Because ya girl can’t resist a good themed week, a couple years back we had our very first #AKBdayCakeWeek! I kicked it off with a birthday cake bread that just so happened to give me the idea to start the whole themed week because it was just SO DANG GOOD.
This recipe was originally part of an IG partnership with my friends over at siggi’s — it was so popular that I decided it deserved a forever home on Ambitious Kitchen. I even made it for the next episode of Good Mood Comfort Food! This gorgeous, healthy birthday cake bread tastes just like a slice of birthday cake, plus it’s nutritious, grain free, gluten free and easily dairy free too! Time to get your sprinkle on.
Ingredients in healthy birthday cake bread
I get tons of requests for breads and loaves that don’t have banana, so if bananas aren’t your jam then this gluten free birthday cake bread is for you! There are also easy swaps to keep it dairy free. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Vanilla greek yogurt: I love making this healthy birthday cake bread with siggis vanilla & cinnamon plant-based cups, but feel free to sub any type of vanilla greek yogurt. The vanilla flavor makes it extra special.
- Eggs: you’ll just need two eggs so that this birthday cake loaf bakes up well.
- Pure maple syrup: we’re only sweetening with a bit of pure maple syrup.
- Vanilla & almond extracts: the combo of vanilla and almond extract is truly what give it that cake batter flavor.
- Gluten free oat flour: if you’re not gluten free you can feel free to use a regular oat flour, too. See below for how to make your own from gluten free rolled oats!
- Almond flour: be sure to use a blanched, fine almond flour to give this bread the right texture. Don’t forget to pack your almond flour.
- Sprinkles: feel free to use any sprinkles you like! I like using this all natural brand.
- Baking soda & salt: for proper baking and a little flavor boost.
Can I use a different flour?
Unfortunately, no, I cannot recommend a flour substitute for this birthday cake bread. Please stick to the recipe so that the bread bakes up perfectly!
How to make your own gluten free oat flour
You can easily make your own gluten free oat flour by simply placing gluten free oats into a blender and blending or pulsing until they’re smooth and resemble flour. This is a super easy & affordable option. Check out my tutorial with all of my best tips & tricks. Be sure to measure out 1 cup of your oat flour after making it!
What makes this birthday cake bread healthy?
If you grew up on the funfetti box cake you know how nostalgic and amazing that flavor is. I wanted to replicate that exact flavor with some better-for-you ingredients instead of the traditional butter, oil and sugar that comes with traditional birthday cake. This bread just so happens to be:
- Oil free. There’s no oil in this healthy birthday cake bread! It’s deliciously moist from the protein-packed greek yogurt.
- Naturally sweetened. Thanks to just pure maple syrup instead of a cup of white sugar.
- Gluten free & easily dairy free. By using almond flour and oat flour, and is easily dairy free using your favorite dairy free yogurt.
- Packed with healthy fats & protein. There are plenty of healthy fats from the almond flour, and even a boost of protein from the yogurt and eggs.
This easy birthday cake bread recipe tastes like the real deal but is healthy enough for breakfast or a snack!
How to make gluten free birthday cake bread
- Prep your pan. Start by lining a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Mis the yogurt, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extract until they’re nice and smooth.
- Add dry ingredients. Stir in the flours, sprinkles, baking soda & salt with a wooden spoon until the batter is well combined.
- Bake it up. Pour the mixture into your pan, top with some more sprinkles, and bake it up!
- Cool & devour. Let the bread cool completely before cutting into it, then enjoy a slice warm with butter or vegan butter and a drizzle of maple syrup if desired.
Don’t forget these tips for baking quick bread
- Follow the recipe. The best way to ensure the success of this birthday cake bread is to follow the recipe and use the exact ingredients as written (unless I note specific substitutes).
- Pack your almond flour. Be sure to pack your almond flour as you would with brown sugar. Do not pack your oat flour.
- Use fresh baking soda. If your baking soda is older than 3 months, I suggest grabbing a new one for best baking results.
- Line your loaf pan. I recommend lining your loaf pan with parchment paper AND spraying it with nonstick cooking spray so that your bread comes out easily.
Storing & freezing tips:
- To store: this healthy birthday cake bread should be kept well-covered in foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days, then I recommend transferring to the fridge or freezer.
