Grain-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free Strawberry Breakfast Cake made with almond flour, olive oil, and pure maple syrup. This protein-packed cake is healthy enough to call breakfast, and delicious enough to call dessert!
This post is sponsored by Olive Oils from Spain.
While I typically live in Savory Breakfast Camp, I’ve been known to enjoy a slice of cake or two for the first meal of the day.
This particular dessert-for-breakfast adventure is packed with protein, and is grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free.
Honestly, with features like these, eating cake for breakfast seems like a stellar life choice.
Made with almond flour, extra virgin olive oil from Spain, pure maple syrup, and fresh strawberries, this Strawberry Breakfast Cake cake turns out perfectly moist, sweet, and flavorful while still being nutritious.
That’s right!
We’re using almond flour and olive oil for this beauty to keep it grain-free and dairy-free! Should we have words about it? I think so!
Let’s talk olive oil.
Do you remember when olive oil cakes were a thing?
I do.
About 6-8-10 years ago, I saw recipes for olive oil cakes everywhere, and for a good reason: olive oil makes cakes (and breads, muffins, pancakes, etc.) supremely moist and gives them a unique rustic flavor.
As with most things in life, not all olive oils are created equally.
I partnered with Olive Oils from Spain to bring you this post to provide information on the various types of olive oils Spain produces and to raise awareness of its versatility.
Olive oil production in Spain has been a big deal for 2,000 years. Spain, in fact, produces 50% of the world’s olive oils!
Extra virgin olive oil is my oil of choice for almost all my oil needs.
It is incredibly versatile in both sweet and savory applications. I use it regularly for baking cakes and muffins, whipping up pancakes and crepes, and I cook with it each and every day.
More often than not, I dress my salads with a simple drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, and I select it also when I make sauces, marinades, and salad dressings.
While there’s been heated debate about the health benefits of oils in general lately, extra virgin olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat, antioxidants, and is a known anti-inflammatory.
Extra virgin olive oil contains oleic acid which helps reduce the level of bad cholesterol and increase the level of good cholesterol. It also contains a high amount of Vitamin E, which helps prevent arteriosclerosis, and may reduce blood pressure.
In this sense, it’s my fat source of choice in most applications that require it.
The two most common types of olive oil are extra virgin olive oil and olive oil. These two oils are categorized by specific physical and chemical parameters, and relating to the way it’s processed.
Extra virgin olive oil is a pure fresh olive juice, comes from the highest quality olives and meets the highest regulations, whereas olive oil shares the same high content of monounsaturated fatty acids, which are essential to a healthy diet, but are obtained from virgin olive oils that have not met the high standards required of extra virgin olive oils.
Learn more about the various types of olive oils here.
Okay, now let’s talk Strawberry Breakfast CAKE!
I pulsed some raw almonds in my food processor and sprinkled them on top of the cake batter before baking so that they became nice and crunchy during the baking process.
The soft cake with the crunchy almonds is very texturally pleasing!
Olive oil cake for breakfast!
Also try my Grain-Free Rosemary Lemon Olive Oil Cake.
More Healthy Cake Recipes:
- Paleo Banana Coffee Cake
- Grain-Free Cranberry Orange Breakfast Cake
- Gluten-Free Apple Bundt Cake
- Grain-Free Vegan Pumpkin Snack Cake
- Paleo Clementine Cake
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Grain-Free Strawberry Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or cider vinegar
- 2.5 cups almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup fresh strawberries sliced
- 2/3 cup raw almonds chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and lightly oil or spray an 8-inch spring form pan (or regular 8-inch cake pan). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Add all ingredients for the cake except for the strawberries and raw almonds to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Fold the sliced strawberries into the cake batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Top with the raw chopped walnuts.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven 45 to 55 minutes, or until the cake turns golden-brown and the center is set up. Turn off the oven and allow cake to stand in the hot oven another 10 minutes.
- Allow cake to cool at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.
Can this cake be doubled and baked in a 13×9″ pan? I’ve made it so many yummy times I’ve lost count! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi Christine! I haven’t tested the recipe myself in a 13 x 9 pan, so I’m not sure about the quantity changes. I think doubling it would work, although the cake might be fairly thick. If I were to try it, I would 1.5x the recipe. Let me know how it turns out! I’m thrilled to hear you enjoy it!
Yummm! Have you ever made with blueberries?
I have! I definitely recommend it 🙂 I have also made the cake with apples, raspberries, fresh figs, and I plan on using blackberries at some point.
Hi! I’m loving your recipes! Olive Oil vs Avocado Oil… do you taste the difference? Or, is it more of a texture difference?
