The impossibly light, moist and tender crumb of this cake makes it (yes, really) the very best gluten free vanilla cake you've ever had.
This cake is so light and airy, it proves, once and for all, that gluten free baked goods can be just as good, if not better, than conventional gluten cakes.
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What makes this the best gluten free vanilla cake recipe?
It may be bold, but this cake isn't just the best gluten free vanilla cake. It's the cake that you serve to people who can eat as much gluten as they want, and they ask if they can make it at home with their conventional flour.
I tell them that they can have the recipe, since it's right here on the blog. But they can't make this cake without our gluten free all purpose flour. They have their recipes; leave us ours.
Please realize you must use one of my recommended all purpose gluten free flour blends for this recipe to work. Please click through for complete information on brands (usually, Better Batter or Cup4Cup), my “mock” recipes to make those blends yourself at home, and information on why they work and why others don't.
The secret to gluten free cake success
The secret to the very best vanilla cake recipe, gluten free, is in the balance of ingredients at the proper temperature—and in the method. Read the recipe through carefully first, follow it closely, and you'll know you can make a vanilla cake, gluten free, with an open crumb and tons of delicate flavor any time. If you'd like to save on time, combine the dry ingredients in step 2 in the recipe below in a sealed container for a sort of dry cake mix to make later.
The most important parts of the method are using one of my recommended gf flour blends, sifting it well, and beating the butter and sugar together until they're light and fluffy. And your ingredients must be at room temperature before you begin, or they won't combine properly no matter what you do.
For more general tips before you begin to assemble your ingredients for this amazing, tender gluten free cake, try reading our beginner's guide to gluten free baking. For a desserts overview, including a guide to the top 20 recipes on the blog, our gluten free desserts guide.
You may notice some negative reviews sprinkled in among the positive ones commenting on this recipe. They were left by people who used the wrong gf flour blend, didn't measure by weight, didn't sift, didn't combine the dry and wet ingredients separately first, beat the butter and sugar for long enough, etc.
In other words, they didn't follow the recipe as written! I wish it were as simple to make a perfect gluten free vanilla cake as it is to make, say, a one bowl gluten free banana bread.
I can only tell it like it is—and happily I can guide you through each step toward complete recipe success. It's all worth it!
Simple pantry ingredients for a yummy gluten free cake
This cake doesn't call for super specialized ingredients; instead you'll only need classic gluten free pantry ingredients. It's made with basic vanilla cake ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk.
Unlike our one bowl gluten free chocolate cake, to get the best vanilla cake you’re going to have sift the dry ingredients. Yes, you really do have to if you want that super tender, non-grainy crumb.
Then, beat the heck out of the butter and sugar before you even think about adding anything else. A stand mixer is great, but a handheld mixer works just as well provided you’re willing to stand there, beating and beating for at least 3 minutes.
Choosing cake pans for this easy gluten free vanilla cake
I like to bake these cakes in 2 aluminum 8-inch round cake pans to make a layer cake They bake evenly in about 30 minutes at 350°F, and never dome even if my oven has some hot spots (which all ovens do).
If you'd rather bake the cake in 9-inch cake pans, just reduce the baking time accordingly. You'll have to watch it carefully after the initial 20 minutes. And your layer cake will be wider, and a bit less tall.
Don't bake in a dark colored pan or in a glass pan. They attract and conduct too much heat, so your cake may burn on the bottom or the edges before it's baked all the way through to the center.
If you'd like, you can also use 8-inch square pans. The baking time should be the same as with 8-inch round cake pans.
Choosing the right gluten free flour blend for a perfect vanilla cake
I'm partial to Better Batter gluten free flour's original blend for nearly all of my gluten free recipes. If you can't buy it online, you can always use my mock Better Batter blend recipe to make your own.
If you are using a higher starch all purpose gluten free flour blend like Cup4Cup (or my mock Cup4Cup), replace the cornstarch in this recipe with an additional 54 grams of your flour blend.
Do not try to make this recipe using one of the lower-quality flour blends that use gritty, poor quality rice flour. Bob's Red Mill is a particularly bad one, and your cake ingredients won't combine properly—and your cake will taste gritty.
I can't stress this enough. I want you to be successful! This cake may be a bit of a diva, but she's 100% worth it!
Deciding on a frosting for your gluten free vanilla cake
I usually frost this cake with a stiff vanilla buttercream frosting, especially when I make it into a layer cake. It holds its shape really well and protects the cake from drying out like a softer frosting but without wilting. If you'd really like to dive in, please see our full discussion of gluten free frosting recipes, tips, and FAQs.
