Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake for All Your Celebrations

This is the gluten free chocolate cake recipe you have been looking for. It is so rich, so chocolatey, and SO EASY to make. It’s been our go-to cake for all of our birthday celebrations for years. Once you try it, it’ll be yours too.

Images and text updated 8/20/23

Friends, there is no need to settle, because I can introduce you to the one – the one who will restore your faith and hope, the one who will give you comfort in times of need, the one who will be the hit at the party, and the one who will steal your heart.

I met the one quite a few years back, before I was gluten-free. I too, had settled for something that was inferior, thinking that my needs would really never be met. But I decided to set out again, in an effort to find the happiness I deserved. And it took some time, but I did find true love. On the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa Powder box. It was love at first bite.

I’ll be the first to admit our love became a bit obsessive. I wanted it all the time. It was so easy to be passionate about a chocolate gluten free cake I could make from scratch in less than five minutes. I took it everywhere. It played a starring role at all of our birthday celebrations.

But then I found out I had celiac disease. I was terrified that the one I loved so much would leave me. That I would never be able to experience another love, another relationship, like I had shared with the one. But after I made the cake for the first time, using Cup4Cup flour, I realized that ours was a love that would stand the test of time. In sickness and in health. With regular flour or gluten-free flour. ‘Til death shall us part.

How to Make a Chocolate Gluten-Free Cake of Your Dreams

You guys, not only is this the best, from scratch, chocolate gluten-free cake ever, it’s also the easiest. It uses ONE bowl. And you don’t need to drag out the stand mixer, a simple whisk is all you need!

Here are the ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups gluten-free flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 or Cup4Cup are my preferences)
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using the flour blends above because they already have it in the blend)
• 3/4 cup of good quality cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon each of baking powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt
• 1 cup whole milk (or non-dairy milk of your choosing)
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup canola oil (or avocado oil or mild olive oil)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup of piping hot coffee or hot water

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch cake pans with gluten-free cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Combine the sugar, flour, xanthan (if using), cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Carefully whisk in the hot coffee or water. The batter will be runny.
3. Evenly distribute the cake batter between the two prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let it cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gluten-Free Chocolate Fudge Cake

Tips and Tricks for Making This Chocolate Gluten Free Cake Extra Delicious

In time, I experimented with using other gluten-free flour blends (like mine). They work well…but admittedly not quite as well as Cup4Cup, which lends such a moist and tender crumb to the cake. Though the recipe is perfect as it is on the box (and truly, box recipes are usually the best tested recipes in the world), sometimes I like to mix it up a little. Usually I add hot coffee in place of the boiling water. Sometimes I add a little cinnamon and cayenne to make a Mexican chocolate cake. But however you make it, even if you have never had success with a homemade cake recipe, you can have success with this gluten-free chocolate fudge cake. Because it truly is the one.

Ready to make more gluten free cakes? Check out these recipes!

• A Delicious Recipe for Gluten Free Cake
• A Stunning Gluten Free Lemon Cake
• The Best Gluten Free Olive Oil Cake Recipe on the Internet
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Snack Cake
• Chocolate Mint Cake from Baking the Goods (easy to convert to GF by using a GF Flour Blend!)

Did you make this gluten free chocolate cake recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and star rating below (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐). It means a lot and helps my content get seen! Post a picture and tag us on Instagram using the hashtags #agirldefloured #deflouredrecipes! Thank you!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Fudge Cake

Alison Needham

This rich, one bowl, chocolate cake has been my go-to recipe for years. It originally came from the back of the Hershey's Cocoa Powder box, but I've adapted it to be gluten-free. I think you'll find this cake to be the one you've been looking for. Please leave a comment and star rating below! Your feedback matters – thank you! For those who prefer to cook with weight instead of cups – click the button below to toggle to metric.

5 from 12 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Frosting Prep & Cake Decoration 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10 slices

Calories 537 kcal

Equipment

• Stand Mixer
• 2, 8-inch cake pans

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

For the Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 1¾ cups Cup4Cup (other light gluten-free flour blend)
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit of your blend has it)
• ¾ cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 eggs (lightly beaten, room temperature)
• 1 cup whole milk (or milk substitute of your choice)
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee (or hot water)

For the Frosting

• ½ cup butter (or dairy free stick butter substitute of your choice, melted and cooled slightly)
• ⅔ cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 3 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
• ⅓ cup whole milk (or milk substitute of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch cake pans with gluten-free cooking spray. Set aside.
• Combine the sugar, flour, xanthan (if using), cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Carefully whisk in the hot coffee or water. The batter will be runny.
• Evenly distribute the cake batter between the two prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let it cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.
• Make the frosting. Whisk the melted butter into the cocoa powder until thoroughly combined. Alternate adding the sugar with the milk while beating until the frosting is smooth and glossy and a spreadable consistency. If the frosting seems too thick, add a splash of additional milk. If it seems too thin, add additional powdered sugar. Beat in the vanilla extract and salt.
• Frost the cooled cakes as desired.

Notes

Can this be made dairy free?

Absolutely – just substitute your favorite non-dairy milk in both the batter and the frosting, and use your favorite non-dairy buttery stick to replace the butter in the frosting.

Extra tips:

Cakes are always easier to frost if they are very cold. When I make this cake I bake the cake, let it cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until solid. When ready to frost, remove the cake from the freezer and frost completely. Cake will defrost relatively quickly, about an hour or so, at room temperature. 

Can this cake be frozen?

See above! If you want to make this cake in advance of your celebration, you can decorate it then freeze it until solid, THEN wrap with plastic. It’ll keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. On the day of your event, remove cake from freezer, unwrap and let sit at room temperature for at least an hour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 537kcalCarbohydrates: 101gProtein: 8gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 471mgPotassium: 278mgFiber: 6gSugar: 78gVitamin A: 142IUCalcium: 111mgIron: 3mg

Keywords Chocolate Fudge Cake, Gluten-Free Cake, Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake, Gluten-Free Fudge Cake

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