Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe

You will not believe how super delicious this easy gluten-free chocolate cake tastes! I made this exact cake for a birthday this weekend and no one even knew it was gluten-free and dairy-free. It’s seriously the best! My husband, who doesn’t have to eat gluten-free loves it better than the “regular” version!

Pin this post so that when you want to make a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe from scratch, you know right where to turn. It’s a go-to recipe for our family.

Ingredients for the GF Chocolate Cake

Dairy-Free Butter. Yes! This gf chocolate cake is also dairy-free.

Sugar. Granulated white sugar is what we use.

Eggs. Large eggs will work perfectly for this recipe.

Vanilla. Pure vanilla extract will work much better than imitation vanilla extract.

Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour. Purchase the Great Value Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour from Wal-mart or make our gf all-purpose flour recipe.

Xanthan Gum. Bob’s Red Mill makes one you can find in most grocery stores and you’ll need it for more than just this gluten-free chocolate cake recipe.

Baking Powder. Always make sure your baking powder has not expired. If it is not fresh, the cake won’t rise properly and will be flat.

Baking Soda. Have you ever noticed your baking soda has an odd smell? That’s because it absorbs odor. If you can smell it, throw it out and replace.

Salt. For baking, use regular table salt.

Cocoa Powder. Any powdered baker’s cocoa will do, but make sure you are using baking cocoa and NOT chocolate milk powder. They are not the same thing!

Dairy-Free Milk. Rice or Soy Milk works best.

Vinegar. You’ll just need a tablespoon to add to the milk. Adding vinegar makes the df milk a dairy-free buttermilk substitute.

Boiling Water. Put the water on to boil when you begin mixing, and add more to the pan than you need. Measure the water when it is time to pour it over the cake batter mixture.

How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

Eating gluten-free gets easier with time, but baked goods are the hardest temptation to resist. That’s why having an excellent gf chocolate cake recipe is essential. When you need chocolate, nothing fulfills that chocolate craving better than this cake. And it’s easy enough you can throw one together last minute if needed.

Make sure to preheat your oven to 350º before you start mixing. This gives the oven time to fully reach the right temperature. For gluten-free recipes, I do recommend that you prepare the pan in two ways. 1) line the pan with parchment paper and 2) spray the pan with regular cooking spray. Do not use “baking” spray since it contains flour.

My gluten-free dairy-free chocolate cake uses the creaming method to blend the df butter with the sugar first using a mixer. Next you will add the eggs and vanilla and mix again thoroughly. The dry ingredients can be added to this all at once and should be incorporated very well. To this mixture, you will add the boiling water and mix again. Then the gluten-free cake batter is divided evenly between the two pans and baked for 30-35 minutes. Don’t forget to let it cool down all the way before adding your frosting!

The result is a moist gluten-free chocolate cake your family is going to ask for over and over again.

Equipment You’ll Need

Electric Hand Mixer

Mixing Bowls

Parchment Paper

Ingredients for Chocolate Frosting

Dairy-Free Butter.

Salt.

Cocoa.

Dairy Free Milk. I use rice milk or soy milk.

Vanilla.

Powdered Sugar.

How to Make the Chocolate Frosting

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth. Frosts one 9×13 inch cake.

Is Flourless Chocolate Cake Gluten-Free?

Gluten is found in wheat and other glutenous grains like barley or rye. As long as your cake recipe doesn’t use any flour from these grains, your cake should be gluten free. However, wheat flour is used to make many different products you might not expect, so if you are eating a flourless cake someone else made, its best to find out the ingredients so that you don’t get sick. Our gluten-free dairy-free cake is definitely a flourless chocolate cake that is gluten free.

So I guess the answer is — all gluten-free cakes are flourless, but not all flourless cakes are gluten-free necessarily.

One time a restaurant answered “Well it says flourless, but we actually do put a little bit of flour in the cake for structure.” I think that approach is less frequent now as more and more people become educated about the gluten-free population, but its always better to ask and be safe!

Or better yet, make your own easy gluten-free chocolate cake using our recipe! You can even take your own dessert with you when you go out to eat.

More Gluten-Free Recipes to Try

Gluten-Free No-Knead Bread Recipe. When you want fast, easy bread. My kids actually prefer this over regular bread!

Gluten-Free Fudge Brownies. Because sometimes a gooey brownie is a necessity in life.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Lava Cake that actually tastes good!

Gluten-Free Pound Cake. Serve it with macerated strawberries and whipped cream. So good.

Print