Vanilla Birthday Cake Bars | PALEO, Gluten Free

Okay, who doesn't love birthday cake... and sprinkles!?  I've been testing and testing and testing to come up with the perfect "vanilla cake" flavor made with the fewest ingredients possible, and honestly - have had some major flops.  

Puddles of melty, burnt ingredients, crumbly fall-apart messes, and more.  Baking can be so fun (when you have a recipe to follow!) but can also really test my patience!

After many unsuccessful tries and FINALLY a few successful rounds of tweaking... they're here!  They're sweet, vanilla-y, buttery, and full of sprinkles, of course!  

I found some sprinkles with ingredients I like on Amazon and have been all about the birthday cake and funfetti everything.  I can't wait for you to try these bars!

When it comes to cake, are you a chocolate or vanilla person?  I'm usually a carrot cake person to be honest, but a good vanilla funfetti cake is pretty hard to resist!

In school, when we would celebrate someone's birthday in class, I felt like everyone fought over the chocolate cupcakes... and I was like "hey!  more vanilla for me!"  They're just classic and sweet and light and so good.

These bars take all the flavor of a vanilla birthday cake, and do it in a gluten, grain, & refined sugar free way (dairy free too!)

I was amazed at the flavor I could get with raw honey instead of sugar.  I find that THIS raw honey gives the best taste/consistency, check for it at your store or find it on Amazon!  I buy the big jar that lasts us forever, and use it in everything from sauces to these bars to cornbread muffins.

Get ready for some buttery, yummy, birthday cake meets a blondie VANILLA BIRTHDAY CAKE BARS!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup raw honey
• 1/4 cup butter or ghee, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• sprinkles!  (3 Tbsp mixed in, plus more for sprinkling over top)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line a 8" or 9" square baking dish with parchment paper (or grease well with ghee) and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, honey, ghee, and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, salt) and mix until combined.  Stir in the sprinkles, then transfer to the prepped baking dish.
3. Top with additional sprinkles, and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown around the edges and are cooked through in the center.  
4. Allow to cool completely, then slice into 9 squares and serve.

*Notes:

• Not a sprinkle person, or can't find any good ones?  Omit them!  You can substitute chocolate chips, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or just leave them plain - they will still be so delicious!
• We store leftovers in the refrigerator to keep them fresh longer, and the texture when served chilled is so good!
• Try topping these with a vanilla ice cream of choice for a "ice cream cake" sundae!