This chocolate teff cake is gluten-free chocolate cake perfection! It's dense, rich, and ultra chocolatey, sure to satisfy any chocolate craving.
Welcome to chocolate teff cake, which may just be your new favorite chocolate cake recipe. This is a deceptively simple gluten-free chocolate cake that's rich and tender thanks to the addition of melted chocolate and a secret ingredient: ice water. It goes amazingly well with any frosting you choose to slather it with (try the optional frosting in the recipe card, or try my suggestions lower down in this post).
I was inspired to create this cake from a recipe in the classic Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and chose a combination of teff and almond flour to keep it beautifully moist as well as gluten-free. I dearly love chocolate cake; some of my other favorites on this site are my oat flour chocolate cake, gluten free chocolate layer cake, and gluten free chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting recipes.
Teff flour is a wonderful, naturally gluten-free whole-grain flour that pairs perfectly with chocolate. I like to balance teff flour with a bit of almond flour to build a soft yet sturdy gluten-free crumb. You can top this cake with whatever frosting your heart desires. It's an absolute winner!
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Why Chocolate Teff Cake is the Best!
- It's naturally gluten-free. The simple duo of teff and almond flour keeps this cake always gluten-free. And, it's easy to make flour substitutions if needed.
- A sturdy yet tender crumb. Teff flour is one of the heartier gluten-free flours, which makes it a nice complement to dark chocolate. The almond flour lends moisture and structure to produce a tender crumb that's never dry.
- Almost a one-bowl cake. In a pinch, you could certainly dump the dry ingredients straight into the butter-and-sugar base, making this into a one-bowl chocolate cake if you're short on time. But even if you don't, it's a super quick batter to put together, meaning you can have a delicious chocolate cake fast!
Ingredients You Need
Here's a look at everything that goes into this sweet little cake. Make sure to scroll down to my recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.
- Chocolate - I like to use unsweetened chocolate in this cake so that it keeps it from being overly sweet, but I also like to use semisweet chocolate.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter at room temperature.
- Granulated sugar - For a deeper flavor note, try light or dark brown sugar.
- Eggs - As with all of my recipes, this teff cake was developed using large eggs.
- Vanilla - Use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Teff flour - If you can't get teff flour, try brown rice flour by weight.
- Almond flour - Use finely ground almond flour rather than almond meal.
- Baking soda - Important! Check to make sure it's fresh.
- Salt - You can use fine sea salt or table salt.
- Ice water
How to Make Chocolate Teff Cake
Here's an overview in photos of how to make this gluten-free choco cake. Make your ice water before assembling the batter so it's nice and cold when adding it in.
1. Mix wet ingredients: Melt the chocolate; set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs. Add the cooled chocolate.
2. Combine: In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, then combine the two bowls. Add the ice water.
3. Rest batter: Pour the batter into a greased and lined 9-inch baking pan and rest it for 20 minutes.
4. Bake: Heat the oven to 350 F and bake the cake for 40 minutes. Cool completely.
Baking Tip: Swap GF Flour
I realize teff flour may not be for everyone, or it may be difficult to find. If that's the case, you can easily make a substitution for the teff flour. Oat flour is a nice choice, or try my homemade gluten free flour blend or your favorite gluten-free flour blend.
Always make substitutions by weight so that the recipe turns out accurately. In this case, you'd use 240 grams of whatever flour you choose.
Tips & Substitution Suggestions
- Take a rest. Make sure to rest the batter for 20 minutes, or while the oven heats to help the gluten free flour hydrate. This is such an important step in gluten free baking, so try not to rush it!
- Flour substitutions. As mentioned, oat flour is a great choice to substitute for teff flour (learn how to make oat flour easily at home). For the almond flour, you can try to get tiger nut flour or sorghum flour. Or, keep it even easier and substitute a gluten free flour blend for the total of both of the flours.
- Make it dairy-free. Substitute your favorite non-dairy butter or melted coconut oil for the butter.
- Go refined sugar-free. Substitute coconut sugar for the sugar.
What Kind of Frosting?
The sky's the limit here. Make the deliciously simple icing from my gluten free banana cake with chocolate icing, or indulge in a rich cap of chocolate ganache. But you can make a chocolate buttercream, a vanilla buttercream, peanut butter buttercream, too.
Other options include:
- Ice cream - Make a batch of vegan chocolate peanut butter ice cream and serve generous scoops with chocolate cake. Or, try my no-churn pumpkin ice cream for a fall treat.
- Caramel sauce - Drizzle salted caramel sauce over slices of dark chocolate cake!
- Whipped cream - Add a pile of softly whipped cream next to a slice of cake.
- Fruit - Strawberries and raspberries are so lovely with this cake, especially on Valentine's Day!
- Powdered sugar - A simple dusting of sifted powdered sugar is an easy, elegant finish.
Proper Storage
- Fridge - The cake will keep, well-covered or in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 3 days. Bring it to room temperature to serve for the best texture.
- Freezer - You can also freeze the unfrosted cake. Wrap the cooled cake in a layer of plastic and then foil and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost the cake in the fridge before serving.
More Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipes
Happy baking! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know. Please leave a comment below, reach out with any questions, and tag me on Instagram @Cucina Nicolina ❤️
Recipe
Chocolate Teff Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups teff flour (240 grams )
- ¼ cup almond flour (40 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup ice water
For the Frosting
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Make Cake
- Grease a 9-inch round baking tin and line it with parchment paper rounds.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water then set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer. Beat in the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well to combine. Beat in the vanilla. Add the chocolate and mix to incorporate.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the teff flour, almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Add all at once to the chocolate mixture and mix to combine. Pour in the ice water and beat until a smooth batter forms.
- Pour the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and preheat the oven to 350℉. Rest the batter while the oven heats, then place the cake in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the edges are starting to come away from the sides of the pan.
- Remove cake from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.
Make Frosting
- Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, whip together the heavy cream and chocolate until a smooth whipped frosting forms. Use it to frost the cake.
Notes
- Take a rest - Make sure to rest the batter for 20 minutes, or while the oven heats to help the gluten free flour hydrate. This is such an important step in gluten free baking so try not to rush it!
- Flour substitutions - As mentioned, oat flour is a great choice to substitute for teff flour. For the almond flour, you can try to get tiger nut flour or sorghum flour. Or, keep it even easier and substitute a gluten free flour blend for the total of both of the flours.
- Make it dairy-free - Substitute your favorite non-dairy butter or melted coconut oil for the butter. Use coconut cream (not coconut milk) in the frosting instead of heavy cream.
- Go refined sugar-free - Substitute coconut sugar for the sugar.
- Another frosting - The rich cap of chocolate ganache is the perfect finish to this teff chocolate cake. But, feel free to swap any other frostings, like vanilla or chocolate buttercream, or top it with whipped cream or a simple dusting of powdered sugar.
Judi says
I bought Ivory Teff Flour and tried baking with it but it has that seed texture. Yours looks like finely ground flour. Is it, or was that due to the 20 min of letting the batter rest to hydrate it?
Nicole Spiridakis says
Hi Judi, It may be both - the hydration time definitely helps with the texture and flavor. And each brand of flour acts differently, unfortunately! I buy the Anthony's brand for most of the gf flours I use and I like how things turn out, but you may have a brand that you like better. It's a bit of trial and error until you find the one you like best.
Jenny says
2 ounces of chocolate doesn't sound enough, is that right?
Nicole Spiridakis says
Hi - yes that is the amount I use. You can increase it a bit if you wish, though.