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Once you have my Gluten and Dairy-Free Almond Poppy Seed Cake Recipe, you’ll be excited about dessert once again!

Almond Poppy Seed Sheet Cake Inspiration

I love my relative, Lorna. She always shares super delicious-looking recipes on her Facebook page that are perfect for both everyday and special occasions. 

Her recipe box is filled with some of the best cake and dessert recipes, but rarely are they Gutsy approved. 

Sometimes, now that I’m fully healed, I’ll just make the recipe as-is. 

Other times, I see the recipe as an opportunity for playing in the kitchen and getting creative.

This is so that you will benefit as well.

Anyways, full credit for the recipe idea goes to Lorna who shared THIS original Almond Poppy Seed Sheet Cake recipe.

The first thing I want to do is share the original ingredients before I share exactly what I used. 

This is so you can easily see the swaps I made.

• 3 large eggs
• 2 C granulated sugar
• 3 C all-purpose flour
• salt, 1/2 tsp
• baking powder, 1/2 Tbsp
• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
• almond extract, 1/2 Tbsp 
• 1 tsp butter emulsion
• 1 1/2 C whole milk
• olive oil, 1 C 
• 1-2 Tbsp poppy seeds

And by the way, we have now made this recipe several times (the gluten and dairy free version). It is incredibly delicious and the best part is that it is much easier on your gut AND it’s super easy to make – no food processor needed! 

I never made the version above, but I’d put mine against it any day.

If you’re ready for this sweet treat, here you go.

Almond and Poppy Seed Cake Recipe (Gluten and Dairy-Free – Sheet Cake Style)

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Almond and Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

As your professional poppy seed cake tester, I have some notes to share with you to help with the recipe.

Remember: dry ingredients in one bowl; wet ingredients in the other. Then mix together, and finally fold in your poppy seeds.

Special Notes: Almond and Poppy Seed Cake Recipe (Gluten and Dairy-Free – Sheet Cake Style)

Sugar

The first time I made this recipe, I replaced all 2 cups of regular sugar with 2 cups of monk fruit sugar. My husband’s co-workers liked it, but I personally thought there was too much of an aftertaste from the sugar mixture.

That said, IF you want to make this a no-sugar, 100% non-nutritive sweetened dessert, you totally can. I would simply just stick to 1 1/4 total cups of monk fruit. Doing sugar the way I did in the recipe above means that for the entire sheet cake there is only 1/2 cup of sugar, which is a fairly nil amount per serving. 

Most cakes have upwards of 15 grams of sugar per serving, which is almost 1/3 of the recommended sugar daily values, while ours comes in at about 3 grams. Much better for those post dessert sugar spikes and our overall gut microbiome!

Monk Fruit Discount

Remember, I use Lakanto Monk Fruit HERE. Whenever you purchase anything from Lakanto’s website, be sure to use coupon code ‘AGUTSYGIRL’ to save 15%. You’ll find all the best A Gutsy Girl discount codes on my favorite products HERE.

IF you don’t like the Lakanto one, It’s Just also has an awesome monkfruit HERE.

Gluten-Free Flour

Would I love to figure out how to make this recipe using just coconut and/or almond flour? Absolutely. But it’s very hard to replicate the texture when you do that.

My goal was gluten-free not everything-free. Therefore, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour was just the right tool for the job.

Remember, you can find this at Walmart, too. This flour keeps the cake gluten-free without sacrificing the fluffy texture.

Updated in 2024 to add: I also made this using Cassava flour. I think the texture of the poppyseed cake is then a little more firm vs. fluffy, but nonetheless it can be done.

Eggs

Yes, there are 3 eggs in this recipe. And since the recipe does not use an alternative flour, you could definitely try swapping the egg with an alternative egg for a Vegan-friendly option.

In fact, I have made it with chia seed eggs.

To do this, you’d use 3 Tablespoons chia seeds + 9 Tablespoons of water. Let it sit for 5 minutes to “gel” prior to adding it to the rest of the wet ingredients.

Similar to the Cassava flour, though, I don’t think this version yields as “fluffy” of a cake, but the flavor is still almond poppyseed cake incredible!

Full-Fat Coconut Milk

The original recipe called for whole milk. 

Thus, I needed something with similar total fat content. Full-fat coconut milk will do the trick. 

You’ll find my favorite coconut milk brands HERE. 

They are the perfect addition, as they maintain the creaminess of regular milk, without flaring up your gut!

Poppy Seeds

I actually used about 2+ Tablespoons poppy seeds because I love them. That said, here are some things to know about poppy seeds:

1. Unlike hempseeds which will not make you fail a drug test, poppy seeds could.
2. The earliest documentation reaches as far back as 3,000 years ago. For the Egyptians, poppies symbolized rebirth because of its ability to be “reborn” after the harvest season.
3. Poppy seeds come in three different colors: white, blue and black.
4. They can prevent constipation and other digestive problems. Poppy seeds have high amounts of dietary fiber, which aids the digestive system in metabolizing and smoothly processing ingested food, preventing constipation and other digestive problems.

Almond Flavor

Like the poppy seeds, I’m obsessed with anything almond flavor. So, while this recipe calls for 1/2 Tablespoon almond extract, I will oftentimes add an extra teaspoon almond extract. Again, this is because I just adore that almond flavor.

Let your cake cool and ENJOY!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

I might not be in the norm with this statement, but I don’t love lemon poppy seed.

Because of this I ended up not adding any lemon to Lorna’s original recipe.

That said, you definitely can.

And, in fact, it would be super simple.

Just swap out the almond extract and swap in your lemon extract.

If you find you want more lemon to pull through, then increase that amount the next time. You could also about a tablespoon of lemon zest or fresh lemon juice for a stronger pop of flavor (plus vitamin C).

And that’s it. 

Now all that’s left to do is make the recipe and enjoy it. 

Wait, one more thing.

You’re asking, 

But what about the cream cheese frosting she used on it?

Well, I didn’t use any frosting. The reason is because:

1. It’s sweet enough as is, and I’m obsessed with the plain version. The almond extract adds the perfect almond flavoring that is subtle yet still sweet.
2. You can make hers if you want. Swap the cream cheese for Miyoko’s Vegan Cream Cheese and instead of the powdered sugar, just grab the Powdered Sugar Monk Fruit HERE. Boom. Just spread it over the top of the cake with a spatula or with piping bags and you are golden.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. One of the BEST Italian recipes: Tiramisu (alcohol free)
2. Paleo Birthday Cake with Rainbow Unicorn Frosting
3. Strawberry Shortcake for One

p.s. Wait, I kind of lied. I didn’t put any frosting on, but my sweet little baking assistant, Samarah and her baking buddy Uni the Unicorn, did.

Disclosure: All opinions started here are 100% my own. I appreciate your support, as this compensation helps with expenses to keep this website up and running, and for me to continue sharing all that I can with you. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Xox,

SKH