The best gluten free chocolate cake recipe ever! You only have to dirty one bowl for this moist and rich gluten free devil's food cake. Dairy free option.
Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
So here you have it, the best gluten free chocolate cake recipe you'll ever eat/bake!
Everyone needs to have a good chocolate cake recipe in their repertoire. I already had one. It is amazing, but the technique can be a little tricky.
You have to mix boiling water with cocoa into a paste, and make a normal batter, and then somehow mix the 2 together?
Ain't nobody got time for that! (That process enhances the chocolateyness of the cake because the boiling water "activates" the chocolate.)
I revised the technique for my well loved chocolate cupcakes so that it is easier and quicker to mix together, and you still get that moist chocolate cake.
The differences in the cake are so slight that I only think you'd be able to distinguish between them in a side by side comparison.
So unless you want to make 2 different batches of cupcakes and taste them both, just make this one. It is quicker to mix up, and you only have to clean a fraction of the dishes.
What make this the best ever gluten free Devil's food chocolate cake?
Now let me tell you why my cake is awesome:
- The cake itself is very moist and has a terrific mouth-feel (no one will guess that it is Gluten Free)
- Rich chocolate flavor, just like you'd expect from a good Devil's Food
- Did I mention that the recipe only uses one bowl?
This really is my go-to gluten free chocolate cake batter recipe. I use it to make chocolate muffins, gluten free cupcakes, and gluten free layer cakes.
I made just 1 batch of cupcakes and decorated them all differently, and with different flavors too. Peanut butter, salted caramel, strawberry, marshmallow, the list goes on and on. Chocolate ROCKS!
How to bake gluten free chocolate cupcakes?
How to bake gluten free chocolate layer cake?
How to bake gluten free chocolate sheet cake?
Can I make this gluten free Devil's food chocolate cake vegan?
My gluten free chocolate cake recipe uses extra egg yolks, to make the finished cake rich, and moist. This makes it very tricky to make this cake vegan.
You can try using three whole eggs, instead of the two whole eggs and two egg yolks. If you make this switch, your cake will be lighter and not a rich gluten free devils food cake.
If you need a vegan cake perhaps try another recipe. My friend Erin from Texanerin has you covered with a gorgeous vegan chocolate cake.
📖 Recipe
BEST Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, One-Bowl Devil's Food
The best gluten free chocolate cake recipe ever! You only have to dirty one bowl for this moist and rich gluten free devil's food cake.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cocoa (not dutch processed) (4 oz by weight)
- 1 ½ cups packed brown sugar (10 oz by weight)
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend (9.5 oz by weight)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already has xanthan gum in it)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup hot water (or hot brewed coffee or espresso)
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup sour cream (can sub ½ cup dairy free yogurt to make dairy free)
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325F, and prepare your pans (for cupcakes line paper liners or lightly grease, for 8 inch cake layers lightly grease and place 8 inch parchment paper circle on the bottom.)
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the cocoa, brown sugar, gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the hot water and oil to the dry ingredients and THEN stir using a silicone/rubber spatula (if you stir in just the water the batter will be very thick and when you try to stir in the oil it will take a long time and splash all over.)
- Stir in eggs, egg yolks, and sour cream.
- Fill your prepared pans (cupcakes about ⅔ full, for layer cakes evenly divide the batter between both pans) and bake until the cake springs back if gently touched, or a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out mostly clean, with maybe a little crumb or two.
- Mini cupcakes should bake 15-20 minutes, regular cupcakes 20-25 minutes, and layer cakes or 9x13 cake 30-35 minutes.
Notes
To make dairy free, substitute vegan or dairy free sour cream or yogurt, or you can use full fat coconut milk (from a can) plus a teaspoon of vinegar to make a thick mock-buttermilk. It is important there is an acidic element to your substitute, or else your cake won't rise.
To bake as cupcakes: Place cupcake liners in your cupcake tins. Fill about ¾ the way full of cake batter (or evenly divide the batter between 24 cupcake tins.) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
To bake in layer cakes: : Lightly grease 2, 9 inch or 8 inch round layer cake pans. Place a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of your pan. Evenly divide the batter between the two pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of a layer cake comes out clean. (You can divide your batter between three pans, but your cakes will cook much faster. Probably closer to 20-25 minutes).
To bake as a 9x13 inch cake: Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. If you plan to remove your cake from the pan prior to frosting, line the bottom with a 9x13 rectangle of parchment paper. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
A reader used 1 ½x this recipe in a 11x15" sheet pan and felt it was a little thin. She suggested that if others were to use that size pan they should use a double batch.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1 cupcake, or 1/24th of the recipeAmount Per Serving Calories 166Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 34mgSodium 108mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 1gSugar 11gProtein 2g
All nutrition info is a guestimate and will vary depending on the ingredients you use.
