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A true snacking cake, this simple, one-bowl gluten free spice cake is a soft, fragrant, and simple cake that's made in one bowl and packed with warm and cozy spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Why you'll love this recipe
This spice cake has a dense, but incredibly moist, crumb that's rich with brown sugar and warm spices. It's made with a combination of melted butter for flavor and and a touch of oil for moist mouthfeel.
It's the type of cake where the crumbs are always in clumps, never alone, and stick to the tines of the fork. And it stays fresh for days at room temperature.
The crumb of this cake is tighter than gluten free vanilla cake. The texture is similar to gluten free carrot cake, but without carrots, of course, and with the flavors of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, in addition to cinnamon.
Expert tips
Selecting spices
This cake calls for a fragrant combination of warm ground spices: ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, ground cloves, and a touch of ground ginger. It's similar to the pumpkin pie spice we use in gluten free pumpkin pie, but without allspice.
You can use pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, or even just ground cinnamon in this recipe. Just be sure to use the full amount of spices called for (nearly 3 teaspoons), since this is a spice cake, after all! You want the rich flavors of the spices to shine through.
Checking for doneness
You can test doneness by inserting a toothpick or other cake tester into the center to ensure that it comes out clean, or press the cake gently in the center. If it springs back, it's done. Because of the different types of sugar, it can begin to burn relatively easily so be careful not to overbake it.
Choosing the proper pan
This is a really forgiving recipe and can be baked in a variety of cake pan sizes. I like baking it in a 9-inch x 13-inch cake pan, since it bakes so quickly and makes generous but not oversized slices.
You can also bake this cake in 2 8-inch round cake pans, if you prefer. Just divide the batter evenly between greased pans, spread into an even layer, and bake until set in the center (it will take about 30 minutes, but may take a bit longer).
Cool completely before dusting or frosting
Never dust a warm cake with confectioners' sugar! If the cake has any warmth at all, the sugar will melt right into the cake. You'll still taste it, but you won't see it.
The same goes for frosting, if you wanted to make this cake with a cream cheese frosting. Try the frosting recipe from our gluten free zucchini cake for a soft, tangy, and decadent gf spice cake experience, but double it for this larger-size cake.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
To make this cake dairy free, you'll only need to replace the butter with a nondairy alternative. I recommend vegan butter; my favorite brands are Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen.
This is such a forgiving recipe, though, that you may be able to use Earth Balance buttery sticks here. They have too much moisture, though, so you might want to reduce the water by 1 to 2 teaspoons. And reduce the salt by half, since they're very salty.
Egg free
There are only 2 eggs in this recipe. You should be able to replace each of them with a “chia egg.”
To make one chia egg, combine 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds and 1 tablespoon lukewarm water in a small bowl. Mix, and allow the mixture to sit until it begins to gel.
Sugars
This cake has two granulated sugars: white, and light brown. I haven't tried replacing either of them with liquid sugars, but it might work. If you'd like to try replacing the granulated sugars with liquid sugar, you'll have to rebalance the recipe, since liquid sugars are sweeter, and have more moisture.
Try replacing the 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar with 75 grams corn syrup (for its neutral flavor), and the 1 cup (218 g) light brown sugar with a total of 165 grams liquid sugars (I'd try 125 grams honey and 40 grams unsulphured molasses). I don't recommend trying to replace the sugars with something like applesauce. That isn't nearly sweet enough to replace sugar, and your cake will be dense and not at all tender.
Additions and variations
Try mixing some of your favorite flavors into this simple cake. Here are some ideas (go easy, though, so you don't alter the cake's chemistry too much):
- 3 ounces chopped soft nuts, like walnuts or pecans
- 3 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- 3 ounces Thompson raisins or dried sweetened cranberries
Storage instructions
This cake in stays moist and tender wrapped tightly for at least 2 days at room temperature. For longer storage, slice the cake into squares, wrap each tightly in freezer-safe wrap, and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave, briefly.
Gluten Free Spice Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (315 g) all purpose gluten-free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground nutmeg is best
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (218 g) packed light brown sugar
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) neutral oil, (vegetable, canola, grapeseed, etc.)
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) warm water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line a 9×13-inch baking pan and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and granulated sugar and whisk to combine well.
- Add the brown sugar and mix to combine, breaking up any lumps.
- Add the melted butter, oil, beaten eggs, water, and vanilla, and mix to combine. The batter will be relatively thick, but soft.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer with a moistened spatula. Shake the pan back and forth a bit to ensure even distribution of the batter.
