My favorite cake is chocolate cake with butter cream frosting. A treat I almost gave up entirely after being diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease. I went on a quest to find the perfect gluten-free chocolate cake. Though, I searched for many years, but could not find the perfect ratio of chocolaty-ness to sweetness in the packaged mixes or the perfect crumb in the recipes I tried.
My whole family loves my Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake. So much so, that I was inspired to try adapting it to create the elusive “perfect gluten-free chocolate cake”. My daughter was the first to try a piece that I cut off while leveling the cake. She said it was so good I didn’t even need to frost it. That was the moment I realized I probably had a hit on my hands.
I prefer to use guar gum when making gluten-free cakes and doughnuts. Batters made with guar gum are a little less gluey than those made with xanthan gum and match the consistency of regular cake batter a little better. Guar gum also happens to be less expensive, but if you only have xanthan gum on hand, you can use it.
When making a gluten-free cake, I highly recommend using a blender for 2 -3 minutes. It will help produce a lighter, fluffier cake.
This recipe includes dairy-free options, which I use because my oldest son is severely lactose intolerant.
Alea’s Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
Yield – 8 servings
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – 35 minutes
Ingredients
- ¾ cup white rice flour
- ¾ cup tapioca flour
- ¼ cup potato starch
- 1 teaspoon guar gum (or xanthan gum)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup butter, melted (or DF margarine)
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ cup milk (or rice milk)
- 1 teaspoon gf vanilla
- 2 eggs
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 – 9 inch pans.
2. In a large bowl combine white rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, guar gum, and sugar.
3. Place cocoa in a small bowl. Pour the melted butter and boiling water over the cocoa.
4. Add milk, eggs, and vanilla to the cocoa mixture.
5. Add the liquids to the flour mixture and beat for 2 –3 minutes on high.
6. Pour batter into 2 greased 9 inch cake pan. Bake at 350 for 30 – 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Place on a cooling rack to cool. Once cooled frost.
I frosted the cake with my Dairy-Free “Butter Cream” Frosting, but it is also delicious with my Mocha Fudge Frosting.
Alea and her family avoid gluten, dairy, and soy. She saves money by serving naturally gluten-free recipes when possible and creating gluten-free desserts from scratch.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Could you use ghee instead of butter?
I have never tried ghee, but I am pretty sure it would work just fine.
At what point in the mixing process do you use the blender? Is this also soy free?
You use the blender in step 5 where it says beat on high for 2 -3 minutes. My version is soy-free. I use rice milk and a dairy-free margarine that is also soy-free. I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in addition to Celiac’s disease so I avoid soy.
How long do I bake it if I wanted to make cupcakes instead?
Bake it about 18 – 22 minutes to make cupcakes.
Hello! My husband has Celiac’s and has a soy and milk issue too. Every chocolate cake I’ve tried to make ends up heavy or the dairy free cocoa powders that are available have not been as tasty somehow. What kind of cocoa powder are you using if you don’t mind my asking? And what brand potato flour? I tried Bob’s Red Mill Potato flour but it’s gritty.
Thanks so much!! Looks great!
The flavor of the cocoa is less dependent upon the brand and more dependent on the heat of the liquid. You want to use a hot liquid to get the rich, full, chocolatey flavor. I have made this recipe with Hershey’s, Nestle’s, and Trader Joe’s cocoa powder.
I often use Swan’s potato starch flour, but have also used Bob’s Red Mill. I think the grittiness comes when there isn’t a good ratio of other flours to the potato starch. I usually use at least twice as much tapioca flour as I do potato starch to get a nice texture.
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