Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

This easy gluten free chocolate cake is rich, dense and fudgy, and it's all made in just one bowl. Make a double layer or single, with the simplest chocolate ganache frosting.

It's perfect for those days when you just want to indulge or when you're in need of a fast gluten free birthday cake! Say hello to your new favorite chocolate cake recipe!

What makes this gluten free chocolate cake special?

There are so many reasons I consider this the best chocolate cake recipe ever, and once you try it, I'm sure you'll agree.

It's made in one bowl — without all the hard work of melting chocolate

Sometimes, you just need a rich, dark gluten free chocolate cake that you make in 1 bowl, without even melting any chocolate. Usually, to get a really rich chocolate cake or cupcake, your best bet is to use both melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder.

But this one bowl gluten free chocolate cake gets the job done with just the right mix of cocoa, sour cream, and oil instead of butter. It’s also dense, but never heavy.

It's so rich and tender

This cake is tender enough that you can make it days ahead of time. You can even store it in the refrigerator without it drying out too much.

Celebrate birthdays, holidays, and more with this perfect, simple chocolate cake

Need a gluten free birthday cake in a hurry? Seriously — this delicious cake is so easy to make, but your loved ones will think you spent hours. (And don't worry: Your gluten eating friends won't have a clue!)

How do you make gluten free chocolate cake from scratch?

There are many ways to make chocolate cake from scratch, and most of them aren't any harder than making it from a mix. All the mix does is provide you with already-measured dry ingredients like flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt.

When you're using a mix, you still have to add eggs, oil, and often water. As long as you're adding eggs, oil, and water, you may as well add some sour cream, too, and make it into this cake.

That's really all it takes. You have to provide the pan either way, right? And bake it in your oven.

Just whisk the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar) and you have your chocolate cake mix. Make a well in the center, and add the wet ingredients and mix. Pour into the pan, smooth the top, and bake.

Choosing the right gluten free flour blend

If I had to pick my number one rule when it comes to baking, it would be: Always follow the recipe!

Even though I offer suggestions for substituting allergens below, it's always my preference that you follow my recipes exactly as written. It's the only way I can guarantee you'll enjoy results as wonderful as mine.

That said, there are a lot of gluten free flour options out there. Some might work fine for this gluten free chocolate cake recipe, others might result in less than stellar results.

Better Batter is my personal recommendation when it comes to the right gluten free flour blend for baking and more. It's what I used when perfecting this delicious chocolate cake, and it's what I use in a lot of my gluten free recipes that call for flour.

You can try other gluten free flour brands if you'd like, but I'd highly recommend that you stick with Better Batter if you can.

While we're on the topic, here's a pro tip for measuring gluten free flour: Whenever possible, weigh it rather than go by the volume measurement.

Weighing ingredients on a simple digital kitchen scale really is the best way to ensure you're following my recipe as closely as possible. There's no standardization of volume measuring cups, and human error makes consistency impossible—for all of us!

How to make it into a gluten free chocolate layer cake

This is the gluten free chocolate cake you make when it’s someone’s birthday, and you don’t want to disappoint — but you haven’t planned ahead. But if you’re making it as a celebration cake, you may want to make a layer cake.

No problem. Simply double each ingredient of the recipe to make two layers. Use a large bowl, or measure everything out into two bowls.

Place half of the batter into each of two prepared 9-inch cake pans. Smooth the top, and place them in a 350°F oven.

If the oven isn’t really large (like mine isn’t), after about 20 minutes rotate the pans with one another so everything bakes evenly.

How to make the easiest chocolate frosting

Chocolate ganache sounds fancy, but it's deceptively simple. When you make just chocolate ganache, it's not really a frosting. But if you whip it, you've got the easiest rich chocolate frosting.

Make the ganache by heating heavy whipping cream (or coconut cream, if you're dairy free) until simmering. Then, pour the simmering cream over chopped chocolate.

Allow the two ingredients to sit for a bit, until the chocolate begins to melt. Stir until the chocolate is melted, the liquid is fully incorporated, and the mixture is smooth. That's chocolate ganache.

How to make whipped chocolate ganache

To make it from simple chocolate ganache, use the proportions specified in the recipe below. Once the ganache has cooled to room temperature, place it in the refrigerator to chill until it can be scooped with a spoon. That should take a couple of hours.

Remove the chilled ganache from the refrigerator. Whip it with a hand mixer until it's thick, light and fluffy, and add a bit of confectioners' sugar if you'd like it a bit sweeter, and a bit thicker.

How to store this gluten free chocolate cake

I really can't stop mentioning how easy this gluten free chocolate cake is to make, and now you're going to hear me rave about how easy it is to store!

Storing a chocolate cake on the counter

In my house, chocolate cake doesn't tend to last long. But when there are leftovers, we've safely stored them in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.

One of the biggest risks of storing cake is that it may dry out before you can fully enjoy it. That's not a problem with this one.

First, it's so incredibly tender. And then that frosting? It does an awesome job of locking in the moisture.

Storing a chocolate cake in the fridge

Seriously, I cannot understate how soft and moist this cake is. For that reason, you can even store it in the fridge without worrying about it drying out.

I suggest using this storage method if you don't think you can finish your chocolate cake within two or three days.

Storing a chocolate cake in the freezer

Even though this gluten free chocolate cake is easy to prepare, I can see there being instances when you just do want to go through the effort. Or maybe you've got big plans coming up and need the cake made and out of the way, so you can concentrate on other things.

