This 3-ingredient paleo and GAPS angel food cake is an easy and delicious treat! Perfect for a first birthday cake or for a healthy shovel for berries and whipped cream… Keto option included!
A family tradition.
Every year, for as long as I can remember, angel food cake has been a birthday tradition in my family. Even as a kid, my mom would make a nice, fluffy homemade angel food cake for every birthday in our family. When I got married, I carried on that tradition. Sort of…
Upon discovering my intolerance for gluten and eggs after the birth of my 3rd kiddo, angel food cake seemed like a thing of the past. And indeed it was a for a few years. But then came along the GAPS Diet and I could suddenly enjoy eggs again! After transitioning back to a regular gluten-free diet my chocolate cream angel food cake recipe was born. Super delicious and easy enough, but sadly for me and our babies, still full of grains and sugars. (We don’t do grains until first molars come in!)
Thus my search to make a GAPS-friendly angel food cake began.
The perfect first cake.
If you’ve been following me on Instagram for a while, you’ll probably know that I’ve been working on this cake for… over a year. Not exclusively, mind you, but off and on. After another round of the GAPS Diet, and another baby born, I think I’ve finally got it.
With only three ingredients, and super easy to whip up (much easier than a normal angel food cake!), this GAPS angel food cake is perfect for first birthdays! My youngest just enjoyed it for his first birthday about a month ago.
GAPS Angel food cake.
This little cake has only three simple ingredients: egg whites, honey, and almond flour. My first few times around the block with this cake I just tried make a 7-inches one. It was perfect for a simple treat or for little baby birthday. 😉 I used this recipe multiple times and loved it well. The first set of photos I did for this recipe were of that cake.
I recently updated this recipe to include instructions for a regular sized angel food cake. Still only 3 low-carb ingredients, but now made in a regular 10-inch tube pan. It still works just fine and my family loves it. The only issue with this version is you have to have a lot of egg whites on hand. Which works well if you use yolks a lot, but if you don’t you might want to stick with the smaller sized cake. 🙂
Without the additions of sugar and cream of tartar, this cake is a little spongier than a normal angel food cake, too. Just so ya’ know. If you’re not on the GAPS Diet, you can add in 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar to the egg whites and the cake will hold it’s fluffiness a little better.
Also, if you’re looking for a nice tall cake, just double the recipe and bake two! I did this for my son’s birthday and frosted in between the cakes and on top. It was delicious! I’m including the recipe for the frosting I used, but you could simply whip up a recipe of my coconut whipped cream for frosting, if you want, and top with berries. Super yummy!
More grain-free birthday treats.
If you’re not in the mood for angel food cake, but you’re still looking for a nice, paleo birthday treat, here are some others we’ve used in my family:
- Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
- Personal Pan Apple Pie
- No-Bake Chocolate Avocado Tart
- Probiotic Apple Pie Ice Cream
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!
3-Ingredient GAPS Angel Food Cake
Free of grain, gluten, dairy, and refined sugar.
Ingredients
For a 7-inch cake:
- 1 cup room temperature egg whites*
- 2 tablespoon honey (use 1/2 teaspoon organic liquid stevia for keto option)
- 1/2 cup almond flour
For a 10-inch tube cake:
- 2 cups room temperature egg whites*
- 1/4 cup honey (use 1 teaspoon organic liquid stevia for keto option)
- 1 cup almond flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and set aside an UNGREASED 7-inch springform cake pan or a 10-inch tube cake pan. (Greasing your pan will cause your cake to not rise. Please don’t do it.)
In large high-sided bowl, beat egg whites with a hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks form – about 5-10 minutes (depending on the speed of your mixer).
Add in honey and beat until well mixed.
Sift in almond flour, about 3 tablespoons at a time, folding slowly after each addition, until all the flour is added.
Pour into the ungreased cake pan and bake at for 20-25 minutes, or until golden browned and springy when you touch it.
Invert the cake pan to cool. Once the cake is cool, remove from pan and frost with the recipe below, top with coconut whipped cream and berries, or eat as is.
Notes
*If you’re like, “What in the world do I use the rest of the egg for? Might I suggest my Creamy Lemon Ice Cream, Dark Chocolate Eggnog, Apple Pie Ice Cream, or Eggnog Chia Pudding?
*Please, please, please don’t buy plain egg whites from the store to use for this! Get your eggs from a farm, or at least buy organic ones and separate them yourself, it’s not that hard!
