hi, Erica! Love your website and cookbook. Thank you for all of these great recipes. I do have to say though that I tried this recipe yesterday for cupcakes and was disappointed because following the estimated yield of 6 cupcakes led to huge, overflowing, and therefore too burnt on the outside and too gooey on the inside treats (not to mention a strange shape!). They were still delicious, but I had to make a second batch of a different recipe (your Very Vanilla Cupcakes, which are always a hit in our family!) for a party today. I would estimate that the yield is more like 8 or 9 but I would need to try again to know for sure. To be fair I know you said “about 6,” so maybe this was an estimate on your end as well! Just wanted to share for other readers in the future.
Thanks, Sarah. I continually debate taking this recipe down. It was only up while I was testing for a cookbook. The final recipe in the SCD book uses both almond and coconut flour, so I never followed through with more testing on this one. I’ll change the cupcakes to 8; thank you! But really, this recipe probably needs an overhaul.
How can I get the Almond Flour Cake recipe that is in your SCD Cookbook?
That recipe only appears in the book, and uses both coconut and almond flour.
Slice it in half and spread with seedless Raspberry Jam !
Yum!
Will check those out…thx Erica!
Curious whether you have any thoughts on why my cake rose and then collapsed when i checked it at 20 min? It rose well but was still jiggly in the middle, so put it back in for 5min. When I took it out, it looked more like a volcano. I followed the ingredients, using avocado oil for the oil. It tastes yummy, but somewhat malformed for icing. 🙂 Thx for all the delish recipes, Erica!
Not sure if the icing fell or the cake, or both, but sorry to hear. I don’t use this recipe often but others had had success with it. My reliable cake recipe is in my SCD cookbook (using almond flour), and I have one in my Coconut flour cookbook as well (using coconut flour).
Do you think this recipe would work without the egg? We are allergic. Possibly replace with applesauce Or banana? I’m desperately looking for a recipe for my bday on Thursday!
I don’t know since I haven’t tried it, sorry. Banana is more likely to work. Can you use flaxseed eggs? that works well when the recipe calls for 2 eggs or less, in general.
What about Protein Powder? Would that help?
Hello,
I was making this recipe for my carb free grandson’s b-day. I had to substitute splenda for the honey, vinegar for the lemon juice and clarified butter for the oil. The cake did not rise much. I did use new baking soda which I proofed. Do you have any idea why I did not get the rise. I hand mixed it to not over beat the eggs.
I actually make gluten dairy free products which have no gums in them only natural ingredients so am familiar with rising problems.
Thanks
Daun
I haven’t used spenda or tried your subs, so it could be the changes you made. The cake is not a very high riser though.
I’m so in love with this cake. On a no sugar, low carb diet, this is great. I subbed the honey with sugar free vanilla flavoring (like you use in coffee) and added some monk fruit in the raw as well. This turned out amazing. I made 1 layer and used it to make a strawberry shortcake. It was fantastic and lots of people said they wouldn’t have known it was low carb if I hadn’t told them. Thanks!!
great idea!
Made these as cupcakes & the center deflated… Taste good but not sure how to fix this divet issue???
I love the vanilla cake recipe and I’m new to your website. What is “SCD”?
Also do you have a recipe for an apple and cranberry fruit crisp? I was thinking of combining the vanilla cake with apples and possibly microwaving it(for convenience) or baking it for crispness. Has anyone tried this?
does the recipe require eleven half cups of almond flour or 1 1/2 cups of almond flour
1 and 1/2
Hi…I would like to make a cake or cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday tomorrow. Do you think I could throw some berries in the batter or would that throw it off? It seems like it would be fine. Any other ideas of how to decorate it that would be SCD legal? I’m new to this…
Thanks!
I think it would be fine. Happy Birthday to her!
Quick question- it just says oil in the ingredients. Can this be any oil (I was planning on using coconut oil)
Yes, it should be fine (but I haven’t tried it). You may want to melt the coconut oil before adding it to the batter.
Awesome! Thanks for getting back to me! What type of oil do you use?
I usually use either cooking oil or melted butter.
Yay….THANK YOU!! I have been looking for an almond flour cupcake recipe for my daughter’s first birthday (we are a GAPS family.) This looks lovely. I am going to do a drained yogurt frosting and top with berries…should make for some lovely smash photos, and a happy older brother who will be able to eat his baby sister’s first birthday cake! Thanks again!
I just made this yellow cake. It is now cooling down. So far it looks perfect. Hope it holds up together. I love baking with almond flour.
The only thing i added to this recipe is a teaspoon of my favorite sweet liquor called “Stega.” My mother used to put it in her yellow cakes when we were growing up. I also added a little bit of lemon zest. The middle of the cake is darker than the the outer layer, wonder if it’s the liquor that made this happen, but it looks great!
Liquor is called Strega.
@Shelby, I used light agave instead of honey.
Excellent recipe! I would like to add this advice, though: If making cupcakes, the yield is more like 8-10 cupcakes (even with large liners), and liners should be filled only 2/3 full. Otherwise, they will not fully cook in the middle and spill over the edges. Thank you again!
good tips! thanks.
I made this and it turned out amazing per my husband! I am always trying to make recipes more healthy without losing the wonderful flavor. What do you think about replacing the oil with unsweetened apple sauce?