The simplest way to a lovely, basic gf frosting is to just beat 10 to 12 tablespoons (140 to 168 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and/or the seeds from the inside of a vanilla bean, and begin with 2 cups (230 grams) confectioners' sugar.
Beat until well-combined. Add more confectioners' sugar as necessary to make the frosting as stiff as you'd like it.
Test the consistency by running your finger through it, but only after beating the frosting really well. If it's stiff enough, it won't stick to your fingers very much.
Storing your gluten free vanilla cake
I like the look of a “naked cake,” which just means that it's frosted fully in between the layers and on top. The sides have a very thin crumb coat, and that's enough to keep in the moisture.
If you'd like to serve a few slices of this perfect vanilla layer cake and then store it at room temperature for a few hours, just after taking a slice, use leftover frosting to cover the missing area, extending the cake's life in the fridge.
Tips for making the best gluten free vanilla cake
Beat the room temp butter and sugar well for an airy crumb in your gf cake
The buttermilk in this recipe tenderizes the crumb so it has a tender mouthfeel. But the airy, open tenderness you can see clearly in the photos and the video comes from air being incorporated into the batter at the start.
Make sure your gluten free vanilla cake is cool before frosting
When you first remove them from the oven, let the cakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes. This allows them to firm up enough that they won't fall apart when you move them.
After 15 minutes, turn the cakes over onto a wire rack to cool 100% before you handle or frost them at all. If your cake has any residual heat at all, your frosting will melt.
FAQs
Yes, pure vanilla extract is gluten free because distilled alcohol is gluten free. See: Gluten Free Living Magazine.
If your cake baked and appeared done, but sunk as it cooled, it wasn't baked properly all the way in the center. That is usually due to a too-hot oven that bakes the outside of the cake until well done before the inside is done.
I don't recommend using this cake recipe to make cupcakes, since it's easier to make cupcake batter than it is cake batter. Use my recipe for the perfect gluten free vanilla cupcakes, which don't require any sifting, instead!
No, I don't recommend using this recipe to make a vanilla sheet cake. A sheet cake is a larger, rectangular cake that tends to burn on the bottom center.
Use our recipe for gluten free vanilla sheet cake instead. It's easy to make, easy to frost, and always makes for a great celebration!
Yes, you must use xanthan gum or an all purpose gluten free flour blend that contains xanthan gum, to make this cake. Without any xanthan gum, the cake won't hold together properly, and it will go stale much more quickly, too.
Yes! To freeze the cake whole, wrap it very tightly and defrost at room temperature before slicing and serving. To freeze slices, wrap them tightly and freeze individually, then defrost at room temperature. It's always best to freeze the cake before it's frosted, but if you're storing leftover and they're already frosted, defrost slices in the refrigerator overnight.
Ingredient substitutions
I’ve tried this cake every which way, and this is truly the best. If you need to modify the ingredients, of course the cake will be different.
Dairy free
For dairy-free, I recommend vegan butter like Miyoko's Kitchen or Melt brands in place of butter. Try 1:1 by weight. You can also try Spectrum brand nonhydrogenated butter-flavored vegetable shortening.
You'll need a buttermilk substitute. Try half unsweetened almond milk by volume and half nondairy plain yogurt in place of the buttermilk.
I really don't like a simple milk + acid like lemon juice or vinegar as a buttermilk replacement. That only replaces the acid, but not the thickness of buttermilk. The half milk half yogurt swap is the best.
Maybe you'd like to make a white cake, instead of this yellow cake. My recipe for gluten free white cake is perfect for adding food coloring for a special occasion. If you're looking for a super light white cake, you might prefer our gluten free angel food cake, made without any egg yolks (only whites) and even without any butter.
If you'd like to turn this cake into a two-layer homemade Funfetti cake, we have a gluten free birthday cake recipe. That recipe also has recipes for chocolate sour cream frosting for the center of the cake, and chocolate icing for on top. *chefskiss*
Egg free
I have not tried this cake with an egg substitute. But I'm afraid I just can't see working out very well since this cake is very egg-dependent.
My typical egg replacement suggestion is a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). But this cake calls for mostly egg whites, and a chia egg is not an egg white substitute.
If you're feeling adventuresome, you can try replacing the whole egg with a chia egg and the egg whites with slightly whipped aquafaba. Aquafaba is simply the brine from a can of chickpeas.
