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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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
I cannot have dairy or nuts. Can I replace with Greek yogurt with coconut yogurt and almond milk with coconut milk?
Yes!
I have made this cake three times, just this year! The most recent time, I used it in a trifle with fresh whipped cream, chocolate pudding, and peppermint. This cake is so freakin’ delicious. It’s moist and rich and makes a great birthday cake. Thanks for the great recipe!
That’s so awesome to hear, Chelsea!! I’m so glad you enjoy this cake! And that trifle sounds pretty amazing! 🙂
Hi there! Finally, after so many trial and errors, much wasted flour, sugar and butter, this cake is absolutely the best I have ever eaten and especially good as it is made from scratch! Thank you so much for working on this recipe, it’s perfect. I shared it with gluten eaters and they loved it. They couldn’t tell it was gluten free. As with some other commenters, I’ve been looking for a gluten free white cake recipe as well and unfortunately havent found one I’m happy with yet. I’m anxious to try your recipe for that when it comes out. Thank you again for such a wonderful recipe!!
I’m so glad you hear you like this cake! It’s one of my favorites too! I was just testing out my gf white cake tonight! I have a few more tweaks but am hoping to get it posted sometime this month 🙂
Hi again! Just read your reply about testing the white gluten free cake. I’ve tried several more white cake recipes since I emailed you and have just decided to wait for yours to come out and not waste any more ingredients! I’m so anxious to try yours out and am wondering where I will find the link when you post it because I found you on Pinterest. No pressure, I’m just so looking forward to tryng what you come up with. I gave that wonderful chocolate cake to my daughter as it’s her family that’s gluten sensitive and she hasn’t refrigerated it, and when I was over there today it was still moist and good, and it’s a week old. Thanks so much for listening to us who really like a white cake as well.
Hi Charlene! I have the gf white cake recipe scheduled to be posted on December 27th! I’ve tested it a few times and wanted to make it one more time and photograph it before I’m sure that the recipe is perfect! If you subscribe to my e-mail list you will get a notification when I publish it! And if not just check back on 12/27 and it should be up! Let me know if you need it before that date though and I can send you a copy of it 🙂
Oh my goodness, how thoughtful of you!! I would love to try it out before my family comes in on the 21st.. I did subscribe to your email list but If you wouldn’t mind sending the recipe I would appreciate that so much! I will look for your post on the 27th tho and check out the pictures. Thank you for your quick response!! So nice to exchange greetings with you.
I will get you the recipe asap!
This cake truly is the most moist and delicious GF cake ever!! Ive made many times with orange infused frosting…yum! My question is can I use this same recipe to make a white GF cake? Just omit the cocoa powder?
I’m so glad you enjoy this cake! And that orange infused frosting sounds delicious!! Unfortunately, I don’t think it will work to just omit the cocoa powder, but I am currently working on a gluten free white cake and hope to have the recipe posted in the next few weeks!!
i would love to make this cake for a baby shower. is it possible to swap out the butter for canola oil or coconut oil?
Rarely use butter anymore and this is a lot. I will probably use it if i cannot swap. also, sour cream instead of yogurt?
thanks. looking forward to hearing from you soon.
daisy
Hi Daisy, I would swap it out for room temperature coconut oil, not melted, so it’s the same consistency. That should work! And yes, you can use sour cream instead of yogurt 🙂
Hi Izzy! I just made this cake for my daughter’s 17th bday! It was a hit! So thank ypu for it☺
My question is …Do you know of a recipe that compares to this one in taste/texture but is a yellow/vanilla cake instead of the chocolate? Ive thought this chocolate could be altered but I’m stuck with what to replace the cocoa powder with to get the yellow/vanilla flavor but not compromise the texture. I’d appreciate your help on this…
Yah! That’s so great to hear! I’ve actually been wanting to develop a gluten free yellow cake recipe and will try to start working on it soon! If you use the Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF Baking Flour you should be able to find a regular yellow cake recipe and just sub the flour. 🙂
My wife has resently became gluten free and she misses cake so I’m going to try to make her a cake. Can you make this recipe in just a 9X13 pan?
Sorry for the delay in responding! yes, It can be made in a 9×13 pan but you probably want to cut down the recipe a bit. I would reccomend using the cake ingredients from this recipe (minus the berries)
This is absolutely the best GF chocolate cake ever! No one can tell that it’s gluten free. My cake came out looking like a picture in a magazine — perfect. Thanks so much for this delicious recipe.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake! 🙂
This is the best gluten-free chocolate cake I’ve ever made.
That’s so nice to hear!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Om my goodness just made this cake for my sons birthday! It’s so amazing, possibly the best cake I’ve ever baked. Thank you so much!
That’s so nice to hear, Emma!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and hope your son loved it! 🙂
Made this with normal gf flour and it came out great. Just wanted to know if you have made it with no chocolate and what I would do for vanilla?
Thanks
I’m so glad you liked it! I’ve wondered that same thing before but don’t quite think it would turn out without a few other tweaks. It’s on my list of things to test out though, so I’ll let you know if figure it out!
I made this cake last week and it was an absolute hit! I used Cup4Cup flour that worked perfectly fine. For frosting I made a different recipe I came up with which consists of melted bittersweet choc, cream cheese, butter, milk, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar. Very dense and moist. Made the mistake of bringing some to beach volleyball and now I’m roped into making it again for the rest of the group ????. No one could even tell it was gluten free!
Thanks for a great recipe!
That’ so great to hear, Emmaliese!! I’m so glad you and everyone else liked it, haha 🙂 That frosting sounds delicious!
Amazing cake! Really appreciate this recipe. Thanks so much. My oven took 35 minutes to bake it.
I’m so glad to hear you liked it!!
I make this cake and it’s the bomb! But what about cupcakes? How do you think this would translate? Baking time? Cupcake quantity? Thanks!
I’m so glad you liked it! It was actually originally a cupcake recipe, so it definitely works! I would bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. This recipe would probably make maybe 35-40, it’s hard to say!
Yummy! Looking forward to trying this! Your link to the chocolate frosting isn’t working, can you share please!? Thank you!
Thanks for the heads up that it wasn’t working! I’ve fixed it now 🙂
Hi! I am wondering if I could make cupcakes with this recipe? And… how long should they bake?
Definitely! I’d probably baked between 15 and 20 minutes and that should work great 🙂
I made this for my father’s birthday! it was the best cake I’ve ever made! super easy, incredible recipe. Thanks so much, PLEASE MOST MORE LAYER CAKE RECIPES! 😀
Yah!! Tha is so great to hear, Kay! It’s one of my favorite cakes too 🙂 Happy Birthday to your dad!
I always bring sweets to my friends job but there is one woman who cannot eat gluten. She told me about this flour so I decided to make here banana bread and a chocolate cake. It looks like it will be super good. Will let you all know how she likes the cake. She loved the bread.
Thanks for posting this cake on the web.
Should always proof read I guess. I mean “her” not “here”.
;))
🙂
I hope she enjoyed it! 🙂
Thank you so much for such a great cake. I made it and absolutely loved it. It is moist and so yummy. Thank you so much for sharing!
So glad you liked it! That is great to hear 🙂
Hi, is there anything you can substitute the yoghurt for, I can’t have any culture based foods, cheese, sour creams,buttermilk I’ve even tried tofu and none of them agree with me.
Hi Casandra, I’ve been trying to think of an alternative for you and it seems like most things are cultured. I’d try adding apple sauce instead. It might be good at making it moist like the yogurt does. I hope that helps!