The Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
With melt-in-the-mouth gluten free sponges that taste like hot chocolate in cake form and a fluffy rich chocolate buttercream frosting, this gluten free chocolate cake is the very definition of comfort food. Plus, it’s easy and quick to make!
There are few desserts more memorable or more impressive than a truly good chocolate cake. Sure, there is a lot to be said about a “triple chocolate salted caramel s’mores cake” or the like… but sometimes, you just need a chocolate cake. No fuss, no bells and whistles.
All-purpose gluten-free flour mixes can be found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores and are typically advertised as a 1:1 replacement for regular flour in your baking recipes. Here’s a few helpful things to look for when selecting a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix:
Aim for a flour mix that contains a blend of a few different types of gluten-free flours (white and brown rice, potato, etc.) and starches (corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, arrowroot, etc.)
Make sure it includes xanthan gum, which helps the ingredients in your batter bind together. If you need an alternative to xanthan gum, guar gum should work as well.
Of course, if you’re feeling really ambitious and have some more experience with gluten-free baking, you could always make your own gluten-free flour blend at home!
This gluten free chocolate cake is pretty much exactly that. Quick and easy to make, with an overabundance of cocoa powder and chocolate, without being overly sweet. It walks that line between the bitterness of dark chocolate and the creamy sweetness of milk chocolate – and it does it well. Very well.
The gluten free chocolate sponges are melt-in-the-mouth soft, and each bite feels like taking a sip of luxuriously rich hot chocolate. Just, you know… in cake form.
The chocolate buttercream frosting is fluffy and rich, its chocolate factor coming from both a generous helping of cocoa powder and a whole lotta melted dark chocolate.
And when you combine the two… well, it’s basically every chocoholic’s dream come true.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
For the icing and filling
For decoration
Method
There are few desserts more memorable or more impressive than a truly good chocolate cake. Sure, there is a lot to be said about a “triple chocolate salted caramel s’mores cake” or the like… but sometimes, you just need a chocolate cake. No fuss, no bells and whistles.
All-purpose gluten-free flour mixes can be found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores and are typically advertised as a 1:1 replacement for regular flour in your baking recipes. Here’s a few helpful things to look for when selecting a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix:
Aim for a flour mix that contains a blend of a few different types of gluten-free flours (white and brown rice, potato, etc.) and starches (corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, arrowroot, etc.)
Make sure it includes xanthan gum, which helps the ingredients in your batter bind together. If you need an alternative to xanthan gum, guar gum should work as well.
Of course, if you’re feeling really ambitious and have some more experience with gluten-free baking, you could always make your own gluten-free flour blend at home!
This gluten free chocolate cake is pretty much exactly that. Quick and easy to make, with an overabundance of cocoa powder and chocolate, without being overly sweet. It walks that line between the bitterness of dark chocolate and the creamy sweetness of milk chocolate – and it does it well. Very well.
The gluten free chocolate sponges are melt-in-the-mouth soft, and each bite feels like taking a sip of luxuriously rich hot chocolate. Just, you know… in cake form.
The chocolate buttercream frosting is fluffy and rich, its chocolate factor coming from both a generous helping of cocoa powder and a whole lotta melted dark chocolate.
And when you combine the two… well, it’s basically every chocoholic’s dream come true.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
- 100g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 50g good quality cocoa powder
- 90ml boiling water
- 3 large free-range eggs
- 4 tbsp milk
- 175g self-raising flour, sifted ( I like Doves GF Flour)
- 1 rounded tsp baking powder, sifted into the flour
- 300g golden caster sugar
For the icing and filling
- 150g good quality dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 150ml double cream
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
For decoration
- 100g good quality dark chocolate (55-60 per cent cocoa solids) made into curls
Method
- Prep 20 minutes · Cook 20-25 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins and line the bases with baking paper. To make the sponges, measure the cocoa and boiling water into a large bowl and mix to a paste. Add the remaining ingredients and beat again until combined. (You can use a food processor for this but be careful not to overmix.)
- Divide the sponge mixture evenly between the prepared tins. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes until the sponges are well risen and shrinking away from the sides of the tin. Remove the sponges from the oven, turn out of their tins onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
- For the icing and filling, put the chocolate and cream in a bowl, Then stand over a pan of simmering water for 10 minutes until melted (don’t let the bowl touch the water), stirring from time to time. Set aside to cool until it thickens to a spreadable consistency.
- To finish, spread the tops of both sponges with the apricot jam. Spread the top of one sponge with half the icing and put the other sponge on top. Cover the top of the cake with the remainder of the icing.
