Allergy-friendly birthday cake ideas for kids – real life inspiration gallery!

As allergy parents we have to get creative with our baking, and this is especially true when it comes to birthday cakes. If your kids are anything like mine, then expectations are high and the pressure is on! And it can be really challenging to find a suitable and fun birthday cake in the shops, so we have no choice but to bake.

This gallery of birthday cake successes from other allergy parents is a way to share the inspiration around!

You won’t find any professional level decoration here, just fun and tasty ideas from parents that their little ones enjoyed. All the cakes shared here are free from dairy and egg as well as lots of soy, nut, wheat and gluten free bakes – and many that are free from all of the above! Whichever cake you choose, check out my hacks for a successful dairy and egg free bake for the best chance of success.

Thank you so much to all the allergy parents who have shared their birthday cake successes for this inspiration gallery. Whether you’re baking your first allergy friendly birthday cake, or are just looking for some easy & fun ideas, I hope you find it helpful x

These are all cakes which have been made for children with allergies, and the allergen details for each cake are specified. May contain warnings have been included where I am aware of them. Always double check ingredients on all products (including may contain warnings) to check they are suitable for your own child. Ingredients can (and do) change without warning.

This post contains affiliate links, where I may earn from qualifying purchases, but you will not be charged a penny more. I only ever recommend products I would buy myself! Affiliate links are marked with *. Thanks for supporting the website x

Fire Engine cake (free from dairy, egg, soy and nuts)

Made by Nicola (@allergybaby2021) for Oscar’s 2nd birthday! Between her children, Nicola is catering for dairy, egg & nut allergies.

Cake base recipe: Nicola used a vegan victoria sponge cake recipe by The Baking Explorer. There is a choice of which dairy free milk to use, and she went for oat milk to keep it nut free.

Icing: The buttercream was made using flora original (green tub) and icing sugar. To make the red sections of icing she used  Colour Mill food colouring*, as these are labelled as allergen free.

Decoration: The cake was finished off with some toy cones and fire engines. Nicola made the personalised cake topper herself!

Allergen free red velvet cake – 3 ways! (top 14 allergen free)

Baked by Emma (@emma.white.29 #thisallergymumuk) for Finley! Finley is allergic to cow’s milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts (other than hazelnut and cashew nut) and sesame seeds. He has outgrown allergies to soya, oat, hazelnuts and cashew nuts.

Cake base recipe: Emma used the red velvet cake recipe from The Allergen Free Baker’s Handbook* to make the following three completely allergen free cakes!

Decoration option 1 – ‘my favourite toys’ red velvet cake

For this cake you simply need a thin layer of buttercream and a selection of your child’s favourite little plastic or wooden toys! This is such a lovely idea for a cake as it’s completely customisable to your child’s interests (which change day to day for many toddlers!) and you don’t have to buy anything new.

Decoration option 2 – snail cake 

The snail cake was formed by cooking the cake batter in a very small loaf tin for the neck and head, and a giant silicone cupcake mould for the body; you could bake this in whatever pans you have and then carve and build the shape you need. The moulds Emma used required very different cooking times to avoid burning or under baking, so be mindful of timings!

The snail is covered in a dairy free chocolate buttercream. The mouth and spiral on the top of the body was created using a Bear fruit roll up, and she used mini marshmallows for the eyes and on cocktail sticks for the antenna!

Decoration option 3 – rainbow cake

For this cake Emma used Betty Crocker ready made vanilla buttercream (may contain warning for milk). She made the rainbow topper herself out of Dr Oetker fondant icing (may contain warning for nuts), by rolling out the colours and using water to stick these together. She used cocktail sticks at each end to place the topper into the clouds, created using extra vanilla buttercream! You can buy similar pre made edible cake toppers on Etsy.

Ballerina themed 1st Birthday cake (free from dairy, egg, soya & nuts)

Baked by Julia for Ayda’s 1st birthday! Ayda is allergic to  dairy, eggs,  soy and apples.