- To freeze: simply wrap in plastic, then tightly in foil and finally place in a reusable bag or freezer friendly bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature once you are ready to eat. You can also feel free to freeze individual slices for a quick on-the-go treat.
More birthday cake themed recipes
- Grain Free Birthday Cake Cookies
- Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats
- Birthday Cake Cookie Dough Energy Bites
- Healthy Birthday Cake
Get all of my bread recipes here!
If you make this healthy birthday cake bread recipe, be sure to leave a comment below and rate the recipe! You can also snap and picture and post it on Instagram using the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen. xo!
Good Mood Comfort Food
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Birthday Cake Bread
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients
- 1 (5.3 oz) container siggis vanilla & cinnamon plant-based cups (or sub about 1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt)
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Dry ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free oat flour
- 1 cup packed blanched fine almond flour (no subs sorry)
- ¼ cup sprinkles
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- For topping
- 2 tablespoons sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 4 loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the following ingredients until well combined: yogurt, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extract.
- Add dry ingredients to the bowl: oat flour, almond flour, sprinkles, baking soda and salt; mixing with a wooden spoon until well combined. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sprinkles on top. Bake for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack. Allow bread to cool for at least 15 min before cutting into. Enjoy a slice warm with butter or vegan butter and a drizzle of maple syrup if desired. Serves 8.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on September 15th, 2020, republished on August 28th, 2022, and republished on September 25th, 2023.
I wanted to try and make muffins from this recipe. I increased the temp to 375 and baked them for 15 mins, and they turned out great!
Perfect! Such a fun snack 🙂
This is my daughter’s absolute favorite ‘treat! I love the ingredients – they are wholesome and keep her full – and she loves the sprinkles. I always make a double batch and throw one in the freezer.
So happy to hear that!
Absolutely delicious! A favorite in our house
Glad to hear!
Hi,
Can I increase the honey in this recipe? by how much can I increase?
How can I make it rose flavored? I think rose & almonds go really well!
Hi! If you use honey, this bread will likely be sweet enough as honey is sweeter than maple syrup. If you use maple syrup, feel free to increase by 1-2 tablespoons. I haven’t tried adding a rose flavor, but let me know if you experiment!
Hey,
Could I make this as a two 8-inch cake? Double the recipe? and how much do you think would be a baking time, if possible? Thanks
Hi! You’ll want to triple the recipe for two 8-inch cake pans, then bake it for 18-28 minutes.
Eat the leftovers w/ Siggi’s vanilla yogurt & fresh cut strawberries! Tastes just like a a strawberry shortcake parfait (but better!). Also LOVE Watkins dye-free rainbow sprinkles from Amazon. They make such a difference!
This bread was a little dry for my taste but I like my breads SUPER moist (remnants from licking the batter when my mom was making banana bread as a kid — the best part). Would make again, especially for this strawberry parfait situation. Incredible!
Omg that sounds amazing! Try underbaking this a bit next time 🙂
I can’t believe how good this is! I used half a cup lactose free Greek yogurt and added a little cinnamon. The bread baked up fluffy and I don’t miss the white flour at all. Really good combination.
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
This was a fun recipe to make with my 3 year old! I love that it’s made with real ingredients and no refined sugar. It was delicious!
Such a great treat for kiddos!
Do you pack the almond flour when measuring out?
Omg wow I reread and saw it says to pack! Can’t wait!!
Enjoy!!
Sooooooo good! I made it in a cupcake tin, it yielded 12 cupcakes, they are a great treat!
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
So yummy! I did a little less almond extract because that stuff is potent and sometimes overpowers the taste of things, but it was still soo yummy! Tastes just like boxed cake mix but healthier
Perfect! Glad you loved it!
I love this recipe! I made it as it is and it is delicious! I’ve made it 3 times in the last month. Try this recipe and you’ll be glad you did!
So happy to hear that!
Hello Ambitious Kitchen. I made this today. It is delicious. However, I found that the inside sprinkles disappeared in the baked loaf. I could only see the sprinkles on top. Also, I noticed that your picture shows a lot more sprinkles on top than the 2 Tablespoons listed in the recipe. I did use your recommended brand of sprinkles, purchased through Amazon. Thank you for your recipes.
