It’s easy to make the best gluten-free chocolate cake. All you need is one bowl and about an hour. The recipe makes a rich, moist cake that is perfect for birthdays and other celebrations.
There’s a lot to love about this gluten-free chocolate cake recipe. It makes a dense, rich cake that is loaded with chocolate flavor, and, the best part, it’s so easy to make. You simply mix the batter together in one bowl—no whipping eggs or beating butter—and you’re ready to bake! If you love chocolate cake, this recipe is for you.
What You Need to Make the BEST Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour. Gives the chocolate cake body and texture. If your blend doesn’t contain xanthan or guar gum, add one teaspoon to the recipe.
Natural Cocoa Powder. Adds a rich chocolatey flavor and reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise. Dutch-process cocoa powder, which has been treated with an alkaline solution, may be used in this cake. When Dutch-process cocoa powder is used the cake bakes up very dark.
Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and texture.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda. The combination of baking powder and baking soda gives the cake a lovely rise. If you don’t bake often, be sure to check that your baking powder and baking soda aren’t expired. If they’re old, they don’t provide as much lift.
Salt. One teaspoon of salt enhances the chocolate notes. It’s an important ingredient in this cake. Fine table salt or fine sea salt is best for baking.
Eggs. Three eggs help the cake rise and provide a lovely texture and flavor. This recipe has not been tested with an egg-replacer.
Oil. A half-cup of oil makes the cake rich and tender. It also makes the cake dairy-free! Be sure to use a neutral-flavored oil, such as vegetable oil, for the best flavor.
Milk or Coffee. Milk or coffee make this a smooth silky batter. Use traditional (cow’s) milk or dairy-free milk. For a mocha-like flavor, replace the milk with one cup of cooled coffee.
Nonstick Cooking Spray. To keep the cake from sticking to the pan, spray it with a gluten-free nonstick cooking spray or grease it generously with butter or shortening and then dust with gluten-free flour.
Important Equipment and Tools
Electric Mixer or Whisk. This batter is easy to mix together either with an electric mixer or by hand with a balloon whisk. Use whichever you prefer.
Cake Pan(s): Bake this cake in either two 8-inch round cake pans, one 9×13-inch pan, or bake 24 cupcakes.
How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
- Preheat Oven. Cakes bake best when placed into a hot oven. You want your oven at 350 degrees F before you start baking. I always turn my oven on before I start measuring ingredients. This way it’s ready after I’ve mixed the batter.
- Mix Batter. This is a simple one-bowl cake. First, whisk together the “dry” ingredients, that’s the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Doing this evenly distributes the baking powder and soda throughout the flour and sugar, helping the cake to rise evenly. Then add the “wet ingredients–the milk, eggs, and oil. Mix until the batter is smooth. It only takes about a minute or so.
- Bake Cake. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with only a few dry crumbs clinging to it.
- Cool on a Rack. Cool the cake in the pan for about ten minutes. Then turn out onto a wire rack(s) to cool. Transferring the cake to a wire cake keeps the bottom of the cake from getting soggy and prevents the cake from sticking to the pan.
- Frost. When the cake is completely cool, frost it with your favorite buttercream frosting. I love either chocolate buttercream or vanilla buttercream on this cake. If you frost a warm cake, the frosting will melt and run off the cake.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake: FAQs
Can I make this cake without milk?
Yes! Replace the milk called for with an equal amount of dairy-free milk or coffee.
Can I replace the flour with almond flour or coconut flour?
Grain-free flour, like almond flour or coconut flour, doesn’t work with this recipe. Please use my recipe for either almond flour chocolate cake or coconut flour chocolate cake if you want to bake with almond or coconut flour.
Can I freeze the cake?
Absolutely! Allow the cake to cool completely. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze. Allow cake to thaw overnight on the counter before serving.
Can I use this recipe for cupcakes?
Yes! This recipe makes 24 cups. The bake time is included in the recipe.
Can I use this recipe for a 9×13-inch cake?
Yup! The bake time for a sheet cake is included in the recipe.
The BEST Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
Easy Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake. This rich and moist cake is perfect for birthdays. Dairy-Free Option Included.
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
- 1 ¾ cups Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, see note (9 ounces; 255 grams)
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar (12 ½ ounce; 354 grams)
- 1 cup natural cocoa powder (3 ounces; 85 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup milk or coffee (8 ounces; 226 grams)
- ½ cup vegetable oil (3 ½ ounces; 100 grams)
- 3 large eggs (about 6 ounces; 170 grams out of shell)
Chocolate Buttercream
- 4 cups powdered sugar (16 ounces; 453 grams)
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder (1 ½ ounces; 42 grams)
- 1 cup butter, softened (8 ounces; 226 grams)
- 4 tablespoons milk, divided (2 ounces; 56 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Prepare your pan(s). Lightly grease: two 8" round cake pans OR one 9", x 13" pan with nonstick cooking spray OR line 24 standard cups with paper liners.
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Whisk together gluten-free flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add milk, vegetable oil, and eggs. Whisk batter until smooth.
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Divide batter evenly between the two 8-inch prepared round cake pans OR spread evenly into 9 x13-inch pan OR fill muffin cups about ⅔ full.
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Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
For 8-inch round cakes: about 30 minutes.
For 9×13-inch pan: about 40 minutes.
For cupcakes: about 22 minutes.
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Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
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When cool, frost with chocolate frosting. Wrap cake and store at room temperature for up to three days.
For the Chocolate Frosting
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Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and milk. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds. Increase mixer speed to medium-high.
Beat frosting until fluffy and smooth. If frosting seems too thick, add the additional tablespoon milk.
