This is the BEST Gluten Free Chocolate Cake! It’s moist, delicious and no one will ever guess it’s gluten free! It is perfect for your next celebration that calls for cake!
It’s my birthday! Well, not actually until Tuesday, but I think it is ok to celebrate all week, right?! Especially when your birthday falls on a weekday. When this happens you should probably make a huge gluten free chocolate cake and eat yourself into a chocolate cake frenzy all week long! My mom used to make a homemade cake for me every birthday growing up and they were delicious! I’ve recently started making them for myself and my kids and this gluten free chocolate cake makes a regular appearance.
Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
- Gluten Free All Purpose Flour – I developed this gluten free chocolate cake recipe using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour. I have since made this recipe using a couple of other AP gluten free flour blends and it has worked, but I always prefer the taste and texture when I use Bob’s Red Mill. If using a different brand, make sure it contains xantham gum.
- Cocoa Powder -I use regular, natural cocoa powder for this recipe, not dutch cocoa powder.
- Sugar – I use both granulated sugar and brown sugar for this recipe. I use light brown sugar but dark brown would work as well. You could also use a mixture of cane sugar and coconut sugar.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter so you can regulate the amount of salt in your cake. I’ve also made this cake using vegan butter and it worked great!
- Eggs – I originally developed this gluten free cake recipe using real eggs, but have also tried the recipe using a vegan egg substitute and it worked well.
- Almond Milk – You can use any plant based milk for this recipe, and if you aren’t needing the cake to be dairy free you can use regular milk.
- Non-fat Greek yogurt – Non-fat Greek yogurt makes the cake light and fluffy but you can also use dairy free yogurt. I usually use plain yogurt but have made the recipe with strawberry greek yogurt and it worked great!
- Frosting – You can use any kind of frosting you want for this cake! I like chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but it’s totally up to you. I have linked the chocolate frosting recipe I used in these photos in the recipe card.
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt, Baking Soda, Baking Powder
How To Make The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease your cake pans. This recipe makes a round 3 layer cake, but you can also use it to make cupcakes or a sheet cake.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa power, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars for about 3 minutes until they are light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking in between each addition. Then add the vanilla and mix again. Finally add the milk and mix one last time. The wet mixture might look a little strange, like it’s curdled, at this point, but that is ok!
- Add the flour mixture and the Greek yogurt to the wet mixture, one half at a time alternating between the two, starting with the flour. Give the batter one last mix until everything is combined.
- Equally distribute the batter between the three baking pans. Bake cakes for about 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool inside the pan for ten minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Once the cakes are cooled, transfer to a plate or cake stand and stack the cakes on top of eachother, frosting in between each one. Frost the top and sides of the cake, smoothing out with a knife if necessary.
Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Frequently Asked Questions
- Is this recipe dairy free? You can easily make this recipe dairy free! Just use dairy free butter and dairy free milk.
- Can I use almond/rice/coconut etc… flour in this cake? You could try, but I’ve had the best results using regular Gluten Free AP flour. Coconut flour would definitely alter the recipe and need more liquid.
- Can I make this recipe without eggs? Yes, just use an egg substitute. I like to use a flax or chia egg.
- Can I make cupcake with this recipe? Yes! Unless you need a lot of cupcakes, I would suggest cutting down the recipe by 1/3 to make cupcakes, it should make 24 cupcakes.
- Can I make a two layer cake instead of a 3 layer cake? Yes, just cut the recipe down by 1/3.
- Can I make this cake ahead of time? Yes, there are two ways you can make this cake in advance:
- How to freeze the cake: let cake cool completely and then wrap each round in plastic wrap. Place the plastic wrapped cake into a ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze up to 3 months. Unwrap the cakes and thaw on the counter until ready to frost.
- How to store the cakes for just a few days: let the cakes cool completely and then wrap them loosely in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days. If it’s hot in your kitchen, store in the refrigerator.
Have a question that I didn’t answer? Ask me in the comment section below and I will get back to you ASAP!
Looking For More Easy Gluten Free Dessert Recipes?
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Mixed Berry Upside Down Chocolate Cake
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Gluten Free Three Layer Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8-12 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This is the best homemade gluten free chocolate cake you will ever eat! Everyone who makes it loves it, even people who aren’t gluten free!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1:1 baking flour*
- 1 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup almond milk or regular milk
- 1 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yougurt
- 2 cups chocolate frosting – see link below for the one I used
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powered, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla and mix again. Finally add the milk and mix one last time. The wet mixture might look a little strange at this point, but that is ok!
- Add the flour mixture and the Greek yogurt to the wet mixture, one half at a time alternating between the two, starting with the flour. Give the batter one last mix until everything is combined.
- Grease three 8 inch cake pans and equally distribute the batter into the pans. Bake cakes for about 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool inside the pan for ten minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Once the cakes are cooled, transfer to a plate or cake stand and stack the cakes on top of eachother, frosting in between each one. Frost the top and sides of the cake, smoothing out with a knife if necessary.
Notes
*I have only made this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking flour, I’m not sure if it would turn out the same using a different gluten free flour.