DW2
These cupcakes look delicious. I'd like to see my MIL go GF, but she's a totaly carb-avore. maybe I can make these for her to appease us both! 🙂
Debi @ Life Currents
Brianna Hobbs
Thanks Debi, I hope she likes them. My gluten-eating family gobbled them up!
Lacy W
These look delicious and so cute!
Brianna Hobbs
Thanks Lacy!
Cindy Gordon
I'd love one of these now (for breakfast!) LOL YUM
Brianna Hobbs
Thanks Cindy! I think there is nothing wrong with a cupcake for breakfast every once in awhile. 🙂
gfe--gluten free easily
Amazing looking cupcakes, Brianna! Thanks for sharing your other terrific chocolate recipes, too! 🙂
Shirley
Brianna Hobbs
Thanks Shirley!
Susan Strohmeier
I am interested in the rice flour blend you use. I need a good baking blend....I always use an all purpose flour and I am not completely satisfied with the results. The link is broken when I click on it in your recipe.
Thanks
flippindelicious
Hi Susan!
I'm sorry that the link wasn't working. I've fixed the link but here it is also: Rice Flour Blend.
I transitioned my blog to wordpress this week and it appears that is when the link broke. I LOVE my rice flour blend, it is perfect for baking cakes, quick breads, and cookies as it has a higher starch content and responds more like a traditional cake flour yielding very soft baked goods. I hope that you like it. Please let me know how it works for you in your recipes!
Erica
What is the rice flour blend? I clicked the link and it says page not found
Thanks
Erica
flippindelicious
Thank you Erica! I have fixed the link, but here it is for you: Rice Flour Blend
I just moved my site to wordpress and I didn't know that the link had broken, so thank you for telling me so that I could fix it!
Karen Cloy
I need a gf and dairy free recipe. Can you leave out the sour cream and have it turn out good?
Karen
flippindelicious
Hi Karen,
You can try using a non-dairy sour cream but the results may be different. This recipe uses only baking soda for leavening and the acidity in the sour cream cream reacts with the baking soda to make the cupcakes rise. I'm not familiar enough with dairy-free sour cream to know whether or not it could create the same reaction.
If you try the recipe with df sour cream let me know how it turns out.
jules
I hope you don't mind me chiming in! I love using sour cream in my cakes too, Brianna, and I DO use non-dairy sour cream, or sometimes plain coconut or almond yogurt. It reacts beautifully with baking soda. Hope that helps!
~jules
flippindelicious
That does help Jules! I haven't experimented with it yet (no one in my family eats dairy-free) so thank you for sharing!
Mina
Can you share your icing recipes used on the Devil's Food cupcakes? They look light and inviting.
Thanks. Can't wait to try your recipes.
flippindelicious
Hi Mina,
It is on my list of recipes to share. It is the best frosting recipe that I've found and I'm always getting requests to make it for family events. If you subscribe to my email updates you'll for sure find out when it goes up.
Kate
These. cuupcakes. ohmygod.
I made a few changes:
-I had no sour cream so I used greek yogurt
-I used Trader Joe's GF flour blend (very similar ingredients to yours)
-I used COFFEE rather than water and made BAILEY'S icing.
They were a hit and no one knew they were gluten free. This is my new go-to.
Thank you thank you thank you!
flippindelicious
I'm so glad that you liked them Kate!
Erika
thank you so much for posting this delicious recipe! I made them for my 3 yr old's Barbie themed birthday party and she has friends who are celiac.
I tried one fresh out of the oven and I couldn't believe how tasty and moist it was. I hope they freeze well
flippindelicious
Thanks Erika! I'm so glad that you liked them. I made them just a few weeks ago for my nephew's birthday party. He also had friends attending with celiac. I have found that they freeze pretty well, but like any other baked good they seem to dry out the longer they are frozen. I have always frozen them frosted. They may not be quite as moist as when they were fresh baked but I think they are still pretty darn good.
Beth N.
I'm excited to try these cupcakes, but wanted to double check the amount of brown sugar. I'm pretty sure 10 oz. would be 1 1/2 c., not 2 1/2, right?
flippindelicious
That sounds right Beth, thanks for catching that. I updated the recipe.
I bake this recipe all the time, but I ALWAYS do it by weight and never by volume so I never caught the typo. Thank you for helping me to correct it.
Caroline
I'm really excited to try this recipe! I have just one question regarding your recipe for GF flour. Do you do the parts by cup measurements, or weight? I think there would be a substantial difference in proportions depending on how you do it. I just want to make sure I get the flour right before making the cupcakes.
flippindelicious
The only one that measures differently is the tapioca starch so while measuring by weight is the most accurate the volume measurement shouldn't be too off. Measure by weight if you can.