Recipe Notes
Gluten-Free Flour
If using a flour blend that does not contain xanthan or guar gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum to the batter. Add the xanthan gum to the gluten-free flour. Whisk. And then follow the recipe as written.
Yvette Lachance says
Hi, made this cake recipe for my son birthday, it was excellent. Everybody (16 people) said it was the best chocolate cake they’ve ever had. 🙂 I do have a question regarding the frosting. I found it a bit thin. I used coconut oil based butter, which I know is thinner consistency than regular butter. Is there something I can do to thicken it up a little. Thanks for the recipe, I also made cupcakes too, just as delicious!!
Elizabeth says
Yes. Coconut oil is sensitive to temperature. It goes to liquid when warm. To make the frosting thicker, reduce the amount of liquid you use and add additional powdered sugar.
Marisa Sim says
I made them as cupcakes and they were quite dry. Is there a way to make them more moist? Thanks
Elizabeth says
This cake is very moist. I would not recommend adding more liquid or fat to it. How long did the cupcakes bake?
Jola says
Hi,
great recipe – i’m planning to try it out this evening.
Just one question – do you think cocoa powder can be switched with carob powder?
thanks,
Jola
Elizabeth says
It should work with carob powder. Since the flavor of carob is lighter, the cupcakes might not taste as chocolate-y as ones made with cocoa powder.
Deb says
Can I substitute the granulated sugar with powdered erythitol?
Elizabeth says
I don’t think that would work but I haven’t tested it.
Kate says
You mentioned that coffee adds a pop of flavour but there is none in the ingredients – I was just wondering if you decided not to add this or how much coffee would you add to the dry ingredients?
Thanks!
Elizabeth says
You can replace the milk with coffee. I’ll update the recipe list to clarify. Enjoy!
Ritika says
DELICIOUS! it looks yummy and a mouth-watering cake. I will definitely try to make it soon.
Thanks!!!
Erika says
I have been baking gluten free cakes for years and this is by far the BEST gf cake I have ever tasted. It is soooooooo moist! I love it!! Thank you so much for sharing this delicious and EASY recipe. 🙂
Elizabeth says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Celeste says
Hi, I would love to give this a try however, I have a gas oven and the time and temp never work out for me. What would you recommend I do differently to get a good end result. Many thanks
Elizabeth says
I would invest in an oven thermometer. It sounds like your oven might not be running at the correct temperature. Once you find out what’s happening inside the oven, adjust the dial accordingly. Some ovens run too hot; other too cold.
Nikki says
Hi, I have made this cake before, and it is super rich and moist! Would the recipe work the same way if I omitted 1/4c of the sugar?
Elizabeth says
I think so. I hesitate to say because tinkering with the sugar can sometimes cause a recipe to fail. But, in this case, I think a reduction of 1/4 cup would work.
Emily says
This was delicious but very dense. Could that have been because I used a 12-cup bundt pan? I baked it for 49 minutes, until the tester came out clean but the cake was over baked. How long should I have baked it for?
Elizabeth says
This cake is very dense. I haven’t tested it in a bundt pan but, like you noticed, would assume that it would turn out pretty dense. As for the baking time, I can’t say because I haven’t tried this one as a bundt. It’s usually done when a cake tester comes out clean or has only a few crumbs clinging to it.
Sorry I don’t have additional info!
Ai says
Hi Elizabeth! I was initially planning to make the white funfetti cake recipe you’ve got, but then I saw this! I still want the colour pop, though, so it should be fine to just add the rainbow sprinkles into the batter just before pouring into pans, right?
Also, I have a tiny oven and only one pan. Would it affect if I keep the 2nd half of the batter out while waiting for the 1st half to bake then cool, before reusing the same pan for the 2nd half? Just wondering if the consistency of the 2nd half would be different due to being left out for ~40 minutes.
Ai says
I made the cake – the sprinkles completely disappeared, hahaha. Did they melt, I wonder?
And about splitting to 2 reusing the same pan, the problem was an uneven split. So my 1st pour accidentally had lesser than the 2nd, hence was denser and shorter too. But overall, so absolutely delicious! I paired it orange buttercream, being inspired by Terry’s Chocolate Orange (my favourite holiday treat)
Would definitely make this again sometime!
Elizabeth says
Yay! Glad you liked it. I think the sprinkles probably just couldn’t be seen in the dark batter. They do sort of melt and without a white or yellow cake, I think they’d be hard to see!
And I LOVE chocolate and orange. Excellent pairing!
Gabriela Aoun says
Made this cake for a birthday party yesterday and everyone loved it! It was so dense and delicious. I substituted coconut sugar for granulated and coconut milk for dairy milk. Will definitely make this again.
Eric says
I made my first cake ever using this recipe, and it turned out fabulously. Thank you so much.
One thing: in the text you say to use 1-1/4 cup of flour but in the instructions you say to use 1-3/4. I went with the latter and it word great.
E.M.C. says
Can I substitute butter for the oil? I don’t like the taste of vegetable oil in baked goods.
Elizabeth says
Yes but the texture of the cake will be a little denser.
Serafina says
Made this with 3 scoops Nature’s Fuel chocolate protein and 1/2 ghee instead of oil 2 cups h2o instead of milk and 1/4 cup cocoa. Made cake pops and dipped them in dark vegan chocolate. Holy YUM
lea rabkin says
Made today. Topped with real whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Perfect cake. Going to freeze slices and take some over to my sons. This cake won’t last long. Grape seed oil and almond milk for those ingredients.
I use Bob’ Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour for everything including yeast breads.
Thank you for an anazing recipe.
Hugs!!!
Lea Rabkin