I'm working on a true vegan gluten free vanilla cake recipe because I really prefer a cake that is designed to be made egg-free, rather than one with an egg replacer. But, in the meantime, here we are.
Corn free
In place of cornstarch, try arrowroot or even potato starch. Either should work fine. We're really using cornstarch to make our all purpose gluten free flour blend into more of a gluten free cake flour.
If you are using a higher starch all purpose gluten free flour blend like Cup4Cup (or my mock Cup4Cup), replace the cornstarch in this recipe with an additional 54 grams of your flour blend.
Gluten Free Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; you must use one of my recommended blends, measure by weight, and sift or the recipe won't work)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 6 tablespoons (54 g) cornstarch replace with 6 tablespoons additional Cup4Cup if Cup4Cup is your all purpose gluten free flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 (100 g) egg whites at room temperature
- 1 egg (50 g (weighed out of shell)) at room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups (10 ⅔ fluid ounces) buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease 2 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with a round of parchment paper (trace the perimeter of the cake pan on the parchment, then cut out the circle). Set the pans aside.
- Into a medium-size bowl, sift (yes, you have to sift!) the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum, and cornstarch. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Set the dry ingredients aside.
- In a large measuring cup or medium-size bowl, place the egg whites and egg, buttermilk, and vanilla. Whisk to combine very well. Set the wet ingredients aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for at least 3 minutes, stopping at least once to scrape the entire mixture off the sides and bottom of the bowl, or until very light and fluffy.
- To the large bowl with the butter and sugar mixture, add the dry ingredients in 4 equal portions, alternating with the buttermilk and egg mixture in 3 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing to combine in between additions.
- The batter will sometimes look a bit curdled. That's normal and not a problem at all.
- Once all the ingredients have been added, beat for another minute on medium speed to ensure that everything is combined, then turn over the batter a few times by hand.
- The batter should be fluffy and relatively smooth, although a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix the batter in an attempt to make it perfectly smooth. It will be relatively thick.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared baking pans and smooth each into an even layer with an offset spatula. Bang the bottoms of the pans flat on the counter a few times to break any large air bubbles.
- Place the baking pans in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pans, and continue to bake until the cakes are lightly golden brown all over, have begun to pull away from the sides of the pan and do not jiggle in the center at all (about another 10 minutes). These tests for doneness are more useful than the toothpick test. Do not overbake.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack (and removing the parchment paper liners) to cool completely before frosting and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Elizabeth says
Do you have any cake recipes that are both GF and Dairy Free or could this recipe be adapted? Thanks
Nicole Hunn says
Please see the text of the post under the heading “How to make this a gluten free dairy free vanilla cake”
Tamara Wells says
I love this recipe so much and have made multiple birthday cakes with it. If I want to do a 3 layer cake next time, would I just decide the ingredients to make the third cake or do you have a better recommendation. Thank you!
Ruthann says
I just made this recipe with one small container of raspberries (frozen and crushed) and baked in cupcake papers. They are perfect!! A little heavier, overall, due to the fruit but the cake is fluffy and so tasty. Topped them with white chocolate frosting!
Tammy says
I made this cake for a bridal shower for a gluten-free co-worker and everyone raved about how delicious it was and never knew it was gluten-free!
RuthAnn says
Thank you so much for this incredible recipe! I was able to make a two-tier three layers each wedding cake and everyone loved it! I wish I could send a picture to you how awesome it turned out!
Nicole Hunn says
Aw, RuthAnn, that’s so special! I love when I hear that this cake has been made into a wedding cake. Well done, and congratulations to the happy couple!
Rachel says
Can I use orly’s Sydney blend for the flour and if so do I use cornstarch or no?
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid I don’t know that blend so I can’t promise results.
Michelle hite says
If using king author do I use corn starch or add extra flour
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid I have not had success using King Arthur’s gluten free flour blend in my recipes. It’s grainy and doesn’t blend well or perform.
Kateri says
Can this recipe be made into a chocolate cake?
Nicole Hunn says
No, you can’t, Kateri. That’s a very different recipe. I have a number of chocolate cake recipes. Please use the search function to find them all.
Natasha Reynolds says
I made this for a party. It was incredibly light and fluffy. Great flavor.
Linda K Haddix says
Can I substitute monkfruit or coconut sugar and cut back amount of sugar?
Nicole Hunn says
I don’t recommend that with this very specific recipe, no, Linda. Sorry!