Kelly
My 6 year old son just made this for a Cub Scout celebration (with very minimal help from me!) and it was incredible! One little boy came up to us and said it was the best cake there...and there were about 20 cakes (none other gf). We substituted greek yogurt for the sour cream and used our ducks eggs, our first time cooking with duck eggs...it was moist and rich and so yummy. I think better than any gluten cake I can (remember) eating, it's been a while, but it was that good. 😉 Thank you for sharing!
flippindelicious
I am so happy you enjoyed it (and props to your son for making it (mostly) by himself! It is the best chocolate cake I have ever made. Definitely a fave 🙂
sasha
I did not find the rice flour but I did use gluten free baking flour.
I did not use gum I used an extra egg white instead. The batter was too thick for my taste so I added more baking soda to lighten up & some sugar . I finally found the combo that doesn't make gluten free texture all grainy. I am using marshmallow frosting on top because they are very rich.
flippindelicious
I'm happy to hear that all of your substitutions turned out! Making so many changes can be tricky.
Marshmallow frosting sounds delish!
Sheree
OH. MY. GOSH!!! If you were standing in my kitchen right now I'd give you a great, big, 'ol hug 😀 The devil's food chocolate cupcakes ROCK!!! They are moist, decadent and delicious. You CAN NOT tell that they are gluten free. Thank you, thank you thank you for your delicious recipes. They make living the gluten free lifestyle more of a vacation than a life sentence. Bless you!!!
flippindelicious
Thank you Sheree! I am so happy that they turned out so well. This is definitely one of my favorite recipes on my blog. I am so happy that my recipe has brought so much joy to you! xoxo
Crystal @ Hello Creative Family
Brianna this recipe is DELICIOUS! I just found your website today. I'm teaching a cooking class for kids and one of the children is gluten free. I wanted to find a recipe that all of the kids would love and that would accommodate my GF kiddo. This recipe did not disappoint. All of the kids loved it. I gave them all your website address to visit for gluten free recipes. I'm going to try making the chocolate chip coconut cookies next! I'm so excited to have found your blog. I can't wait to try out more of your recipes.
Best Wishes,
Crystal
flippindelicious
Thank you Crystal! I am so happy that my recipe was able to help you and your family. I am glad that you loved the cake. I think you'll love the coconut flour cookies too. They are my most popular recipe right now!
Elaine
Hello,
I am trying to make your cupcake but not sure if I have the right cocoa. I have Cocoa made with sodium carbonate.
Which one did you use and does it matter?
Thank you =)
flippindelicious
Hi Elaine,
I am not sure what cocoa would have sodium carbonate. I prefer to use dutch processed or dark cocoa powder because it will give your cake a very rich chocolatey taste. Although that is my preference, I have also used regular unsweetened cocoa powder and have gotten great results, it just isn't quite as chocolatey. Any unsweetened cocoa powder will do. Hope that helps.
-Brianna
Sheryl
I just made this cake for my gluten-free daughter's sweet 16 party. It was wonderful so many thanks for sharing the recipe! I sliced each layer horizontally and spread raspberry jam between the layers, finishing the whole thing with a chocolate glaze on the top layer and sides.
flippindelicious
Hi Sheryl, Raspberry jam and chocolate glaze sounds divine! I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know. Happy Birthday to your daughter!
-Brianna
Laurel
Hello! Love this recipe! It has great flavor. However, my cupcakes cracked at the top. Any ideas on how to prevent this?
flippindelicious
Hi Laurel,
My best guess is that your cupcakes rose after the top had already started to set. I would try baking them at a slightly lower temperature or decrease the leavening slightly. I'm happy you enjoyed my recipe.
Happy Baking!
-Brianna
Phillip
Can you use this recipe but instead of GF flour can you sub all-purpose flour? I love these cupcakes but wanted to see if you can use regular flour also.
flippindelicious
Hi Phillip,
I would suggest baking Alton Brown's recipe that I adapted this recipe from. You'll find the link within the post.
Happy Baking!
-Brianna
Claudia Morrissey
I just wanted to double check. Isn't 4 oz Cocoa a 1/2 Cup not 1 Cup? I just want to make sure these turn out okay. Thanks.
flippindelicious
Hi Claudia,
When I measured my cocoa, 1 cup weighed about 4 oz. There is a big difference between weight and volume measurements with different ingredients, I know it sounds off, but it isn't.
Amy
Just wondering if there is something you can substitute xanthan gum for? I have a friend with a gluten allergy that seems to react badly to xanthan gum as well.
flippindelicious
Hi Amy, You could try using guar gum? Not sure if that would work for your friend. The xanthan gum helps to provide structure and texture in the cake. You can make it without, but it won't have the same texture and will be crumbly.
Suzanne Holt
These look fasntastic...and not too difficult. 🙂 Sometimes GF recipes get overwhelming to me. Thanks for sharing!
