This simple and delicious Berry Snack Cake is the perfect back-to-school paleo and gluten-free treat! Both kids and adults love this snack cake because you can eat it without utensils and no one will suspect that it’s free of grains and refined sugar!
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The best berry snack cake!
This berry snack cake has a tender crumb dotted with tangy berries and just the right amount of sweetness from maple or coconut sugar! Also, it passed the test with my picky gluten-eating in-laws, so you know this snacking cake is a winner!
It’s Paleo, Gluten-Free, and Grain-Free!
I don’t make paleo desserts often, but when I do, I make sure they are worth all of the testing. This berry snack cake tastes amazing and the only flours used are almond flour and cassava flour. As I’ve told you in the past, I’m not a paleo baking expert, so I’m not sure if you can use an egg substitute or use another flour in place of the two used in this recipe. Please let me know in the comments section below if you have success with any ingredient substitutions!
Can you make a low carb snack cake?
Yes! I recently tested this cake out with allulose and it turned out great! Because allulose is not as sweet as maple sugar, you need to increase the amount of sweetener to 1 cup. Also, because allulose browns quickly, you should keep an eye on it during the last 10 minutes and lightly place a piece of foil on top so it doesn’t get too dark before the center is fully cooked.
You can probably use mostly almond flour to decrease the carbs as well. However, I’m not sure of the exact proportions so if you do try it, please let folks know in the comments below how it turns out!
Can you use other fruit?
Definitely! You can substitute the berries with almost any other sliced up fruit. Peaches, nectarines, plums, mango, or canned pineapple work great! If you’re using a hard fruit, like an apple, slice it thin so it can cook in the time the batter sets up. Frozen fruit will also work but it will take longer to bake and the finished cake will be wetter.
Ingredients
- Avocado oil spray or ghee
- Finely ground almond flour
- Cassava flour (I use Otto’s cassava flour)
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Ground cardamom
- Ghee or coconut oil, softened
- Maple sugar or coconut sugar or granulated allulose (for low carb)
- Large eggs
- Full-fat coconut milk
- Grated lime zest
- Lime juice
- Vanilla extract
- Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and/or raspberries
- keto confectioners sugar (optional)
How to make a gluten-free berry snack cake
Heat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle. Lightly grease the sides and bottom of an 8-inch square metal baking pan with avocado oil or ghee. Make a sling out of parchment paper to line the bottom and hang over the sides.
In medium bowl, whisk together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Set aside.
Plop the softened ghee and maple sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer).
Use the paddle attachment to blend the mixture on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until lighter in color and fluffy.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, coconut milk, lime zest and juice, and vanilla.
Beat the mixture on medium speed for 30 seconds or until combined. Next, add half the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
Slowly add the rest of the flour and mix until incorporated.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in any dry flour with a spatula. Pour in the berries…
…and carefully fold them in the thick batter.
Transfer the batter to the parchment-lined baking pan and smooth the top.
Pop the pan in the oven and bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack. Cut the cake into nine squares…
…and top with keto confectioner’s sugar if desired.
How to store leftovers
Store leftover cake in a sealed airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
But something tells me you won’t have very many leftovers!
More grab-and-go paleo dessert ideas!
If you’re looking for more portable paleo dessert recipes, here are some of my favorites:
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Berry Snack Cake (Paleo, Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- Avocado oil spray or ghee
- 1 cup finely ground almond flour
- ¾ cup cassava flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ cup ghee softened (or coconut oil, softened)
- ⅔ cup maple sugar or coconut sugar or 1 cup granulated allulose (for low carb)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup full-fat coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups mixed berries
- 1 tablespoon keto confectioners sugar optional
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle. Lightly grease the sides and bottom of an 8-inch square metal baking pan with avocado oil or ghee. Make a sling out of parchment paper to line the bottom and hang over the sides.
- In medium bowl, whisk together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Set aside.
- Plop the softened ghee and maple sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer). Use the paddle attachment to blend the mixture on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until lighter in color and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, coconut milk, lime zest and juice, and vanilla. Beat the mixture on medium speed for 30 seconds or until combined.
- Next, add half the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Slowly add the rest of the flour and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in any dry flour with a spatula.
- Carefully fold the berries into the batter.
- Transfer the batter to the parchment-lined baking pan and smooth the top.
- Pop the pan in the oven and bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. (If you’re using allulose, you may need to cover the cake lightly with foil during the last 10 minutes to prevent it from browning too much.)
- Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack. Cut the cake into nine squares and serve as is or top with keto confectioners sugar.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How could this not come out super yummy? So good!
I did not follow the directions well (LOL) and it is still delicious. I get a D- for reading comprehension! So FYI cassava flour and tapioca flour aren’t the same thing; maple sugar and maple syrup are also not equivalent. Oops!
The recipe is pretty forgiving. The toothpick still came out clean after ~30 minutes. It just wasn’t very cakey: more like a mochi/boba berry pudding. I also did not have the patience to let it cool, so maybe it will become more cakey over the next few hours? If not, I will be happy to serve it over ice cream.The cardamom and berry flavor is on point!
Next time (because I will tots make this again), I’ll follow the directions and use the listed ingredients! Ha, thanks again!
This snack cake is the best! Easy to make and bakes beautifully. (Tough to let it cool) The “crumb”/texture was particularly pleasing! I used plums and almond milk since both were on hand. Pears with 5-spice are next since the tree is so prolific right now 🙂
My family devoured this cake! Thank you, Love baking with cassava flour!
My two only substitutions were, I used only one cup of frozen wild organic Blueberries, instead of a combo of berries. And only used 1/2 cup of coconut sugar.
It was delightfully tasty! Next week I will attempt a chocolate chip version of this same cake, Yay 🙂
Can’t wait to try it! Can you suggest adjustment for subbing maple syrup for maple sugar? BTW – your https://nomnompaleo.com/post/148597361748/pressure-cooker-summer-italian-chicken is D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S. 🙏
I haven’t tried it! I think you need a granulated sugar to cream the ghee, though.
You think I could sub cherries for berries?
Yes!
I realized I didn’t have berries and used 1 cup of pineapple instead and this still came out absolutely delicious. Great recipe!
Hi, how can I make this egg free? ( allergic to eggs). ?
Not sure! I haven’t tried it without egg.
Wow, get this: I managed to successfully bake this in an air fryer in a 7″ bundt pan. (The air fryer – actually an air fryer lid on an Instant Pot! – is currently my only oven.) And it worked! Very yummy cake with a great texture. Next, I’ll try it with pineapple as suggested in the comments .
Ooh! What temp and time did you use for the air fryer?
I used the exact temp and time in your recipe. Covered the little bundt pan with foil for the whole time and the top got browned!
Almost always, I adjust both time and temp down for air fryer lid cooking. But I thought, “let’s live dangerously”.
I used convention bake @ 350 for 45 minutes… perfection!!
I have I.B.S. and cannot have stone fruit at all! It’s terrible. My body just won’t process them, and I adore apples. Strawberries are just not the same thing. I can eat cantaloupe and other melons and pineapple. It’s pretty bleak. Can I just skip the fruit?
We haven’t tested it without the fruit, but you could give it a try and let us know how it turns out.