Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

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• Hey Carla,
  Thanks for the recipe! I didn't make any substitutions, and tried to follow the recipe to the T. I also didn't make any substitutions for your flour blend. My cake came out with a little bit of a chew or something in the texture. I don't know the correct term for how the texture was, but it was a little off. Can you help me figure out where I went wrong? :)

  • Hi September,

    I’m sorry that your recipe turned out chewy. Do you measure your dry ingredients by fluffing them up and spooning into dry measuring cups? It’s the only way to prevent packaging in too much. Scooping flour up just compacts it , resulting in more flour than called for in the recipe. I hope this helps you.

    Carla

• Hello Carla,

  I am having trouble making this recipe, and wanted to ask if you could help me. I tried to make the recipe to a T, but did use full fat coconut milk instead of cow's milk (for the dairy) and did use regular cocoa (not dutch).
  I made your cake flour blend (I did not make any substitutions in your flour blend), used sugar, and used avocado oil. I used a stand mixer like the directions said, but my cake came out with a little weird texture. It's hard to describe, but I guess I'd say it was a little chewy. Is it possible I over-mixed or under-mixed it? I would really appreciate your help as I can tell this would be a great recipe, and I trust your recipes. Thanks! :)

• Carla, I made this cake today for my birthday and I have to say it is THE best chocolate cake ever!!! My husband who is not gluten free loved it too! I used xylitol instead of sugar and I used Hershey's special dark cocoa. It is rich, chocolaty, and oh so wonderful. I made a different icing for it but next time I'm going to go with a plain buttercream as the one I made was too rich. We ended up scraping off most of the frosting and eating the cake plain it was that good! Thank you for another awesome recipe!!

• Recipe looks good. In the frosting, is it 1/4 cup butter or 1 stick, which is 1/2 cup.

• Hi there I am just wondering if you could sub the flour for Bob Red Mills GF all purpose flour? And instead of the sugar can you use coconut sugar? Thanks so much

  • Heather,

    The coconut sugar would not be a problem, but Bob's Red Mill's flour blend will create a different result. You can try it, but you may need to adjust the liquids. If you cannot purchase superfine rice flour which is called for in my flour blend recipe, try obtaining a safe gluten-free Asian or sweet rice flour. All of the other ingredients can be found at Whole Foods and other stores.

    Enjoy!
    Carla

    • Thanks for your reply.. the reason I was asking is my daughter is allergic to rice.. so I can not cook GF with anything that has rice in it??

      • Heather, in that case, substituting the rice flour with sorghum flour and then adjust the liquid as needed.

        Good luck,
        Carla

• Do you think that an alternative sweetener like agave syrup or honey would work okay?

  • Karen,

    See the Substitutes page under "Sugar Substitutes" - "Agave" for this conversion: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-substitutes/.

    Enjoy!
    Carla

• This cake is fantastic! I used butter for the oil and a 3:2 rice flour:cornstarch flour. It was loved by all. Thank you!

  • That's fantastic, Aleasha! Thanks for reporting back! This was the first gluten-free cake, besides quick breads, that I truly enjoyed. I'm glad your family/friends enjoyed it as well.

    Carla

• I have been making another Hersheys cake for 37 years now (before the internet) and the last 4 been making the same one Gluten Free. It is "Hersheys Black Magic Cake" and is now on hersheys.com. It uses strong coffee instead of hot water - for even more flavor use cajun coffee with chickory from Cafe DuMonde (on internet or in New Orleans in French Quarter) or French Market brand. It is moist and delicious and even if you use Bobs Red Mills All-purpose GF flour with bean flour, it is great. I make it by following the recipe on the website and substituting GF flour - otherwise exact recipe - and oh - Olive oil for the oil. I like the 7-minute cooked frosting or a chocolate buttercream, but any frosting that goes on a moist chocolate cake will work, and sometimes I just sprinkle sifted powdered sugar on it just before eating/serving (it melts into cake if sprinkled on before). The recipe above is very similar. Enjoy!

  • Terri,

    Thanks for sharing! Bean flours work well with chocolate desserts, as the chocolate disguises the bean flavor.

    Happy holidays to you and yours!

    Carla

• Facebook Comment Sept. 11, 2012:

  "This is the only gluten free cake that everyone in my family will eat!!! Family members who are not on a gluten free diet love it too. Awesome recipe....a MUST try for anyone who has to eat allergen free."

  ~T.E.D.

• Does this really need to be refrigerated? I have limited space.

  • I like to be on the cautious side when giving advice, but I left mine out on the counter, covered in a glass cake stand with lid. Hope that helps you!