Perfect Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Chocolate Birthday Cake

If you ever need a “perfect” gluten-free recipe, then look no further than Nicole Hunn of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring. This lovely woman is a testing and precision machine, and it shows in not only the recipes on her blog, but also in her cookbooks. To give you a sample of her style, this Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Chocolate Birthday Cake recipe is from her latest cookbook, the second edition of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap.

Photo by Jean Schwarzwalder

I must disclaim upfront that Nicole does use dairy in many of her recipes. But I still believe her formulas are priceless for anyone who cooks and bakes gluten-free. Why? Because they work! I’ve tried several of her recipes over the years (adapting for dairy-free), with delicious results every time. Experienced dairy-free home chefs should have no problem in making substitutions, when needed, for most of her recipes.

And Gluten-Free on a Shoestring does have several dairy-free surprises within:

• From-scratch staples like Savory Olive Oil Crust, Pizza Dough, Wonton Wrappers, and Flour Tortillas
• Homemade Asian sauces to replace store-bought versions, which typically contain gluten
• Fun breakfast delights like Tortilla Espanola and Easy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
• Plant-based favorites for Sweet and Sour Beets, Glazed Carrots, and Lentil Sloppy Joes
• Comforting soups including Tomato, Matzoh Ball, and Tortilla
• Asian-inspired meals such as Szechuan Meatballs, Beef Potstickers, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Lemon Chicken Chinese Style
• Specialty desserts like Ladyfingers, Chocolate Chip Biscotti, Pumpkin Bread, and the Perfect Gluten-Free Chocolate Birthday Cake (sample recipe below!)

Dairy-Free Chocolate Frosting

And what would the perfect birthday cake be without frosting? In the photo, Nicole uses a simple, drizzly chocolate ganache, like the one in this recipe. For other dairy-free options, you can use my Amazing Mylk Chocolate Frosting Recipe (a crowd favorite!), enjoy some contrast with Dairy-Free Cream Cheesy Frosting, or mix things up with Coconut Pecan Fudge Frosting.

Special Diet Notes: Perfect Gluten-Free Chocolate Birthday Cake

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, and vegetarian.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Perfect Gluten-Free Chocolate Birthday Cake

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

28 mins

Total time

43 mins

 

This cake is a real crowd-pleaser. Everyone seems to be able to agree upon it. Typically, to make a rich chocolate cake, you need to replace some of the butter with melted chocolate. In this cake, though, there’s nearly a full cup of cocoa powder. Combined with a neutral oil, the cocoa powder makes for a very deep chocolate cake.

Author: Nicole Hunn

Serves: Makes one 9-inch round cake or 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (157 g) all-purpose gluten-free flour (see below)
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if using the flour blend below or if your flour blend already contains it)
• ⅞ cup (70 g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt
• 1⅛ cups (225 g) granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons (84 g) vegetable oil or other neutral oil
• 3 eggs (150 g, weighed out of shell), at room temperature, beaten
• ¾ cup (6 fluid ounces) lukewarm water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line a standard 12-cup muffin tin or 9-inch cake pan and set it aside.
2. In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum (if using), cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Create a well in the center, and add the oil, eggs, and water, mixing to combine well after each addition.
3. Fill the prepared wells of the cupcake tin ⅔ of the way full or transfer the cake batter to the prepared round pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Place in the center of the preheated oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean or with a few moist crumbs attached (about 19 minutes for cupcakes; about 28 minutes for the cake).
4. Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. For the cupcakes, repeat with the remaining batter.

Notes

This dairy-free All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend from Nicole's book makes 2 cups (280 g): Whisk together 84 grams (about ½ cup) superfine white rice flour (30%), 84 grams (about ½ cup) superfine brown rice flour (30%), 42 grams (about ¼ cup + 2 teaspoons) tapioca starch/flour (15%), 42 grams (about ¼ cup + 2 teaspoons) potato starch (15%), 14 grams (about 3½ teaspoons) potato flour (5%), 8 grams (about 4 teaspoons) xanthan gum (3%), and 6 grams (about 1 tablespoon) pure powdered fruit pectin (2%).

This recipe is reprinted with permissions from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap (2nd edition) by Nicole Hunn. Copyright © 2017. Available from Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

3.5.3229

Gluten-Free Cookbooks by Nicole Hunn