I used this chocolate frosting recipe, but you can use any recipe or store-bought frosting you like. You will need about 2 cups depending on how much frosting you like to use.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dessert, Gluten Free
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This chocolate cake is so delicious, moist, and chocolaty!!!!
I absolutely love it!!
I’m only a teenager but am gluten free because I had really bad allergies (gf really helps!) and I love to bake but some things just aren’t as good gluten free… this cake was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!
Hi Sylvia! I’m so glad to hear that you liked it!! It’s one of my favorite cakes too and It makes me want to eat chocolate cake all the time!
I just made this cake for my son’s birthday and it was scrumptious. I used Namaste organic GF flour and substituted keifer for the milk and the yogurt. I also added some almond extract along with the vanilla. For the icing I made a salted almond chocolate icing with almond butter and almond extract and I iced one layer with salted caramel. The cake was a huge success!
Yah! I’m so glad it was a success!! That frosting sounds so delicious! And i love the idea of using keifer instead of the yogurt! Thanks so much for the comment 🙂
I made this today and it is delicious and looks just like it does in your pictures. The only change I made was to use regular (not Greek-style) yogurt and reduce it by 1/4 cup to avoid adding too much moisture. Fabulous, will definitely make again. Thanks!
That’s awesome, Kim!! I’m so glad it turned out great for you! Thank you 🙂
I know this is a weird question, but my oven is a little unusual, so I hope you’ll humor me. Could I make the batter, fill the pans, and then let it sit for 10 minutes while the oven preheats? Or does it need to be baked immediately? Thanks for your input!
It looks amazing, I’m so excited to make it!
Hi Shannon, sorry for the delay! You can definitely fill the pan and let it sit! My oven only cooks two pans at a time so I had to fill the third one and let it sit until the first two were done and it worked great!
Is there any replacement for the yogurt for this recipe? It sounds amazing but I need to make it dairy-free! 🙁 Any suggestions?
Hi Sarah, I haven’t made the cake without the yogurt myself so I can’t say for sure, but you could try using non-dairy yogurt or possibly omitting it all together. It helps to make the cake moist, so it just might not be as moist. I hope that helps!
Be still my heart, be still my heart! <3 😉
Happy Birthday!! I love your cake- and I can’t wait to make it!
My favorite summer ingredient is heirloom tomatoes. I grow anywhere from seven to fifteen different varieties every year, and if we don’t eat them like candy, I make balsamic bruschetta, margherita pizza, and tomato feta dip by the gallon! I’m sure I should have said something like peaches- but we eat tomatoes at every meal, and summer wouldn’t be the same without them!
I hope you have a wonderful birthday!
Thank you, Kaelin!! Heirloom tomatoes are the best!! I tried growing some last year and I only got one small one, haha! I would eat them for every meal too if I was better at growing them 🙂
I love to make anything with strawberries in summer since it’s my favorite fruit
I love strawberries too!!
My fav summer good is chocolate !!!!
I’d love to win btw
I agree, chocolate is one of the best foods!
Happy birthday! 🙂 Does a margarita count as my favorite summer ingredient?
Thank you! And, margaritas totally count 🙂
Happy Birthday!! My favorite summer ingredient is avacado.
oohhh, I love avocados too!
I think I have to jump on the avocado train! I eat an average of 3 a week! And my kids love them too!! Looking forward to trying your recipes! Happy Birthday!
I eat so many of them too! My husband doesn’t eat them very much so I always get to eat the whole thing myself 🙂
Happy birthday! Chocolate is always the best way to celebrate 😉 Beautiful cake!
Let’s see, my favorite summer ingredient…there are too many! I’ll say cherries, blueberries, and fresh corn!
Thank you! I love summer berries too! And fresh corn is a must during the summer 🙂
Happy Birthday!!
Lemons and mangos make any summer day feel so refreshing and cool.
Thank you! Yum! I always make sure to have a few lemons on hand 🙂
my favorite summer ingredient is lemon! Your cake looks amazing.
I’m pretty obsessed with lemons too! Thank you 🙂
My favorite summer ingredient is fresh peaches.
Yum! They are so good!
Happy, happy birthday! And what a great choice of cake flavor:) Right now I’m on a blueberry kick. So anything blueberry related I’m all over this Summer!
Thank you!! I don’t eat nearly enough blueberries but I need to eat more because I love them!
Hey, Izzy! Happy Birthday Girrrrlll!! You go on and celebrate birthday week.. or month! We need more time to celebrate life and cake… and things like that! Of course you must have cake on your birthday – I love how you made your own (I prefer this too!!). It’s an event in itself! And that bag! How sweet is that?! Ok – my fave Summer ingredients has to be blueberries or watermelon or no… fresh lettuce straight from the farm… ooooh, do I only get one??? Hope your week is fabulous, Izzy!
Thanks so much, Traci!! I keep trying to get things out of my husband by telling him it is my birthday month but I’m not sure he is going for it, haha! You gotta have homemade cake on your birthday 🙂
I love all those things too! Especially fresh lettuce!