Hi Maggie! If it is extra virgin olive oil, you can taste the olive oil (which some people really enjoy!). Non extra virgin olive oil is milder in flavor so you don’t taste it as much. If you’ve baked olive oil cakes in the past and enjoy the flavor, feel free to use it! Otherwise, you won’t taste the avocado oil, so the strawberry flavor will shine through. Let me know if you have any other questions! xo
I wonder if I could replace the maple syrup with date syrup
Hi Katherine! I’ve never used date syrup before, but I did a quick google and it looks like you can use it as a 1:1 replacement for pure maple syrup 🙂 Happy baking! xo
We picked a bunch of blueberries this summer. Have you tried this with other berries? I wonder about substituting blueberries and maybe adding some cinnamon?
Hi Fran! Blueberries work great in this recipe! In fact, I made an Almond Flour Blueberry Cake recipe that is very similar: https://www.theroastedroot.net/paleo-blueberry-cake-with-low-carb-option/ Adding cinnamon sounds great! I would do 1 to 1.5 tsp! xo
This looks so wonderful! I think I’ll follow this recipe and use blueberries- I ate all the strawberries – ha ha. Yum!
Must I use a blender? I’m embarrassed to admit we don’t have one! I’ve never used a blender when I bake… which is every day! Am I missing out?
Hi Maggie! You’re not missing out! You can definitely stick with regular mixing bowls, no problem 🙂 The cake is great with blueberries! I’ve tried this myself and love it!
What a wonderful recipe for a spring Sunday brunch! I can’t wait to try it!
How can I replace fresh strawberries to freeze dried strawberries? How much quantity should I add?
Hi Aary! I’ve never baked with freeze dried strawberries, so I can’t be too sure! I imagine you would use half the amount? Maybe do a quick google to see what other folks are doing in baked recipes 😉 xoxoxo
By the time the oven was preheated I had two cake recipes made. So easy!!!!! Might add a cream cheese glaze for dessert!
Yaaaas! I love how easy it is too! Thanks so much for the sweet note! Enjoy! xoxo
So…how important is Step 5, waiting an hour before slicing? Asking for a friend….who might be a little hungry
Lol, you can always get away with slicing early 😉 xoxoxox
Looking forward to trying this. I can’t get hold of almond flour but I have coconut flour, allowing for reducing the qty, can it substitute in this recipe? Or would you recommend using GF flour blend instead?
Hi Sam,
I haven’t tested the recipe using any other flour than almond flour, so I’m not sure what the quantities would be. For coconut flour, you would need to reduce the flour dramatically (if absorbs 4x the liquid than any other flour) and you’d also need to add more eggs and possibly coconut milk…it would have to be an entirely different recipe, unfortunately.
A GF flour blend may work! I would hate for you to go through the trouble of trying it and have it not work out, so you may be better off googling a different recipe until you can get ahold of almond flour. Sorry I’m not more helpful! I’ll definitely update the post once I have a chance to test it with other flours. xoxoxo
Just now saw this recipe. Buying strawberries today. Cannot wait to bake this. Thank you, Julia. Love your recipes.
Can this be made ahead and frozen? How many days can you make ahead of serving without freezing. Should it be kept in refrigerator or out?
Hi Kathy,
I recommend keeping the cake refrigerated for up to 5 days. After the 5th day, if you still have cake left, you can wrap it in plastic wrap and stick it in a zip lock bag in the freezer. It lasts for up to a month and a half in the freezer. Hope you enjoy!
Came out awesome
Thank u??
The third bullet point says walnuts. Assume this refers to the almonds? A friend made and this was delicious— thanks for sharing.
Any way to do this without eggs?
Hi Rachel,
You can try to use a vegan egg replacer like this one from Bob’s Red Mill. Quite honestly, I haven’t had much luck with flax eggs or chia eggs in cake recipes, but I think the egg replacer would work marvelously. You could also try applesauce or banana, but both will likely effect the flavor of the cake. Let me know what you end up trying!
haha yeahhh they are so still at thing at my house!! Over the last year or so I’ve really been baking more with olive oil and I cannot get enough of it! This cake has my name written allll over it!
Yeeeeah, get on it, girl! You’ll love it!
I remember seeing all the olive oil cake recipes and every time I did I thought I need to try baking with olive oil! Somehow I haven’t gotten around to it but I’ve tried my fare share of baked goodies and they’ve always been amazing. This cake looks so moist and delicious and bonus points that it’s healthier!
Ah yes, olive oil cakes are soooo tasty! I hope you give it a shot! The cake is definitely so nice and moist! xo