*This will not work with egg replacers like mashed fruit/veggie or flax eggs. Sorry! You might get something tasty, but it won’t be an angel food cake. 😉
And a last note: If you’re *not* on the GAPS Diet, and you can handle it, sprinkle in a little cream of tartar to your cake if you’re having trouble keeping your egg whites from falling.
Easy Chocolate Frosting
Free of grain, gluten, dairy, and refined sugar.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, liquid state
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional – I like to make my own or use this one from Azure Standard)
- 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
Instructions
In a bowl, whisk together ingredients until smooth and silky.
Frost cooled cake and enjoy!
Love this recipe – it looks so tasty!
Thank you!
Confused about 1 cup egg whites and 2 cups egg whites. Do they all go in at once?
No! Haha! Sorry for the confusion. There are TWO recipes on the card, one for a smaller cake (the 1 cup of egg whites), and the other for a bigger cake (the 2 cup option). Hope that makes sense!
You had me at 3 ingredients! Look tasty and would never tell it’s made with only a few ingredients.
Haha! Thanks, Mirlene!
Rajia the picture you posted looks so great. I just tried to bake one with coconut flour And it didn’t rise in the oven It’s a flat 1/4” think compacted cake. Is it because I didn’t use almond flour or something lease?
Oh yes, it’s definitely because you used coconut flour! So sorry! Coconut flour doesn’t work at all the same way almond flour does. I have yet to figure out a coconut flour angel food cake. Hopefully some day!
Hi again. I baked it with almond flour this time. But it didn’t rose like your picture. It’s maybe 1/2” thick…what did I do wrong ?:)
Hmm… My guess would be that the egg white deflated when you mixed the almond flour in. Angel food cake is notoriously finicky in that regard. I am sorry it is giving you trouble! I know how hard it is to feel like you’re wasting ingredients.
This looks like the perfect angel food cake. I’m looking forward to trying it.
I hope you enjoy it, Krissy! 🙂
This looks absolutely perfect – even better that it’s made without regular flour. I am super keen to bake this for my dad. 🙂
I hope he enjoys it, Laura!
I had no idea you could make angel cake like this – this looks absolutely amazing!! Love how soft and fluffy it looks – can’t wait to try it out!
Thank you so much!
Hey I accidentally didn’t read the directions perfectly and ended up adding all the ingredients at once. Now I can’t get the egg whites to thicken. Should I keep beating it?
Hm… yeah, that’s probably not gonna turn out like an angel food cake. 😉 But you could probably still bake it and eat it, if you want. 🙂
Tired this recipe tonight for a healthy dessert. It looked so beautiful…until I tried to get it out of the pan. We ended up with more of a trifle because I had to scape it out and I have already spent so long trying to get my cake pan clean.. Next time I will spray the pan for sure and sacrifice rising. But other than that the taste is good, especially with some fresh berries. My littles LOVED it and said it was the best ever. Plan on trying a second time and hope it turns out looking more like a cake though. Haha.
Aw sadness! So glad your kiddos still enjoyed it! What kind of pan did you use? A springform pan, or angel food tube pan with a removable bottom really does make all the difference! Then all you have to do is cut around the sides and take the whole thing out, then cut it off the removable bottom of the pan. Anyway, however you do it, I hope it works better for you next time!
Wow – just 3 ingredients?! Amazing!
Question for you-I can’t do nuts. Do you think I could try with cassava or another flour?
Thank you, Kiran! Cassava flour would be my first choice. I haven’t tried it yet, though, so I can’t say for sure!
I was already impressed and surprised by this fun cake … but then the fun chocolate frosting!!! That’s how I want mine! 😉
Haha! Thank you, Megan! Everything is better with chocolate, eh? 😉
I was actually wondering if paleo angel food cake was even possible recently! You nailed it. I have to try this!
Thanks, Erin! I hope you get to enjoy it!
Delicious and fluffy! So many possibilities with toppings or great by itself!
Yes! It’s a delicious blank slate. 😉
I love angel food cake…it’s light and fluffy and I am not a fan of frosting! It looks perfect and not too sweet!
Thanks, Cynthia!
How many eggs do you use? Even if you only end up putting the whites in the cake..
It’s about 10-12 eggs, depending on the size of yours.
Oh wow, the texture of this looks so perfect and I can’t believe it’s only 3 ingredients! Can’t wait to try this.
Thanks, Jean! I hope you get to enjoy it!
What a neat idea! Who doesn’t love cake – especially with a cup of tea!
Thanks, Mary! This would definitely go well with a cup of tea. 😉
Omg LOVE this recipe! 3 ingredients, fool-proof and so so yum! I topped my cake with berries and it was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Joni!
