This gluten free chocolate cake is so unbelievably moist, fudgy, and spongy and is topped with a fluffy buttercream frosting - it rivals the best chocolate cakes out there! This recipe is adapted from my absolute favorite classic chocolate cake recipe with a few tweaks to account for the lack of gluten. This cake is very easy to whip up, but there are a few important points to keep in mind - so I recommend reading through the post before getting started!
how to make gluten free chocolate cake
1. Mix together milk and vinegar and set aside.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together. In most recipes, it's not a big deal what kind of utensil you use to mix the dry ingredients, but in a gluten free cake, a whisk is preferred because it lightly aerates the ingredients and really helps break up any large clumps. This has the added benefit of allowing us to skip sifting! I remember someone on Food Network calling this "hipster sifting" and it's always what I think about lol
3. Add wet ingredients (minus the coffee). Whisk to combine. The batter will be thick at this point. Once the mixture is streak free, give it just a few extra whisks (like 4 or 5 passes around the bowl) to really make sure the ingredients are emulsified.
4. Pour in hot coffee. If you don't want to use coffee, you can just use boiling water instead. The coffee helps bring out the chocolaty flavor though!
5. Whisk coffee in until smooth and liquid. Now it becomes a bit more important to watch out for overmixing otherwise it can deflate the bubbles that have started forming from the baking soda and baking powder. You can really see how bubbly the batter is in the photo below!
6. Bake and cool. To make frosting easier, after the cakes have cooled completely to room temperature, I like to pop the layers into the freezer for about 20 to 30 minutes or until firm. It's a lot easier to decorate cool cakes!
7. Make the frosting: Mix together butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth and dissolved. Add remaining frosting ingredients then whip until smooth and fluffy.
8. Layer and frost your cooled cakes. Then dig in! I love adding a little sprinkle of sea salt flakes on top (it's SOSO good with chocolate cake!!)
picking a gluten free flour blend
Not all gluten free flours are equal and (while there can be some overlap in the ingredients used) no 2 brands will behave the same way. You're more than welcome to try out different brands if you'd like and I'm sure there are other blends that would work well in this recipe, but I personally used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF Baking Flour. Whichever brand you choose, the blend needs to have xanthan gum listed as an ingredient - it's important for thickening and stabilizing AND bonding the batter.
Because blends of gluten free flours can vary drastically from one brand to another, I do recommend at least trying this recipe with the specific gf flour I used the first time you make it, as I can say for sure that it works beautifully here. This isn't sponsored (I wish it was lol) - just genuinely my favorite blend.
measuring gluten free flour
Gluten free flour is finer and more packed together than regular all-purpose flour. Because of this, gluten free flour will pack in more tightly and 1 cup will weigh slightly more than regular flour (even when measured correctly with cups).
This makes gluten free flour more prone to being over measured, so I highly highly recommend using a kitchen scale if you have one. If you don't own a scale, you can use cups, but it's important to use the "spoon and leveling method."
- Use a spoon to lightly fluffy the flour in the bag, then spoon the flour into your measuring cup until it reaches slightly past the top. Don't shake or tap the cup to even out the flour (this will pack in more weight)!
- Use a knife or flat utensil to level off the top of the flour and you have a perfectly measured cup of flour!
gluten free cake batter
If you've baked a gluten free cake before, you may have noticed that gluten free cake batter is typically much thinner than its gluten counterpart. That's by design!
Gluten free flour absorbs liquid more readily than regular all-purpose flour, so a higher ratio of liquid in the cake batter helps compensate for that as it bakes and it helps keep the cake spongy and moist.
While classic chocolate cake is typically made with a very thin batter, gluten free chocolate cake will be even thinner - with almost the same flow as water.
how to bake gluten free cake
There's a point to be made in favor of slightly overbaking gluten free cakes. Since we added extra liquid to the gluten free cake batter, it's important to dry it out sufficiently in the oven to allow the gluten free flour to soak up the liquid. This helps avoid both a mushy texture and a gritty texture.
This is why it's a good idea to ever so slightly overbake your gluten free cakes (but not too much to the point it becomes dry and crumbly!) This cake is VERY forgiving and benefits a lot from a little extra bake time. The signs to look out for a perfectly baked gluten free chocolate cake are:
- puffed in the center: This cake will dome a bit in the oven but that just helps contribute to its unbelievably moist texture!
- golden brown along the edges: not something you really want in a classic chocolate cake, but golden edges are a great sign that your gluten free cake is close to or is fully baked through!
- the poke test: The center of the cake should spring back if you lightly poke it.
- the skewer test: Gluten free cakes typically don't fully set until they've cooled completely, so a skewer will typically come out with a few moist crumbs - but it shouldn't be excessive (maybe like 2 or 3 crumbs on the tip of the skewer).
