Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe

5 from 489 votes

Moist, rich, and fudgy—this one-bowl gluten free chocolate cake has been a reader favorite for years. Top it with smooth ganache or whipped frosting.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate, cocoa powder, eggs, gluten free chocolate cake, gluten free flour, oil, sour cream, vanilla extract, water, white sugar

Servings: slices cake

1 ½ cups all purpose gluten free flour blend (See Recipe Notes)
⅜ teaspoon xanthan gum (1/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon) omit if your blend already contains it
14 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup sour cream at room temperature
½ cup neutral oil (vegetable, grapeseed, peanut, canola all work)
2 eggs at room temperature, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup warm water (about 80°F)

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan and set it aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar.
Add the sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla, and warm water. Mix until smooth. The batter will be thick but pourable.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly clean or with a few moist crumbs attached (about 30 minutes). Do not overbake.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it just begins to simmer. Place the chopped chocolate (use 10 oz for whipped ganache) in a medium bowl and pour the hot cream on top.
Let it sit for 1 minute to melt, then stir until smooth and glossy. Pour over the cooled cake and gently spread to the edges so it drips down the sides. Let it set before slicing.

If you used only 8 ounces of chocolate and haven’t cooled the ganache yet, melt 2 more ounces and stir it in now. Let the ganache cool at room temperature until it’s no longer warm to the touch.
Cover and refrigerate until it’s scoopable. Transfer to a large bowl and beat with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until fluffy and lightened in color (about 5 minutes).
Add confectioners’ sugar, if using, and beat until smooth.

Flour blends

I recommend Better Batter's original blend gluten free flour and Nicole's Best multipurpose blend. Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour should also work, but be sure to add 1/4 teaspoon more xanthan gum or the cake may be crumbly. Cup4Cup changed its formula and doesn't seem to work as well as it has in the past, so I don't recommend it.

Want to make your own? Head to my all purpose gluten free flour blends page for mock blend recipes.

Nutritional information

The information you see is an approximation for 1 slice of a single layer 9-inch cake, without the ganache frosting.