Cake base recipe: Julia followed this Domestic Gothess recipe, swapping the almond/soy milk for oat milk instead. She also used white vinegar instead of cider vinegar due to her daughter’s apple allergy. She split the recipe across two cake tins instead of three (same quantities).

Icing: Julia made a buttercream instead of the ganache – less fuss! For the buttercream she used dairy free flora plant butter, cocoa powder (Dr Oetker) and icing sugar – no quantities as she did it to taste (lots of tasting as she went along!). The buttercream can be made in advance and kept in the fridge. Julia suggests taking it out of the fridge 5 minutes before you want to use it and giving it a good stir.

Decoration: The edible flowers are from M&S and the fairy decorations are from Meri Meri

Julia says “I’ve made it for lots of people and no one ever suspects it’s free from. That includes my dad who has reviewed another free from cake I attempted as ‘an under cooked scone’!”

Oatly cream & berries layer cake (free from dairy, egg, soy & wheat)

Baked by Kate for Luca’s 1st birthday! Luca is allergic to dairy, egg, soy and wheat

Cake base recipe: This beautiful 6 (yes 6!) layer cake uses the Jane’s Patisserie vegan chocolate cake recipe, with a smaller cake tin used for the top three layers. As Kate’s son is allergic to wheat, she swapped the self raising flour for the same quantity of Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour,

Icing: The icing is a thin layer of Oatly whipping cream. Oatly cream is wheat free but not gluten free; for a gluten free alternative try Elmlea plant double cream.

Decoration: The cake is decorated with some fresh berries and cute teddies! Kate has also provided us with some more decoration inspiration – below is a picture of the same type of cake topped with a digger. Perfect for any construction fans!

Kate says “everyone says they wouldn’t even know it’s allergy free, and that it’s the best chocolate cake”.

Construction themed cake (free from dairy, egg & nuts, with a soya free option)

Made by Nicola (@allergybaby2021) for Theo’s 5th birthday! Between her children, Nicola is catering for dairy, egg & nut allergies.

Cake base recipe: Nicola used the Jane’s Patisserie vegan victoria sponge recipe. There is a choice of which dairy free milk to use, and she went for oat milk to keep it nut free.

Icing: The icing was made using the Aldi caramelised biscuit spread (which is soya free), flora original and icing sugar. 

Decoration: The construction rubble effect was achieved using crumbled up Oreos (which do contain soya lecithins – Aldi caramelised biscuits or bourbons would be soy free alternatives), Moo Free choccy rocks, and raisins. Finished off with a toy construction truck and personalised cake topper, which was made by Nicola herself!

Car cake (free from dairy, soy, eggs, gluten & nuts)

Baked by Maya (@living.freefrom) for Mihir’s 5th birthday! Between her children, Maya is cooking for dairy, egg, soya, gluten, nut, coconut and legume allergies.

Cake base recipe: Maya used a gluten free Betty Crocker mix (the mix does have a may contain warning for milk, egg & soya, but Maya was comfortable with those may contains). She added oil and oat milk (check to make sure it is gluten free) to the mix in the quantities specified on the pack, plus egg replacer instead of the eggs. She cut and rearranged the cake base to make a car shape!

Icing: Betty Crocker ready to use chocolate buttercream (Betty Crocker has a may contain warning for milk).

Decoration: Maya had found mini gluten free Oreos on a trip to the US which she used for the wheels. Arranging Creative Nature Magibles* in a circle would be a good alternative (and you can use THEALLERGYMUMSCLUB10 at checkout for a 10% discount!).  For the windows Maya used Kiddylicious wafers and cut them into shape.

Brownie birthday tray bake (free from dairy, gluten, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame and food colourings, as well as kosher)

Baked by Karina (@ourallergystory) for O’s 7th birthday! Karina really wanted to make sure each of the 14 children were included and could safely eat the cake. She made the cake free from dairy, gluten, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame and food colourings as well as kosher.  

Cake base recipe: Karina made the brownie base from a Creative Nature Chia & Cacao Chocolate Chip Brownie Mix*, which makes 20 brownies. The mix is top 14 allergen free and kosher (and you can use THEALLERGYMUMSCLUB10 at checkout for a 10% discount!)