And one final note on the topic of cooling: I also recommend cooling your cake in the cake pan for slightly longer than a typical cake. This will further help with the drying out process.
one last tip...
Make the recipe as is! This may seem obvious, but I feel like I need to include this.
Gluten free cake ingredients are fussy, and the smallest tweak or substitution can lead to disaster. So this is one of those recipes that I really recommend making as is (at least the first time around) and then experimenting with your own changes as needed once you get a feel for the cake.
check out these other recipes!
• Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Easy Chocolate Pudding
• Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
• Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
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Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 (8 inch) cake
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This gluten free chocolate cake is so unbelievably moist, fudgy, and spongy and is topped with a fluffy buttercream frosting - it rivals the best chocolate cakes out there! This recipe is adapted from my absolute favorite classic chocolate cake recipe with a few tweaks to account for the lack of gluten. This cake is very easy to whip up, but there are a few important points to keep in mind - so I recommend reading through the post before getting started!
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
- 1 cup (240mL) whole milk
- 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups (270g) 1:1 gluten free baking flour (must have xanthan gum in the ingredients) *see notes
- 1 & ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (90g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (120mL) vegetable oil, or any neutral flavored oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240mL) hot coffee **see notes
For the chocolate buttercream:
- 1 & ½ cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (75g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 cups (600g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
- sea salt flakes (optional - for topping)
Instructions
Make the chocolate cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of 2 (8 inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Set aside.
- Combine milk and vinegar in a cup and mix to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine gf flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a whisk to mix together to combine, remove any large clumps, and aerate the mixture. A whisk is preferred for this job because it simultaneously "sifts" the dry ingredients!
- Add eggs, oil, vanilla, and the milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Whisk together until streak free, then give it about 4 to 5 extra whisks just to make sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. The batter will be thick at this point.
- Add boiling hot coffee to the batter. Whisk until combined. Take care not to overmix at this stage as it can deflate the air bubbles. The batter will be very VERY loose now (almost like water).
- Divide the batter evenly between your prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cakes in the center of your preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. The top should spring back when lightly pressed and the edges should look slightly golden. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature before decorating.
Make the buttercream frosting:
- In a large bowl, combine butter, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until the sugar and cocoa powder have dissolved into the butter.
- Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons of milk. Whip the mixture on medium high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes).
- If the frosting is too thick, gradually add a bit more milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
- If your cakes domed in the oven, you can use a large serrated knife or cake leveler to even out the tops before frosting.
- Lay one layer of your cooled cakes on a cake stand and spread about ⅓ of the frosting on top. Lay the second cake layer on top then frost the outside of the cake.
- If desired, top with some sea salt then slice and serve!
Notes
* When picking a gluten free baking flour brand, it's very VERY important to make sure the blend includes xanthan gum in the ingredients (it helps thicken and bond the cake batter). I personally used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour and I highly recommend you use it as well if you can get your hands on it because I can say for sure it works for this cake.
** Coffee helps bring out the chocolaty flavor in the cake, but it won't make your cake taste like coffee. If you'd rather omit it, you can just use boiling water instead.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
Enjoy!
Shauna says
I felt like the cake was dry and fell apart to easily. First time making a gluten-free cake. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a normal texture or not. I followed direct and even weighed all ingredients on kitchen scale. Maybe I didn’t have beginners luck.
Natalie says
Was my first time making a GF cake and no one could tell it wasn’t regular cake!
Recipe was really easy to follow and will be using it again
Indi says
Hi Mimi, such a great recipe... but can this cake be made gluten free Dairy free and did eggless..what can I substitute for eggs? any suggestion? ok thank you so much
Mimi says
Hi Indi! Thank you so much! I haven't personally tried making this dairy-free or eggless, so I'm sorry I can't say for sure if it would work! Some readers have mentioned they swapped the milk for soy milk and it worked! As for the eggs, you could try substituting with a flax eggs (3 tablespoons flaxseed meal mixed with 9 tablespoons water) - I think that would probably work best here. I hope that helps! ❤️
indira sarais says
Thank you Mimi...
Shalyn says
So good! Thank you for this gluten free chocolate cake recipe and all the helpful tips. I baked this for my son’s birthday and it turned out amazing. I am the only one who needs a gluten free dessert, but everyone raved about it.
I will add for the milk-free folks, I used soy milk instead of whole milk and it was perfect. I also used decaf coffee instead of regular.
I will make this again in the future!
Mimi says
Hey Shalyn! I'm so happy you liked it and thank you so much for sharing how the dairy free alternative worked!! ❤️