- Place the cake in the center of the preheated oven and bake until set in the center, about 25 minutes. A toothpick should come out mostly clean (never wet; may have a few moist crumbs attached).
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cake to cool completely in the pan completely. It will take about 45 minutes at room temperature until completely cool.
- Once the cake is cool, dust the top of the cake with a thin layer of (the optional) confectioners’ sugar. Slice into squares and serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FAQs
Most pure, single-ingredient spices are free of gluten ingredients, but they may not always be safely gluten free. If you're especially sensitive and are concerned about cross-contamination with gluten-containing ingredients, stick to Badia brand spices, which prominently claim gluten free status.
McCormick brand spices are also gluten free as long as they contain all safe ingredients, which will be prominently displayed on the label, so check your labels!
I haven't tried that, but I think it should work. They'll bake faster than cake, though, so start checking for doneness at about 18 minutes.
I don't know if this recipe would make a proper gluten free spice bundt cake, since it's very, very moist all the way through, and the best gluten free bundt cake has a crispier, buttery edge. Just multiply all the ingredients by 1.5 to make enough batter.
This is a super recipe! Best spice cake yet. Love that it is gf. I used less sugar. It was flavorful and topped the finished cake with a waterbuffalo milk caramel topping = )
My daughter made this for my son’s birthday cake. It came out very well. We used Earth Balance butter to make it dairy free, and added walnuts, pecans and raisins in one half of it for those of us who like nuts and raisins. Made two layers and put apple butter between the layers with confectioners sugar dusted over the top. Yum!
That sounds delicious, Meg! I’ve never tried it as a layer cake, but you’re making me want to! Happy birthday to your son. :)
Hands down one of the best cakes I have ever made.
I measured everything by weight instead of measuring cups and was VERY generous with all the spices and iced it with vanilla icing. Note – it was extra crumbly and difficult to ice (however not crumbly at all when eating it) so make sure to pop it in the freezer once cooled for 30 mins before icing, it was very easy to ice after doing so. The cake was so flavourful and so moist.
I have since made this many times and am asked to bring it every time I go to someones house.
Hi, love your recipes and thank you for helping me get back to some normal flavors! I just looked at Better Batter online from the company and the 5lb back is $8 per pound! Any suggestions on how to save money on this? Thanks! Jeff
Almost all good quality, well-balanced gluten free flour blends are going to be quite expensive if you buy a small amount like 5 pounds. I suggest buying a larger amount of flour, and the price goes down considerably. Unfortunately, the cheapest blends, like Bob’s Red Mill, are terrible.
I love this cake! A one bowl wonder. I used 2 ‘chia eggs’ and olive oil. Firm enough to pick
up a square to eat but perfectly moist.
Thanks Nicole! Another keeper for my file!
This cake is delicious! I made it with 2 ‘chia eggs’ and olive oil. The crumb is perfect. I dusted it with powdered sugar but the next cake will get cream cheese icing.Thank you Nicole!
So glad to hear it, Lari!
Made this immediately as we had a snowstorm and I thought it’d be the perfect comfort food. It IS! Moist and tasty, the texture is perfect and the flavor is full of enough spice. Only improvement might be a cream cheese frosting, but for now, can’t take the time to make it! Have to eat cake!
Oh, this is the perfect snowstorm recipe, Kim! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I link to a cream cheese frosting recipe of mine in the text of the post, since I know that that is often served on spice cake. Feel free to use that, but I prefer it with just a dusting of confectioners’ sugar!
If a 9×13 pan takes 25 minutes to bake, why would 2 8″ pans take longer — 30 minutes? Can I halve the recipe for 1 8″ cake for just the 2 of us?
A smaller, deeper pan takes longer to bake all the way through, Vivian. Yes, you can halve the recipe.
Unfortunately the water amount is missing from the ingredients list and so I ended up with “crumble”, so when I realised water was in the instructions, I just kept adding until I had a thick batter! Cake is in the oven now, so fingers crossed it will taste as good as your recipe suggests. Cheers, Robyn
Robyn, I see 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) warm water listed in the ingredients list clearly, and “Add the melted butter, oil, beaten eggs, water, and vanilla…” clearly in the instructions. I’m not sure what else to say!
Oh good grief Nicole, when my printer printed off the recipe, that and the vanilla were left out….probably meant for a page 2, so my cake was a little bit stodgy but tasted pretty good regardless! Next one will be with the full recipe! Have a nice day :)
Imagine how good it will be with page 2, Robyn! Thanks for solving the mystery. :)
Can’t wait to try this. Looovvee spice cake. Haven’t had it in so long.
That’s so great to hear, Candace. It’s so easy, and sooo good!!