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    Home » Recipes » Gluten-Free Cakes

    Gluten-Free Perfect Chocolate Layer Cake

    Published Dec 30, 2022 | by Nicole Spiridakis

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    A beautifully simple and delicious gluten-free chocolate layer cake made with a combination of oat and almond flours that bakes up perfectly each time.

    Slices of gluten-free chocolate layer cake.

    Perfect Gluten-Free Chocolate Layer Cake

    I could happily eat chocolate cake every day of the year. While I won't, I also can't help myself from experimenting with different variations. Today's recipe is a slight riff on my oat flour chocolate cake and also inspired by my absolute favorite chocolate cake recipe (non gluten-free). It is tender, beautiful, and hard to stop eating. I think it would make a wonderful dessert to welcome in the new year.

    Because -- we're nearly there, aren't we? I'm hoping for clear skies so we can get to the beach, as is a sort of annual tradition. No swimming in Sydney Harbour this year for New Year's Eve -- it's far too chilly for that here in Northern California, but some winter days here can be gorgeously warm and sunny. So, I'm crossing fingers. Cake would be a perfect treat to bring along.

    I used a simple combination of oat and almond flours for the flour base in this cake, and they are great together -- this might be my favorite gluten-free flour combination of all time. See the substitution options below the recipe, but if you can't do almonds, you could do exclusively oat flour, or swap in another whole grain gluten-free flour. It's a very simple cake, made with a whisk rather than a mixer, and the batter comes together in minutes. Hope you enjoy this one.

    Ingredients You Need for Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

    • Oat flour: A wonderful gluten-free whole grain flour for baking
    • Almond flour: Use almond flour not almond meal
    • Unsweetened cocoa powder: I like Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder
    • Maple sugar and coconut sugar
    • Baking soda and baking powder
    • Olive oil
    • Large eggs
    • Greek yogurt
    • Whole milk
    • Freshly brewed coffee: You could use hot water instead

    Tips for Success

    • Let batter rest for at least 15 minutes before baking. Oat flour really benefits from a rest to let it absorb liquids.
    • Bring ingredients to room temperature before using.
    • See "Notes" section following the recipe for substitution suggestions.

    How to Store

    To store, wrap the cake well and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.


    Recipe

    Perfect Gluten-Free Chocolate Layer Cake

    Nicole Spiridakis
    Tender and wholesome chocolate cake layered with chocolate buttercream.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 50 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12
    Calories 274 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 ½ cups/185 g gluten-free oat flour
    • ½ cup/75 g almond flour
    • 1 cup maple sugar or sugar
    • ½ cup coconut sugar
    • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • ½ cup olive oil
    • 3 large eggs at room temperature
    • ½ cup Greek yogurt
    • ½ cup whole milk
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extact
    • 1 cup hot, freshly brewed coffee or water

    Instructions
     

    • Lightly grease two 8-inch pans with at least 2-inch sides with olive oil and line with parchment paper rounds. Set aside.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
    • In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, yogurt, milk, and vanilla. Stir and whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir very well to combine. Stir in the coffee and stir until batter is smooth and combined.
    • Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and preheat oven to 350° F. Let batter rest while the oven heats, about 15 minutes.
    • Place pans in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, checking at 45 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean and the edges are starting to pull away from the edges of the pans. Remove from oven and let cake cool in the pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool fully. The cake will be quite tender so it’s a good idea to refrigerate it before frosting.
    • Fill and frost cake with chocolate buttercream or your frosting of choice. Cake will keep well wrapped in the fridge for up to 5 days.

    Notes

    Oat flour substitute — swap sorghum flour.
    Almond flour substitute — try teff flour or another finely ground nut flour or just replace with 70 g oat flour.
    Maple sugar substitute — use regular cane sugar.
    Coconut sugar substitute — use brown sugar.
    Whole milk substitute — sub your preferred non-dairy milk.
    Yogurt substitute -- sub your preferred non-dairy plain yogurt.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 274kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 4gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 455mgPotassium: 149mgFiber: 3gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 17IUCalcium: 97mgIron: 2mg
    Keyword gluten-free chocolate layer cake
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    About Me

    Hi, I'm Nicole. Writer, recipe developer, and gluten-free baker. More about me.

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