Chocolate Cake (Gluten free & dairy free)
This delicious one bowl chocolate cake combines a moist gluten free chocolate sponge with a creamy dairy free buttercream. It’s such a tasty chocolate cake, perfect served for dessert warmed up with ice cream or served as it is with a cup of tea. If you do make this recipe I’d love to see, don’t forget to tag me in your photos over on social media!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which butter do you use for the the buttercream?
I use the Stork ‘perfect for baking’ 250g gold packet butter which is naturally dairy free and available in most major UK supermarkets. If you can’t get hold of this butter, it’s always best to use a hard dairy free butter block instead of a soft spread for a dairy free buttercream as soft spreads can sometimes cause the mixture to curdle.
How long will this cake last?
It will last in an airtight container for around 5 days.
Which gluten free flour do you use for the cake?
For this recipe, and the majority of my bakes, I use the FREEE Gluten Free Plain Flour which works really well in gluten free baking.
Why do you use vegetable oil instead of butter in the cake mix?
In this particular recipe, using vegetable oil instead of butter helps the cakes to last longer and provides a lovely moist texture. If you don’t have vegetable oil you could also use sunflower oil.
Why do you use coffee in the mixture and why is the cake batter quite a runny consistency?
The coffee really helps to bring out the chocolatey flavours. The cake batter will be quite runny which creates the perfect chocolate cake sponge!
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 250 g gluten free plain flour
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (Omit if your flour blend already contains this)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- Pinch of salt
- 80 g cocoa powder
- 200 g golden caster sugar
- 120 g light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 225 ml soy milk (Or other dairy free milk alternative)
- 125 ml vegetable oil (Or sunflower oil)
- 100 ml hot coffee (Made with a heaped teaspoon of coffee and boiling water OR an espresso shot)
For the buttercream
- 200 g dairy free butter block *See FAQs
- 360 g icing sugar
- 40 g cocoa powder
- Splash of dairy free milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C and line 2 round 20cm cake tins.
- To a large bowl add all your dry ingredients (flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cocoa powder, golden caster sugar and light brown sugar). Mix well until everything is combined.
- To the bowl add the eggs, soy milk and vegetable oil. Whisk well until everything is completely incorporated and you have a nice chocolatey mixture.
- Slowly add the hot coffee, whisking as you go until it's combined in the mixture. The mixture will be quite runny – this is what you want to make the perfect chocolate cake.
- Pour the mixture into the 2 prepared cake tins and bake in the middle of the oven for around 35 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean from both cakes (this may be slightly longer or shorter depending on your oven so keep an eye on it).
- Remove from the oven, leave In the tins for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool make the buttercream. Add the dairy free butter to a large bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually add the icing sugar, continuing to beat until fully combined and creamy. Add the cocoa powder and splash of milk and beat again until combined.
- Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag (optional – you can spread the buttercream onto the cake but piping is neater) and pipe onto one of the cakes, place the other cake on top and then pipe the rest of the buttercream onto the top.
- Store in an airtight container and consume within 5 days.
I absolutely love seeing what you’ve created, so if you do make this recipe (or any other recipe from my website) don’t forget to tag me over on my social media pages @glutenfreealice and use the hashtag #glutenfreealice
I haven’t baked yet but looks like it will be a lovely treat for my family
I wouldn’t say it was the best but still yum
Maybe it was just me
My children throughout they were very complicated instruction.