Gluten Free Chocolate Layer Cake

A beautifully simple and delicious Gluten Free Chocolate Layer Cake is made with a combination of oat and almond flour and bakes up perfectly each time. You don’t need to save this one for special occasions – it’s always welcome any day of the year.

Why You’ll Love This Gluten Free Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe

I could happily eat chocolate cake every day of the year. This one is tender, beautiful, and hard to stop eating, made with just two gluten-free flours including oat flour and almond flour. Here’s why you’ll love this classic chocolate layer cake (and, it’s gluten-free!):

• Quick + simple. I love that this cake is made with a whisk rather than a mixer, helping the batter comes together in minutes.
• Perfect gf flour blend. Oat and almond flour combine in so many recipes to make a tender, forkable crumb that’s never dry or crumbly.
• Easily made gluten-free. The right ratios of oat and almond flour – two easy gluten-free flours – plus the rest of the gluten-free ingredients results in an entirely gluten-free cake that you’d never guess is made without all-purpose flour.

Ingredients Needed for Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

Here’s the ingredients list for this lovely gluten free chocolate layer cake. The full ingredient amounts and detailed instructions will be in the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Oat flour – A wonderful gluten-free whole grain flour for baking.
• Almond flour – Use almond flour not almond meal for a finer crumb.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder – I like Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar – You can use light or dark brown sugar.
• Leavening agents – You’ll use a combination of baking soda and baking powder to help the cake rise.
• Olive oil – I always use extra virgin olive oil!
• Eggs
• Greek yogurt – Low-fat or full-fat Greek yogurt work equally well.
• Milk – I use whole milk but 2% will also work.
• Freshly brewed coffee: You could use hot water instead

How to Make Chocolate Layer Cake

1. Prepare: Grease two 8-inch pans and line with parchment paper.
2. Combine dry ingredients: Whisk together the oat flour, almond flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. Mix wet ingredients: Whisk together the olive oil, eggs, yogurt, milk, and vanilla.
4. Combine: Mix the dry mix into the wet, then add the coffee.
5. Bake: Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake for 45-50 minutes
6. Cool and frost: Cool the cake then fill and frost it with your favorite frosting.

Tips and Substitution Options

Here are a few tips and possible ingredient substitutions if needed to help you make this gluten free chocolate layer cake:

• Use room temp ingredients. Bring the ingredients to room temperature before using. This will help them better incorporate into the batter, resulting in a smoother, more velvety crumb to the cake.
• Rest the batter. Let the batter rest while the oven heat. Oat flour, like most gluten-free flours, benefits from a rest to let it hydrate (ie absorb liquid) before baking.
• Oat flour substitution – Try an equal amount by weight of sorghum flour or teff flour.
• Almond flour substitution – Substitute another nut flour, tiger nut flour, or buckwheat flour by weight for the almond flour.
• Make it dairy-free – Swap non-dairy milk and non-dairy yogurt for the Greek yogurt and whole milk.
• Make it egg-free – I haven’t tried making this gluten free chocolate layer cake egg-free, but you could try using 3 flax eggs in place of the eggs.
• Make it refined sugar-free – Use coconut sugar or maple sugar in place of the granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Serving Suggestions

Chocolate layer cake is a gorgeous dessert served in thick slices with cold glasses of milk. But, a scoop of vanilla or mint chip ice cream is never a bad idea, or you could try it with whipped cream. Other options include:

• Different frostings – This is a solid chocolate cake recipe that is great frosted with a classic chocolate buttercream, peanut butter buttercream, or vanilla buttercream. You can also make the salted caramel buttercream from this post or fill and frost the cake with a sweet cream cheese frosting for a flavor contrast.
• Whipped cream frosting – Make homemade whipped cream with or without sugar and use it to fill and frost the cake.
• Toppings: Sprinkle the top of the frosted cake with mini chocolate chips, raspberries, crushed candy canes, toasted walnuts, and more …
• Make a single layer and freeze the other – You can freeze one layer for another time (see how below) and serve it as a plain chocolate cake dusted with powdered sugar, or frost it with your favorite frosting.

How to Store

Here’s how to properly store your leftover chocolate layer cake:

• Fridge – Place the cake in an airtight container or cover it tightly with foil and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Freezer – You can freeze the whole cake, wrapped tightly in plastic and foil, or in individual slices wrapped, placed in sealable, freezer-safe bags, or in freezer-safe airtight containers, in the fridge for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge before serving.
• To serve – Bring the cake to room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.

More Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipes

• The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
• Gluten Free Oat Flour Chocolate Cake
• Gluten Free Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake

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