Hi! Did you see the sprinkles or a rainbow color when you sliced into the bread? You’re always more than welcome to add more on top for a pretty look – I typically just start with 2 tablespoons (and they go a long way!)
This was soooo good! I used egg whites, gluten free cake mix instead of oat flour, and dairy-free/unsweetened yogurt all as swaps and it turned out fabulous! Brought it for a team member’s birthday celebration and EVERYONE loved it!
I’m glad those swaps worked out well!
Delicious!! I made this the night before a birthday brunch. They loved it!
Why did you add the sprinkles to the inside of the bread? I’m assuming it’s only for sweetness since it all melted. So you could not see the sprinkles inside the cake, when you cut it.
So happy to hear that! The majority of “birthday cake” flavored baked goods have sprinkles baked in the batter to give the treat a fun rainbow look 🙂
Hello, I love this recipe. I would like to make it for a birthday party in a 10-inch round pan would that work too? Should I double the recipe?
Yes I’d suggest doubling the recipe!
Hi Monique
This looks amazing, my baby girl’s 3rd birthday is coming up. I guess this recipe also would work as for muffins, right?
Thank you and all the best to you and your family.
Gabriella
Hi! Yes, this should work as muffins/cupcakes as well!
This recipe had been on my list to make for a while and so glad I did! I used plain Greek yoghurt and almond meal (it said no subs but almond flour doesn’t really exist where I live) and made 10x muffins. My 3yo loves them! We just put extra sprinkles straight on top before baking rather than doing the frosting, which was good bc the sprinkles in the batter kind of disappear.
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
My family (including 2 picky toddlers) love this bread! I have added a tablespoon of chia seeds as well for extra nutrients. I am curious, if I wanted to add grated carrots or zuchini how would that impact it? Any tips for sneaking some veggies? Thanks for such a great recipe!!
Amazing! Love the idea of adding chia seeds. I haven’t tested this bread using shredded veggies, so I’m not 100% sure how it’ll change the ratios as it will add additional moisture. Check out these zucchini bread recipes, and my favorite carrot cake banana bread for some other ideas!
My family looooves this bread!! My incredibly picky eater even eats this. Thank you so much! Any tips on adding some veggies to it? Do you think shredded carrots or zuchini would work/how to alter for that?
So happy to hear that! Hmmm I haven’t tested this out with shredded veggies, so I’m not sure how it will bake up. If you try it just be sure to squeeze the veggies out fully and reduce some of the liquid (like the yogurt) in the recipe as the veggies will add moisture.
Do you think I could use plain Greek yogurt and add vanilla protein powder to flavor it? Or extract?Thanks!
Plain greek yogurt should be just fine! I think the 2 teaspoons of vanilla listed in the recipe should be plenty, but feel free to add another little dash if you’d like 🙂
Looks wonderful and festive! Can this be made in a cupcake pan? My son’s school has a no sugar policy but I think I can get away with going light on the sprinkles and sending these as cupcakes for his birthday.
Hi! For muffins/cupcakes I think you maybe could get 10 muffins out of this! Same temp, but I would check them around 18 minutes.
This turned out to be a hit, especially with my kids. I packed it in their school lunchboxes and it held up well. Plus I didn’t feel bad letting them it the whole thing in one day since it’s loaded with nutritious ingredients (besides the sprinkles which I reduced by half) Will be making it again.
Such a great snack or treat!
Can this be baked in a round 8×8?
Yes, that should work!
Love this birthday bread recipe so much. I used it for my son’s first birthday cake. It’s not super sweet but tastes just like a funfetti cake. With having nutritious ingredients like almond flour and oat flour.I’ve also made them into mini muffins for an easy breakfast for my son.
Amazing!!
This sounds perfect! Do you think these would work as muffins/cupcakes? My 3 year old is very insistent on cupcakes for his bday 😊
Hi! For muffins/cupcakes I think you maybe could get 10 muffins out of this! Same temp, but I would check them around 18 minutes.
So yummy! I made this with my 2 year old. I subbed Forager cashew yogurt & flax eggs. Turned out great!
Perfect! Such a great treat 🙂
I’m curious to know if anyone has tried it with just almond flour (no oat flour)? Or another substitute for the oat flour – coconut flour, tapioca, etc.? Thanks!