Icing: Karina used Plamil So Free Organic Milk Alternative Chocolate Spread as an ‘icing’ for the cake which is dairy free, gluten free, wheat free and nut free, and kosher. 

Decoration: The cake was topped with Dr. Oetker Unicorn & Rainbow Birthday Candles!   

Vegan vanilla cake – three ways! (free from dairy, egg, soy & nuts)

Baked by Amy (@jackfriendlyfoods) for Jack! Jack is allergic to dairy, eggs, sesame, some fish, cashew, pistachio, walnut & hazelnuts.

Cake base recipe: Amy’s go to recipe is a vanilla sponge by The Little Blog of Vegan, which she has adapted to swap to coconut sugar (plus reduced the amount), and cut out the funfetti. The adjusted recipe is:

• 480ml of dairy-free milk (Amy uses oat milk)
• 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
• 420g of self-raising flour
• 250g of coconut sugar (to get a caramel like colour and flavour)
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 120g of light coloured olive oil

Amy has shared three different (and brilliant!) ways she has decorated this cake.

Decoration option 1 – Spiderman cake

This brilliant Spidey cake uses ready made Betty Crocker vanilla buttercream (this has a may contain milk warning), with some red gel food colouring added to sections of the edge and to make the spiderweb. The Spiderman images were printed out, stuck to card and attached to skewers!

Decoration Option 2 – Bus cake

This two layer cake was baked in a rectangular tin, with Betty Crocker icing (this has a may contain milk warning) in between the layers. All the decor elements of this bus are made using ready to roll fondant icing cut to size! Amy uses either Renshaw or Morrisons own fondant icing (both of these have a may contain nuts warning).

Decoration option 3 – Classic Victoria sponge

A piping bag was used to make the blobs of Betty Crocker ready made vanilla icing (this has a may contain milk warning) on top of the cake and in between the layers. It was finished off with plenty of berries, mint leaves and edible gold dust for effect!

Clock cake (free from dairy, egg and soya)

Baked by Sarah for Bobby’s 2nd birthday! Bobby is allergic to dairy and egg.

Cake base recipe: Sarah used the ever popular Chocolate Covered Katie vegan choc cake recipe for the base. There is a choice of using applesauce, banana or dairy free yogurt as the egg replacement.

Icing: Betty Crocker ready to use vanilla buttercream (this has a may contain milk warning).

Decoration: Sarah’s 2 year old was going through a clock obsession phase – so he got a clock cake! She hand piped the numbers using melted dairy & soya free chocolate.

Sarah says the cake was “a bit rustic, but a big hit!”

Percy Pig birthday cake (free from dairy, egg, soya & gluten)

Baked by Lisa (@allergyunlimited) for E’s birthday! Between her children, Lisa is catering for dairy, egg, and soya allergies, and coeliac disease.

Cake base recipe: Lisa made a Victoria Sponge base for this cake, and has shared the full recipe (including products used) in this Instagram post.

Icing: The icing is the ever popular Betty Crocker ready to use vanilla buttercream (this has a ‘may contain milk’ warning).

Decoration: The cake was topped with Percy Pig sweets (these are a may contain for milk) in honour of the birthday boy’s Percy Pig obsession! The rainbow sprinkles around the edge were from Sainsbury’s.

Puppy cake (free from egg, dairy, soya and nuts)

Baked by Emma (@allergymother) for her daughter’s birthday! Emma’s daughter is allergic to egg, dairy, nuts, soya, sesame and cinnamon.

Cake base recipe: Emma made this adorable cake using a good old Betty Crocker cake mix (may contain for dairy, eggs and soya). She went for the rainbow chip party mix using vegetable oil, whole Oatly milk and swapping the egg for a banana.

Icing: The icing is Betty Crocker ready to use buttercream (this has a may contain warning for milk).

Decoration: This puppy has a Nomo lolly for a nose, purple skittle eyes, and the lips shaped sweet was found at the Co-op!

