My son is obsessed with the Little Blue Truck book so I thought he’d love it if he had a Little Blue Truck birthday cake. Except for their 1st birthday cake, which I bake myself, I’ve had my friend Yvonne from Yvonne’s Vegan Kitchen bake the kids’ cakes. I am many things, but a baker, I am not. To me, baking is a science (which was never a strength of mine!) and cooking is more of an art. A little of this, a little of that… you can ‘wing’ cooking. I am pretty good at baking, I just don’t enjoy it the same way. I have to really focus and it can often be stressful. One wrong measurement and your cake is done for!

Yvonne isn’t doing custom cakes anymore (boo!) so rather than try and find a new vegan & gluten free bakery, I decided to make one. I think it actually came out pretty good! (And my husband was thrilled because I saved a ton of money, so… maybe there was a silver lining after all! 🙂 )

This Little Blue Truck birthday cake is a homemade vanilla cake. It’s naturally sweetened, organic, artificial dye-free has fiber & protein and is really light and delicious!

We should be aiming to lower our sugar intake in general, but it’s especially important during a pandemic since sugar can suppress your immune system. If you’re going to consume sugar, the best way is to moderate it with healthy fats, fiber or protein so it doesn’t hit your blood stream all at once. The almond flour in this cake helps to do just that! It also avoids artificial dyes, which have been linked to ADHD-like behavior in children. I already have one child with ADHD so I know full well how important it is to not consume anything with artificial, toxic food dyes. They might look pretty but your body does not like it.

A note about the filling: I used a vegan chocolate hazelnut spread for the filling and didn’t care for it but my girls LOVED it. Next time I would use a strawberry (no sugar added, organic jam) or even a raspberry.

I paired it with an easy vanilla frosting (that’s made with real sugar, but I could at least control how much was on each piece). Everyone enjoyed it and it looked adorable!

Hope you enjoy!

Vanilla Birthday Cake (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Ingredients

Wet

• 1 ⅔ cup almond milk
• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry

• 3 ¼ cups almond flour
• 1 ⅓ cup coconut sugar
• 1 cup potato starch
• ⅓ cup arrowroot powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

Frosting

• 2 tbsp softened vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
• 3 cups organic powdered sugar
• 2-3 tbsp almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Line two 8-inch round cake pans with circles of parchment paper, and grease with vegan butter (like Earth Balance buttery spread)
3. Mix the wet ingredients together in a small bowl
4. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined
6. Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
7. Let cool in the cake pans slightly so it’s not as fragile, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
8. While the cake is cooling, add the vegan butter, vanilla & almond milk to a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer or KitchenAid. Add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
9. After the cakes have cooled completely, frost, and enjoy!