Wow. This is so brilliant. To be able to create something as tricky as angel food cake with just 3 ingredients is so, so impressive. I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks! I hope you get to enjoy it!
Wow-this has so few ingredients, but looks light and fluffy. I bet I would like it more than traditional angel food cake because of the richness of the almond flour!
Thank you, Kristie! It does taste a little different than a traditional angel food cake since there isn’t all the sugar and traditional flour. 😉 I hope you get to enjoy it!
I get goosebumps when I hear about 3-ingredients recipes! 🙂 Mostly because I am really excited about another recipe to use to save some time! Can’t wait to try making this cake pretty soon!
Haha! I totally understand. 😉 Hope you get to enjoy this cake, Mirlene!
Angel food cake is my favorite! I can’t believe you can make it with almond flour. Pinning to try soon!
I hope you enjoy it, Annemarie!
This cake looks absolutely beautiful! Love how simple the ingredient list is and how fluffy it looks. I’m adding this to my baking list.
Thank you, Linda!
Only 3 ingredients? – Certainly doesn’t look like it – you would never know! Love how simple this, can’t wait to try it!
Thanks, Hope!
I love how light & fluffy the cake looks! And only 3 ingredients is simply magical!
Thank you, Stacey!
that looks so deliciously light and fluffy! Makes me wanna grab some fresh berries and whipped cream and just dive in!
Thank you Heather!
Thank you for the recipe. I did not care for it at all… probably just adding a pinch of salt and vanilla would help tremendously as there wasn’t much taste. Just my opinion.
I’m sure it’s not for everyone, Shari. 😉 Things on the GAPS diet tend to not be as sweet as people are used to. Glad you tried it, though! If you add vanilla, make sure that there’s no oil in it, otherwise it will keep the cake from rising. 🙂
I would have never imagined in my wild dreams, one can make such a lovely cake with so little ingredients.
Haha! Thanks, Zuzana! I love making things as simple as possible. 😉
WOW. This actually looks like angel food cake! I am anxious to try it. What would you substitute for the honey in the frosting? I am sugar free. Thanks!
I hope you enjoy it, Deborah! You could try a teaspoon of stevia in the frosting in place of the honey. I haven’t tried it for the frosting yet, but I think it should work. 🙂
My son’s girlfriend is gluten and dairy free and allergic to coconut. Desserts are tricky. She can have sugar though. Do you think I could use sugar in place of honey?
Yes, you can use sugar instead. 🙂
Hi, if I double the recipe and use 2 cup egg whites, can I make it in my 9” spring foam pan? Or must I make them separate, so 2 separate cakes? If I can double and bake once, how many minutes do you think? Like 40??
Thanks
Yes, you can double it and bake it in a 9-inch pan, or even in a tube pan with a removable bottom. I would bake it for 1/2 hour and then check it. It will be sorta springy in the middle when it’s cooked through.
Can you add vanilla or almond extract to cut down the eggy taste ? And if so how much?
Yes, you can, just make sure the extract you use doesn’t contain any oil. Oil will keep the cake from rising. 🙂 I would use 1/2 teaspoon for a 7-inch cake, and 1 teaspoon for a 10-inch cake.
My favorite cake is Angel Food and I have put myself on a modified keto diet. I keep “junky” carbs to a minimum but I eat all my favorite fruits and veggies as they are nutritious. This cake looks like the one I will be making for my Birthday in September. It’s perfect as it’s low carb and very low in sugars. Just in case anyone is wondering if my diet is actually working- it is. In the past year I’ve lost 30 pounds and am finally under 200 pounds for the first time in 20 years.
Congratulations, Dawn! I hope you enjoy the cake. 🙂
How do you prepare the cake pan ?
Do not grease it, whatever you do! Grease will keep the cake from rising. Just use a springform pan so that you can remove it easily. If you don’t have one, line the bottom of your cake pan with parchment cut in the shape of the pan.
This note should be in the recipe. Too late for me now!
Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry about that! I hope your cake at least still tasted yummy….
Curious if you can sub regular gluten free flour blend for the almond flour? I don’t have access to almond flour other than online ordering.
I have not tried this specific recipe with a gluten-free blend. I have tried it with cassava flour, and that works ok, but it’s not as good as almond flour. I do have a regular gluten-free angel food cake on my side, but it uses granulated sweetener. You could check it out and see if it better fits your needs.
https://raiasrecipes.com/2015/02/chocolate-cream-angel-food-cake.html
I can’t tolerate honey and other sweeteners. Can I sub date syrup?
You could definitely try it! I hope it works for you!