Paw patrol cake (free from dairy, wheat, eggs and nuts)

Baked by Melanie for Aaditya’s 4th birthday! Aaditya is allergic to dairy, wheat, eggs, nuts, coconut, shellfish and sesame.

Cake base recipe: Melanie baked this beauty using Morrisons free from vanilla sponge mix! She made the mix up using Pure dairy free spread and banana as the egg replacement.

Icing: The buttercream icing was made using Pure dairy free spread, icing sugar and some green food colouring.

Decoration: The double cake was topped off with some mini paw patrol figures, fruit pastilles and a personalised cake topper!

Caterpillar cake (top 14 allergen free!)

Baked by Emma (@emma.white.29 #thisallergymumuk) for Finley! Finley is allergic to cow’s milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts (other than hazelnut and cashew nut) and sesame seeds. He has outgrown allergies to soya, oat, hazelnuts and cashew nuts.

Cake base recipe: The body of this adorable caterpillar was made using a gluten free & vegan swiss roll recipe by Doves Farm.

Icing: The cake is covered in a dark chocolate ganache made using 450g dairy free chocolate melted in a saucepan with 1 can of coconut milk and a ½tsp vanilla extract.

Decoration: For the caterpillar’s face, Emma melted down a bar of dairy free chocolate, poured this into a round cookie cutter and left to set. She then used 2 free from white chocolate buttons for the caterpillar eyes with a small amount of the ganache set on top to finish the eyes. She used the ganache to stick all these together and to make the smile. Two fizzy sweets were dipped into chocolate the ganache for the antenna, and the body is decorated with blueberries!

First birthday tower cake (free from dairy and eggs)

Baked by Natalie for her daughter’s 1st birthday! Natalie’s daughter is allergic to dairy, eggs and avocado

Cake base recipe: Natalie lives in Australia, and found a plant based vanilla cake mix at Woolworths – olive oil and plant based milk was all she needed to add. She got three packets and stacked the cakes to make this impressive tower!

Icing: The icing was made using Nuttelex (an Australian plant based spread) and icing sugar.

Decoration: The cake is finished with a golden cake topper and a base of fairy lit flowers. A very sophisticated first birthday cake!

Rainbow stars cake (free from dairy, egg, soy & gluten)

Baked by Lisa (@allergyunlimited) for Darshi’s birthday. Between her children, Lisa is catering for dairy, egg, and soya allergies, and coeliac disease.

Cake base recipe: Lisa has shared the full recipe for this double layer chocolate cake in her Instagram post.

Icing: The icing is Betty Crocker ready to use chocolate buttercream (this has a ‘may contain milk’ warning).

Decoration: A generous layer of star shaped sprinkles from Tesco finish off the cake beautifully!

Lemon and blueberry cake (top 14 allergen free!)

Baked by Emma (@emma.white.29 #thisallergymumuk) for Finley! Finley is allergic to cow’s milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts (other than hazelnut and cashew nut) and sesame seeds. He has outgrown allergies to soya, oat, hazelnuts and cashew nuts.

Cake base recipe: Emma cleverly adapted a Rhian’s recipes lemon and blueberry cake to be top 14 allergen free. She used the following ingredients:

• 120g coconut oil (melted)
• 460ml hemp milk
• 8 tbsp lemon juice
• 16 tbsp agave syrup
• 2tsp vanilla extract
• 300g milled linseed, sunflower seed and pumpkin seed mix
• 300g gluten free plain flour
• 4tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Zest of 2 lemons

Emma made homemade jam for the filling using 200g blueberries, 200g jam sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

Icing: The cake was covered with a coconut milk frosting.

Decoration: Emma finished the cake with fresh blueberries and a first birthday cake topper!

For even more birthday cake inspiration, check out:

• How to make a dairy and egg free chocolate overload cake
• The best birthday cake recipes for children with dairy and egg allergies
• Top tips for successfully baking a dairy and egg free cake
• The easy hack to make a Betty Crocker cake mix without eggs
• Round up of vegan – and accidentally vegan – cake mixes