This gluten-free mocha cake recipe was a runner-up in the So Delicious Dairy Free Recipe Contest (view all recipe entries here)! It was created and submitted by Sarah Bakes Gluten Free. It has a decadent dairy-free and vegan coffee buttercream along with a layer of vegan chocolate ganache. The entire recipe is gluten-free, vegan (dairy-free and egg-free), soy-free, nut-free, and generally allergy-friendly!
Sarah uses her own homemade gluten-free flour blend (see the link in the recipe below) in this gluten-free mocha cake, but you can use a store-bought gluten-free flour blend or your own favorite homemade version, as desired. Just note that Sarah does use xanthan gum in her mix, so you will want to use a mix with xanthan or guar gum already in it, or add some as a separate ingredient (about 1 teaspoon in this recipe to equate her flour blend) to get similar results. Also, I recommend leaning toward a rice flour, brown rice flour, or sorghum flour blend with starches to yield the most dessert-like results.
Special Diet Notes: Mocha Cake with Coffee Buttercream
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan / plant-based, vegetarian, and generally top food allergy-friendly.
Have tree nut allergies and concerned about coconut? See this post: Are Coconut-Based Dairy Alternatives Safe for Nut Allergies?
- 2-1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend (see Sarah's homemade blend)
- 2 cups organic cane sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage (such as So Delicious Dairy Free)
- 1 cup warm water
- ⅔ cup mild flavor oil (such as sunflower seed, grapeseed, or canola)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup dairy-free margarine (such as Earth Balance Soy-Free), softened
- ¼ cup organic non-hydrogenated shortening
- 3 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 1 tablespoon warm water
- 2-3 tablespoons dairy-free coffee creamer (such as So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Creamer)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups dairy-free chocolate chips
- ½ cup dairy-free coffee creamer (such as So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Creamer)
- Candy pearls, optional
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- Line the bottom of 2 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray each with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour blend, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the coconut milk beverage, warm water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour over the flour mixture and beat for 1 minute.
- Evenly divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.
- Place the margarine and shortening in a mixing bowl, and beat for 1 minute.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the instant coffee in the tablespoon of warm water.
- Add the coffee, powdered sugar, coffee creamer and vanilla to your mixing bowl, and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add another tablespoon or 2 of the coffee creamer, if needed, to make the buttercream until light and fluffy.
- To frost, place one layer of the cooled cake on serving platter or cake stand. Top with half of the buttercream and smooth out to the edges. Place remaining buttercream in piping bag with star tip. Top with the other cake layer and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. While it's chilling, make the ganache.
- Mix the chocolate chips and coffee creamer in a small microwave-safe bowl, and heat for 30 seconds. Stir, and heat again in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate has just melted. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour ganache over the top of the chilled cake. With an offset spatula, immediately spread the ganache evenly on the top, then the sides of cake (ganache sets fairly quickly). Place cake back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
- Take the piping bag with remaining buttercream and pipe rosettes on the top of the cake, starting with the outer edge. If desired, sprinkle with candy pearls.
13 Comments
Made this for friends and it was a hit!
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback Shelly.
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Coffee Buttercream?? I’m positively swooning!!!
Can I substitute all sugar for maple syrup or raw honey?
Hi Ivana, adjustments to the recipe would need to be made as liquid sweeteners add a fair bit of additional moisture – it isn’t really a 1:1 swap for a baked good like this.
Hi, I tried to cook this tonight, the outside edge looks good but int he middle there is a hard layer on top , what did I do wrong?
Hi Crystal, I’m wondering if your oven is running hot. Was it cooked through properly? I’m going to ask Sarah to respond to you since it is her recipe.
Crystal, I’m not sure what has happened with the cake. I would agree with Alisa and say that it might be your oven temp. I’ve never had the cake layers become hard on top, as I’ve made this recipe countless times. What size pan are you using? Are you dividing the batter between two cake pans?
Can you use regular flour?
I believe it would work, but I haven’t tested it.
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