Richard Cosper says
Mine came out amazing! Better than any gluten free box cake I’ve ever had. It wasn’t dense or gritty or crumbly. However, the cake did turn out rather chewy. I used better batter flour as suggested. Did I beat the batter for too long perhaps?
Nicole Hunn says
Actually, yes, Richard. That is possible. You don’t want to beat the batter once you’ve added the flour especially more than just to combine. “Beat well” is very different as a recipe direction than “beat to combine.” As always if you made any ingredient substitutions or measured by volume instead of weight, you can run into trouble.
Inge Larsh says
This is the first gluten free cake I have ever made. I followed the directions EXACTLY as written and to my surprise it turned out perfect!! It even looks like the pictures!! Thank you for this recipe. I’m making it into an ice cream filled layer cake that I’ve made before using regular vanilla cake. I’m super excited to make this birthday cake for my gluten free friend!
Nicole Hunn says
That’s a really lucky friend, Inge. Thank you for taking such good care of her!
Claudia G Amerine says
I made this recipe for the 1st time today into cupcakes for my daughter in law….they turned out perfectly and delicious. I just had enough better batter left to make them.
Thank you
AMANDA Smith says
How do you use the same recipe to make cupcakes? What would you recommend for baking temperature in time for a cupcakes?
Nicole Hunn says
I don’t recommend using this recipe, Amanda. I have a separate recipe for vanilla cupcakes that you can find by using the search function.
Carol Barnhart says
I used 1 to 1 gf flour blend, and weighed everything as you had stated. Followed directions, and was disappointed at this cake. Very dense, and a big disappointment, considering all the labor I put into it. Unfortunately, this won’t be a keeper for me.
Nicole Hunn says
You mentioned “1 to 1 flour blend,” which I assume is Bob’s Red Mill. It’s a poor quality blend that will not produce good results, which is why I recommend against it on the all purpose gluten free flour blends page here on the blog that is linked in every recipe that calls for one. And it’s also why the flour blend is discussed so extensively in the text of this post, Carol. You can’t make a great cake with poor ingredients, I’m afraid.
Gabrielle La says
hi there, i just made your cake and won’t be serving until tomorrow, should i wait until tomorrow to frost? will it stay inside a cake stand with glass top or should i use a different method of storing?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Gabrielle, I discuss storing the cake in the text of the post. It’s really up to you whether you frost now or later! Any baked goods at all wrapped tightly will always stay fresher than something exposed to any air.
Guy says
Good recipe. The cake came out moist and flavorful, without a hint of graininess. I made a test layer (and iced it) yesterday. We are not gluten-insensitive here, but my daughter has just had to swear off gluten for life. So I needed a gf recipe for the family birthday cake in 2 weeks. My husband and I both were put off by the texture. We agreed we couldn’t serve this at a party for 8 family members ~ only one of which being gluten-intolerant. We both said the same thing: “it’s good, for a gluten-free cake.” It was curiously rubbery and resisted the knife when cutting. Never had a cake before that fought back! :)
However ~ this morning, after it sat overnight under the glass dome of the cake plate, I took it to the trash can and at the last moment decided to take one more bite before discarding it: same great taste and a much improved texture ~ very nearly indistinguishable from a regular cake!! So, it definitely benefitted from an extended rest period.
So, I just finished a 2nd trial: This time, I whipped the egg whites to soft peak AND poured the buttermilk/vanilla into my ISI whipper, and infused it with a cartridge of CO2. Everything else was exactly as before. I just folded the whites into the batter in 2 additions at the end and popped it in the oven. Out came the cake I’ll be serving at the birthday party. So tasty and now tender as well. It rose quite a bit higher, too.
The recipe (as written) undoubtedly actually produces the cake as advertised. My hat is off to the Author and the Gluten-Free Warriors that can get amazing results without batting an eye! That’s what talent and experience will do for you. I’m not new to gf baking, but this was only my first and second attempt at this particular recipe. Also, even though I have 4 different flour blends in the pantry, it’s been a few years since I’ve made any gf baked goods. There could be any number of slight variations in my technique and kitchen that resulted in yesterday’s cake, in spite of my being extremely careful to follow the directions precisely. I take full responsibility for my results.
Just for now, I need these two tweaks to achieve the perfection I’m after. Maybe after several more attempts (and there will be more ~ this recipe is a keeper), I can take off the training wheels and ride up front with the big dogs. :) Thanks for the recipe.
Nicole Hunn says
Graininess is a result of a gritty rice flour, which is why superfine rice flour and a blend that is one I recommend are so essential.