Sometimes you just need a little gluten-free cake chocolate cake to get you through the day. This easy gluten-free chocolate cake is super simple, and has the perfect texture. You won’t know it’s gluten-free!
I often find that gluten-free recipes are complicated or call for a kazillion ingredients (ok, not a kazillion – but a lot). I don’t have the time or the brain space to bake up crazy big recipes, or recipes that have tons of steps in them.
I need gluten-free recipes to be simple, have less than 15 ingredients, and require two bowl or less – otherwise my kitchen ends up a massive wreck. You know what I’m talking about right?
Piles and piles of dishes, all for one delicious thing. You might be wondering why it has to be that way. Well, It doesn’t. There are amazing recipes out there, and they don’t take forever to make or require you to hire a housekeeper to clean up after you in the kitchen. You just have to look for them.
When we first switched over to a gluten-free diet we struggled. Recipes were over-complicated and we got frustrated in the kitchen. We were tired of having to hunt down ingredients and even more tired of recipes failing.
Chocolate cake was one of the things we missed the most. Not flour-less chocolate cake, not chocolate cake made with nut butters, but regular old-fashioned gluten-free chocolate cake. The kind that is crumbly on the outside, and spongy in the middle.
We tried a couple of mixes (mind you, this was seven years before this post) and weren’t satisfied. Most of them tasted like grass. It wasn’t until I started creating recipes from scratch that we found our perfect, easy gluten-free chocolate cake.
There are a couple of tips and tricks to getting the right texture with gluten-free cake. First, you have to follow the recipe. So many people comment on recipe posts saying that they made a ton of substitutions and the recipe didn’t turn out. Other than the dairy substitute, I haven’t tried other substitutes in this recipe. If you use substitutions, you are doing so at your own risk.
Second, you want to mix at the right time and not over-mix. When you are beating the oil, sugar, and eggs you’ll want to beat it for the time listed. This adds air which in turn helps the cake rise. Once you add your flour mixture, you’ll only want to beat until combined. Beating any longer will cause the batter to stiffen.
What causes a cake to crack on top?
If your temperature is too high, or your cake is placed in the oven too high your cake may bake up into a high, cracked dome. The heat of baking activates the baking powder and causes it to release carbon dioxide, which forms bubbles and raises the cake. If your oven is too hot, that process is sped up. Make sure to place your cake in the center, and regularly check your oven’s temperature.
Why did my cake sink?
There are several reason why cakes sink, one is from over beating the batter and adding too much air. Also, cakes often will sink when there is too much moisture. This is more common in humid climates where added moisture can collect naturally in ingredients such as flour. When this occurs, cupcakes may rise rapidly and then fall during baking. In higher elevations, the leavening agent works twice as hard and may cause the batter to rise rapidly and sink before it’s had a chance to set up.
All these tips are relevant to most cake and cupcake recipes, not just this Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake.
This recipe is also in my cookbook, “Sweet & Simple Gluten-Free Baking; Irresistible classics in 10 ingredients or less!” I wanted to share it with you so you can find your happily-cake-ever-after. The recipe is simple enough that anyone can make it (yes, even the non-baker folks).
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! If you like cake then you’ll also love my Gluten-Free Lemon Cake and my Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes.
If you make this cake please stop back by here and let me know what you thought!
Chrystal Carver
Yields 16
This easy gluten-free chocolate cake is super simple, and has the perfect texture. You won't know it's gluten-free!
15 minPrep Time
35 minCook Time
50 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients:
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour blend OR GF Jules Flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup milk (or dairy-free milk)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract (I use Rodelle )
- 3/4 cup boiling water (for activating the cocoa)
- 1/2 cup butter (or dairy-free butter)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract I use Rodelle )
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk (or dairy-free milk)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Position rack in center of oven. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until there are no visible clumps.
- Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for two minutes.
- Stir in boiling water.
- Spoon batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 35 to 38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a rack.
- For the frosting: In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add cocoa powder and beat until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Slowly beat in milk. Beat in additional milk if needed, to obtain desired consistency.
- Frost cakes.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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