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.
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