Emily
I'm an experienced baker but new to gluten free baking- in fact, this was my first ever attempt at making a gluten free cake! I used your cake/cookie flour blend and followed the recipe exactly: THIS CAKE IS PHENOMENAL. You absolutely can't tell that it's gluten free. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe, looking forward to making my way through the rest of your blog!
flippindelicious
Hi Emily, I'm so happy my cake recipe was able to help you! I hope you enjoy many more of the recipes on my blog. Happy Baking! -Brianna
Lindsay
Have you tried this recipe as a sheet cake? I have made the cupcake version and thought it was awesome, but I want to make a 11x15" sheet cake for my son's birthday party tomorrow... it looks like I would need to do 1 1/2 times the recipe...
flippindelicious
Hi Linday,
Sorry I was traveling out of the country and just got back. I have made this recipe as a sheet cake many times! I would suggest 1 1/2 times the recipe if you are doing a 11x15" cake. How did it turn out? Hope it was a hit at your son's birthday party! Tell him happy birthday from me. -Brianna
Lindsay Hartkop
It turned out well, but it was a little on the thin side, I would double the recipe next time instead of just making 1.5 times the recipe.
flippindelicious
I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for your feedback. I'll add a note to the recipe that if you are making it in a 11x15 pan the recipe should be doubled.
Thank you! -Brianna
Danielle
So these look amazing!!! I made the batter and with my experience of gluten free baking for the past 3 years I refrigerate all my baked goods dough to get the gritty flour texture out ( I use Pillsbury gluten free all purpose flour. Only thing I've ever used) and I'm wondering if this will ruin the cake from being light and fluffy??
flippindelicious
Hi Danielle,
I wouldn't recommend refrigerating the dough for this cake because it uses baking soda as leavening. Baking soda starts working right away and isn't activated by baking. If you refrigerate it I worry that it would not rise very much at all. Recipes using double acting baking powder aren't as much of an issue because the double acting powder rises once when the batter is mixed, and again when it is heated.
Instead of chilling the batter, I would recommend that you use a better gluten free flour so you don't have to worry about a gritty texture. I haven't heard great things about Pillsbury's flour in the past.
I make my own gluten free flour blend, and there are several other flour blends that I recommend. You can read more in my gluten free flours post.
Hope that helps! Happy Baking! -Brianna
Danielle
Just baked these after making the dough yesterday because I feel if you refrigerate gluten free raw dough it talked grittiness out of it. This recipe will be my go to for sure!! Best cake ever!!! Making for my husband's work so we'll see if they can tell!! Absolutely delicious!! Thank you
flippindelicious
Hi Danielle,
I'm so happy you enjoyed them. I just made this recipe yesterday for my daughter's fourth birthday. It is still a family favorite and has been for years.
May I ask how long you let the batter sit in the refrigerator and if you had place it into pans or if it was in the bowl? I'm curious because based on my experience with this recipe I thought it wouldn't rise at all if the batter was refrigerated prior to baking.
Thanks!
-Briana
Danielle
I let it sit in a bowl but your right. They didn't rise much but still absolutely delicious. I will check out your recipe for flours. Thank you!!
Danielle
24 hours I let it sit.
flippindelicious
You are very welcome, Danielle.
Next time you bake using chilled dough, you can try stirring in the baking soda just before baking. Then the baking soda will the still be active.
Jessica
I made the dairy free version of this and used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and Ripple vanilla yogurt instead of the sour cream. I made it in a 9x13 pan and it took a little longer to cook, but it was still really moist and decadent! I topped it with a dairy free chocolate buttercream and even the civilians loved it! Flippin' Delicious has become my go-to blog for new recipes!
flippindelicious
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment, Jessica. I haven't seen Ripple's yogurt, but I love their milks. I'll have to keep an eye out for it!
So happy everyone loved it.
Happy Baking! -Brianna
Supriya Kutty
Fantastic post, I love this recipe, I have also gone through your other recipes they are amazing. I'm fond of cakes specially chocolate and pineapple. I am foodie and love to eat and try new things every week. It was an amazing recipe thanks for sharing it. I will surely share my experience after preparing that myself. Thanks keep sharing good stuff and stay healthy.
flippindelicious
I'm so happy you enjoyed my gluten free chocolate cake. Have you tried my gluten free pineapple upside down cake? It is delish. Happy Baking! -Brianna
Sarah
Thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve recently went gluten free and needed(wanted) something to celebrate my birthday with! I can’t stop eating these. (I made the recipe into cupcakes). And the best part is that my kids can’t tell that they are gluten free! It’s a win-win!
flippindelicious
Hi Sarah, I'm so happy you enjoyed my chocolate cake recipe! Thanks for commenting and letting me know that you tried it. -Brianna