Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

Every baker needs an excellent gluten-free chocolate layer cake recipe in their back pocket! This simple recipe makes a decadent, moist chocolate cake topped with a smooth and rich chocolate frosting that will have everyone reaching for more.

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Why this recipe works

It’s always good to have an excellent gluten-free chocolate layer cake recipe on hand! This simple recipe makes a decadent, moist chocolate cake topped with a smooth and rich chocolate frosting that will have everyone reaching for more. We have quite a few chocolate lovers in the family, and this cake left them all feeling incredibly (full and) happy.

Moist chocolate cake is made gluten-free and topped with a creamy American chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s so decadent and delicious! Perfect for a birthday, the holidays, or any occasion really!

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Hot coffee – You might be wondering what coffee is doing in this cake, but I promise it is essential for enhancing the chocolate flavor. I promise, you don’t taste the coffee itself. However, if you either don’t have coffee on hand or do not want to use it, you can substitute water. If you are using coffee, it’s best that it be hot or at least warm, as it will incorporate easier into your existing mixture that way.
• Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute it by mixing one (1) cup of almond milk with one (1) tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
• Vegetable oil – The oil in this recipe can be substituted for the same amount of melted butter. I find that the vegetable oil helps moisten and bind the cake and makes for a taller cake, but butter will work similarly. The texture just may be a bit different!

Step-by-Step instructions

To make the gluten-free chocolate cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with butter and dust with cocoa powder or gluten-free flour. Set aside. In a large bowl, add the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum (if using – see recipe notes), cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar. 
2. Whisk until incorporated and mixture is a medium-brown color.
3. Add vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs and buttermilk to the dry mixture and mix with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl to ensure all of the dry mixture is incorporated.
4. Pour in the hot coffee and mix for an additional 1-2 minutes. The batter will be very thin. Let sit for 2-3 minutes to allow the batter to slightly thicken. 
5. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans. I like to use a food scale to ensure that my layers have approximately the same amount of batter.
6. Bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing from the pans and topping with buttercream.

To make the chocolate frosting:

1. When your cake is either close to cool or completely cooled, add softened butter and salt to a large bowl. Mix for 2-3 minutes using an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Add the cocoa powder to the butter mixture and combine using the electric mixer.
3. Add the powdered sugar and mix until combined and there are no lumps of sugar or butter. 
4. Add the vanilla extract and milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is thick and creamy. It should be thick enough to hold its shape when piped but not so thick that it won’t spread. 
5. If your frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add more milk a little bit at a time.
6. Once the cake has cooled, frost with the chocolate buttercream.

Expert Tips

• When making the frosting and adding in the milk and powdered sugar, less is more. It is much easier to add ingredients than to compensate after too much is added. Add the powdered sugar and milk a tablespoon at a time until you reach the proper consistency. You won’t regret it!
• This recipe can be made dairy-free by using almond milk and apple cider vinegar in place of the buttermilk. The apple cider vinegar is acidic and therefore helps create a buttermilk substitute. You can use a 50/50 combination of vegan butter and palm shortening for the frosting.
• To ensure that my cakes come out of the pans without issue, I line the bottom of my pans with parchment paper and then dust with a fine layer of cocoa powder.
• If you want to make this recipe into cupcakes, divide the batter between 24 muffin cups and bake for 23 to 25 minutes. There are more tips on how to make chocolate cupcakes here.

Recipe FAQs

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Every baker needs an excellent gluten-free chocolate layer cake recipe in their back pocket! This simple recipe makes a decadent, moist chocolate cake topped with a smooth and rich chocolate frosting that will have everyone reaching for more.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 812kcal

Author: Megan

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Ingredients

Chocolate Cake:

• ▢ 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour blend (280g, I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend*)
• ▢ 1 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
• ▢ 3/4 cup cocoa powder (75g)
• ▢ 2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 2 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 2 cups granulated sugar (410g)
• ▢ 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter if you prefer (113g))
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 eggs (100g)
• ▢ 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup almond milk mixed with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
• ▢ 1 cup hot coffee

Chocolate Frosting:

• ▢ 2 cups unsalted butter (softened at room temperature (or a 50/50 mix of palm oil shortening and vegan butter))
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups cocoa powder (sifted)
• ▢ 5 cups powdered sugar (360g, sifted)
• ▢ 1 tbsp vanilla
• ▢ 1/4-1/2 cup milk (or almond milk)

Instructions

To make the cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with butter and dust with cocoa powder or gluten-free flour. Set aside. In a large bowl, add the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar.
• Whisk until all ingredients are combined and mixture is medium-brown in color.
• Add vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs and buttermilk to the dry mixture and mix with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl to ensure all of the dry mixture is incorporated.
• Pour in the hot coffee and mix for an additional 1-2 minutes. The batter will be very thin. Let sit for 2-3 minutes to allow the batter to slightly thicken.
• Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans. I like to use a food scale to ensure that my layers have approximately the same amount of batter.
• Bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before topping with buttercream.

To make the frosting:

• When your cake is either close to cool or completely cooled, add softened butter and salt to a large bowl. Mix for 2-3 minutes using an electric mixer until creamy.
• Add the cocoa powder to the butter mixture and combine using an electric mixer.
• Add the powdered sugar and mix until combined and there are no lumps of sugar or butter.
• Add the vanilla extract and milk (one tablespoon at a time) until the frosting is thick and creamy.  It should be thick enough to hold its shape when piped but not so thick that it won't spread.
• If your frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add more milk a little bit at a time.
• Once the cake has cooled, frost with the chocolate buttercream.

Notes

• This recipe can be made dairy-free by using almond milk and apple cider vinegar in place of the buttermilk. The apple cider vinegar is acidic and therefore helps create a buttermilk substitute. For the frosting, you can use a 50/50 combination of vegan butter and palm shortening.
• If you want to make this recipe into cupcakes, divide the batter between 24 muffin cups and bake for 23 to 25 minutes. I have more tips on how to make chocolate cupcakes here.

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 812kcal | Carbohydrates: 109g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 476mg | Potassium: 381mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 85g | Vitamin A: 1026IU | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 3mg

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I’m Megan

A gluten-free food blogger from Chicago and lover of all things food, showing you gluten-free can be easy and delicious, too. Let’s make gluten-free stress free together! Read more…