Has anyone tried any other sweetners besides honey?
Thanks
This is exactly what I came to your site looking for. The fair trade and organic coffee shop near my office had this pound cake that they make in house (using flour) that is beyond flavorful. I splurged some calories and purchased one. I came here knowing I could find simple cake recipe that utilized alternative ingredients better suited to my diet and preferred food choices. Thanks.
Thanks. Which pound cake? I’m curious 🙂 Made with almond flour?
This recipe was just in time for my birthday party. I have made your previous ylow cake/refrigerator cake recipe and loved it. This recipe was simple and so easy. The cake had a really nice lightness. I was surprised how much the cupcakes rose. Great recipe!
Yeah! Thanks for trying this. And Happy Birthday!
Can I replace the honey with Splenda, and if so, what would be the conversion?
I don’t know offhand, but I would imagine it’s whatever sugar conversion you use plus the added measurement of moisture from the amount of honey added.
i made the cupcakes using almond meal. frosted them with chocolate cream cheese frosting. kids and hubby gobbled them up very fast. i plan to double the recipe and make more tomorrow.
yum to the cream cheese frosting! good to know this works with almond meal.
I definitely prefer blanched almond flour to almond meal for baking. And I just got my five pounds of Honeyville almond flour so I will definitely try your recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for this – I actually have tried your other recipe with whipping the egg whites and found it to be a bit too spongy for my taste so am excited for this version. As I’m just trying out baking with almond flour, I have noticed that sometimes it feels like my baked goods turn out too moist/oily … I have not tried reducing the amount of oil/butter called for in some recipes yet, but do you think that might be a good solution? I know nut flours are higher in fat, so I wonder if reducing some of the other fat would help balance it out …
I think you could go down to 1/4 cup of oil, but I haven’t tested it. I’m curious though, so I might test it later this week (when I get another shipment of almond flour). If you try it, let us know how it goes. Thanks!
I usually half the oil In a lot of the recipes. Most folks doing SCD need the calories oil provides tho.
This looks really good! I’m going to try making it for a birthday. Do you have a recipe for a frosting?
I do have a few scattered around the site.
Search for frosting:
https://comfybelly.wpengine.com/search/?cx=009337755317460624453%3A5pjupgghsym&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=frosting&siteurl=comfybelly.com%2F&ref=&ss=940j149200j8#.UJb-84Y3D3A
one more, just a basic, dairy-free white frosting, but I haven’t tested this well (maybe someone can try it if they’re interested):
1/2 cup of Spectrum Shortening
1/4 cup of honey
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
splash of almond milk or other dairy-free milk
Whip all the ingredients together until well-blended. Frost at room temperature.
SUPER TASTY! Thank you for this recipe. I am a typpe 1 diabetic always on the hunt for low sugar, no flour ( besides almond and coconut) recipe’s. This is a new favorite! I am going to put together a low sugar cream cheese frosting for the topping 🙂
Thanks for testing it! can you share your frosting recipe? Another reader is interested. 🙂
Try using a little xanthum gum. It acts a little like gluten to stabilize the almond flour/meal. This allows for a bit more rising of the cake (but not much).
Thanks. Gums are not legal with SCD, but if you’re not following SCD, then sure. Have you tried it? I avoid additives like gums. Here’s why (from Wikipedia): Xanthan gum may be derived from a variety of source products that are themselves common allergens, such as corn, wheat, dairy, or soy. As such, persons with known sensitivities or allergies to food products are advised to avoid foods including generic xanthan gum or first determine the source for the xanthan gum before consuming the food.
FYI – this post on xanthum gum is illuminating as well: http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2013/02/lets-talk-gluten-replacers-in-gluten-free-baking/#more-2683
You could also try arrowroot for a bit of extra binding/rising power. I’ll try it with a batch and let you know how it turns out.
I believe arrowroot is out for the SCD crowd (memememe) also. Starches don’t work for us.
i actually prefer almond meal and make all your recipes using that. they don’t turn out as pretty as yours, but to me they taste better.
good to know. almond meal works well in the bread and muffin recipes, but many prefer the lighter, finer grind of blanched almond flour for cakes and cupcakes (so that they’re similar to all purpose flour cakes).
Oh! I’ve been ordering Honeyville through amazon, but it’s labeled as “almond meal flour” Is that the wrong thing? Now I’m confused. Please take a look. If there’s a different product from Honeyville that I should be using, I’d like to know.
I’ve made your yellow cake before and it never looked like your picture. This may explain it. Or it may be as you say, “finicky”
http://www.amazon.com/Blanched-Almond-Meal-Flour-lb/dp/B0006ZN538/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352029709&sr=8-1&keywords=honeyville+blanched+almond+flour
The recipe is finicky because whipped eggs (and eggs in general) are sensitive to deflating (losing air while baking or after), especially if they can’t keep the structure with other ingredients in the batter, which is why you sometimes see deflated muffins, etc.
It looks like you’re using blanched almond flour, which is correct (as opposed to almond meal).
Hi Bernadette,
You can also try using blanched almond flour sold by Anthony’s Almonds:
http://www.amazon.com/Anthonys-Almonds-Blanched-Almond-Pounds/dp/B0055IRNAC
It’s great almond flour!
– Linda