Whatever the reason, freezing this gf chocolate cake is a great way to have it on hand whenever you need it. Just prepare it as instructed, and then allow it to cool completely.

From there, you'll wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and pop it into the freezer. When you're ready to defrost, place it on the kitchen counter to thaw for 6 to 8 hours.

Ingredients and substitutions suggestions

Not only is this one bowl gluten free chocolate cake easy, it also doesn't have a lot of other potential allergens in it. No wonder it's one of my very best gluten free chocolate cakes.

Gluten free dairy free cake

There isn’t as much dairy in this cake as you might expect. Since cocoa powder works well to create chocolate richness with oil, there isn’t any butter in this recipe. Just be sure the chocolate you use in your ganache is dairy-free.

The only dairy in the cake itself is the sour cream. Sour cream can be replaced in baking with plain Greek-style yogurt. If you’re dairy-free, use nondairy yogurt.

If you only have plain regular yogurt, try straining out enough liquid until it’s looks like sour cream. Then measure and use that. If you’re dairy-free, again just use nondairy plain yogurt.

The dairy in the ganache is heavy whipping cream. That can be replaced with coconut cream, if you’re dairy-free.

Just be sure not to use canned light coconut milk, which has added water. Your coconut cream must be from a can, not from a carton of milk which is nearly all liquid.

Egg free gluten free chocolate cake

There are 2 eggs in this recipe, and they’re important. But since there are only 2 in a rather substantial cake, you might be able to replace each of them with one “chia egg.”

A “chia egg” is made with 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds and 1 tablespoon lukewarm water. Just mix them together in a small bowl (times 2, here, for 2 eggs), and allow them to sit until they gel. Then add them when you would add the eggs.

Using cocoa powder

Dutch-processed cocoa powder tends to be richer than natural cocoa powder, which is why I prefer it in this recipe. If you only have natural cocoa powder, you can use that without changing anything else.

Natural cocoa powder is not processed with alkali, like Dutch-processed, so it requires a bit of baking soda to offset its acidity. But this recipe already calls for some baking soda.

Customizing your cake

Honestly, I don't think this yummy cake needs anything else — just slice it up and enjoy with a cold glass of milk or almond milk!

But if you're looking for a way to make yours a little bit more unique, you can't go wrong with sprinkles. Choose chocolate ones or rainbow-colored ones; they all work just fine.

For an even more chocolate-y cake, you could even use chocolate chips in place of sprinkles!

Note that many sprinkles and chocolate chips are gluten free, but you'll still want to carefully check food labels to be sure.

FAQs

Is cake gluten free?

If you're following a traditional cake recipe using wheat-based flour, the answer is no — that cake won't be gluten free.

Instead, you need to follow a gluten free cake recipe that avoids ingredients that include gluten. The biggest offender is flour, but gluten can also be hiding in other things, like frosting, so it's important to carefully check product labels.

Is cocoa powder gluten free?

Yes, pure, unadulterated cocoa powder is gluten free.

However, be careful of cocoa blends or even hot cocoa mixes. These may contain starches that have gluten.

Does gluten free cake taste different?

It can, depending on the ingredients you use and the recipe you follow. But if you use quality gluten free flours and follow a tried and tested recipe, no one will ever know that they're eating a gluten free cake.

Why is my gluten free chocolate cake cracking on the top?

This is a problem you'll encounter when making fluffier cakes that use baking powder. You won't experience it with my gluten free chocolate cake recipe because mine doesn't use baking powder, resulting in a denser cake.

But to answer the question, most cakes crack when you've got your oven's heat too high. That's because many cakes contain baking powder, an ingredient that bubbles to make your cake expand and raise.

When your oven is too hot, two things happen: A crust prematurely forms on the outside of the cake and the baking soda activates too soon and too quickly. This causes the cake to rapidly expand, cracking the crust that's already formed.

Why did my cake sink?

Again, this is an issue for cakes that use baking powder. But there are two primary reasons a gluten free chocolate cake might raise, only to later sink.

The first is that you overbeat your batter, introducing tons of air bubbles. As your cake cooks, it rises. This is what you want, but then all those air bubbles escape, causing the cake to collapse on itself. You can fix this issue by beating your cake only as much as necessary to mix the ingredients.

Another reason your cake might sink is if you're baking it in an oven that's too hot. Many ovens run hot, which will cause a cake to rise rapidly, and appear done but not have the internal structure necessary to support the rise.

A cake baked in a too-hot oven will sink as it cools. Avoid that by using a simple, freestanding oven thermometer to guide you, rather than your oven's internal calibration.

Can I make this recipe for gluten free chocolate cake without any flour at all?

No! Sometimes, gluten free cake is confused with “flourless cake.” Traditional gluten free baked goods are made with an all purpose gluten free flour blend, like conventional ones are made with all purpose wheat flour.

You can make a gluten free chocolate cake entirely without flour, though. Please click over to our incredibly rich, totally flourless cake recipe, made simply with chocolate, butter, eggs, cocoa powder, and sugar.

Can I make this a dairy free gluten free chocolate cake recipe?

Yep! If you're aiming for a dairy free dessert, you can use nondairy yogurt in place of the sour cream for the gluten free cake and coconut cream in place of the heavy whipping cream for the frosting.