Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

You’ll love this easy Gluten Free Chocolate Cake. A simple one bowl chocolate cake that’s made using only normal, easy-to-find ingredients. It’s soft, fluffy and delicious! 

It’s chocolate cake madness over here! 🙆‍♀️

I’m so excited to share my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake recipe with you today. A light and fluffy gluten free cake that rivals even my favourite Chocolate Buttermilk Cake.

The best part? It’s made using only regular ingredients so it can be your new go-to when you need a Gluten Free Chocolate Cake to share with family and friends. 

Covered in a rich cocoa buttercream, this tender chocolate cake will have everyone swooning.

Regular readers of my blog will know that I don’t follow a gluten free diet, BUT I do have plenty of family and friends who do. That’s why I’ve shared a few gluten free recipes over the years that everyone can enjoy. 

It actually started when I shared my Gluten Free Chocolate Brownie recipe with you a few years ago – it’s still one of the most popular recipes on my blog.

I only hope that you’ll love this gluten free chocolate cake as much as I do. It’s so easy to make, and you can’t even tell it’s gluten free! #winning 

You will love this Gluten Free Chocolate Cake for a few reasons. It has a deliciously soft texture. which can sometimes be hit and miss when baking gluten free.

It also only uses gluten free plain flour – no other weird gluten free substitutes or ingredients. I always find it so disappointing when I see a great gluten free recipe I want to try and then I get a fright when I see all of the ingredients – some I can’t even spell! Others, I can’t afford to buy simply to make one cake. 

I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. So I when I was developing this recipe, I wanted to make a chocolate cake recipe that was easy and simple – in more ways than one. 

Baking gluten free is tricky and it took me a while to get this cake exactly how I wanted it. In my experience, gluten free plain flour can act differently to regular flour when baking. 

So balancing the dry ingredients and the wet can take a little tweaking. I also tried using both butter and oil. I found the butter weighed the cake down and make it too dense. Oil ensures it stays light and tender.

But overall, this Gluten Free Chocolate Cake is a dream. It’s pretty quick and easy to make and everyone (gluten eaters or not) will love it! And it pairs perfectly, with my easy cocoa buttercream.

TIPS FOR MAKING GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE

• This cake is quick and easy to make. You don’t need an electric mixer for this recipe.
• I tested this recipe using both butter and oil, but I highly recommend following the recipe and using vegetable oil as it ensures this cake is lovely and moist – even a day or two later.
• I used White Wings Gluten Free Plain Flour in this recipe. It works well for me. I know that there are many different brands of gluten free flour in different countries, so try to find one that can be swapped one for one for regular flour.
• This recipe calls for you to add hot water to the chocolate cake mixture. Don’t skip this step, it’s important for a light and sponge cake. It also helps dissolve the cocoa completely. 
• If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by adding 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to 1/2 cup of whole or full fat milk. 
• This recipe makes one 8 or 9 inch cake. I purposely wanted a thick and tall chocolate cake. I recommend trying it first as a one layer cake before altering the recipe for multiple layers.

MORE GLUTEN FREE RECIPES TO TRY

• Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies
• Easy Eton Mess
• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Nutella Chocolate Mousse
• Flourless Chocolate Cake
• Gluten Free Almond Cookies

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.

Let's Bake

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Yield Serves 8-10 1x

1x2x3x

★★★★★

5 from 8 reviews

Prep: 90 minutesCook: 40 minutesTotal: 2 hours 10 minutes

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Cake made from scratch.

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Ingredients

Gluten free chocolate cake

• 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) gluten free plain flour*
• 40 grams (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) caster sugar
• 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk**
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) hot water

Chocolate buttercream

• 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 375 grams (3 cups) icing or powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2–3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake tin with baking or parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add gluten free flour, cocoa powder, sugars, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk together.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, add vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Whisk together. Boil the kettle and pour out 1/2 cup of hot water.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Start to fold together, then slowly pour in the hot water, and continue to mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
5. Transfer mixture into prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6. Leave for 10 minutes before gently removing cake from tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
7. To make the frosting, place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for a couple of minutes until pale and creamy.
8.  Add 1 cup of sugar and one tablespoon of milk and beat on low until the sugar is incorporated. Then, add the remaining sugar, cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of milk, and beat on slow until the sugar is incorporated before turning up to medium for another minute or so.
9. If buttercream is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk. Generously frost top and sides of cake with chocolate buttercream.

Notes

*I have tested this recipe using White Wings Gluten Free Plain Flour. It seems to work well for me. I know that there are many different brands in different countries, so try to find one that can be swapped one for one for regular flour.

**You can make your own buttermilk. Simply add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to 1/2 cup of full cream or whole milk. Let it sit for a few minutes and then use as normal.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: CakeCuisine: Australian

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