Gluten Free Chocolate Layer Cake

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. Similar to my oat flour chocolate cake, you'll use coffee in the batter to play up the deep, dark chocolate flavor. Along with a little Greek yogurt for moisture, olive oil adds a fruity note. This cake is a winner.

Why You'll Love This Chocolate Layer Cake

Looking for a reliable gluten free birthday cake? Here it is! I make this cake every year for my family's birthdays, and it's a reliable, straightforward cake that makes everyone happy. Of course, you can make it anytime you want, not just for birthdays - and I advise that you do! Here are some cake highlights:

• Quick + simple. I love that this cake is made with a whisk rather than a mixer, which means that the batter comes together in minutes.
• Perfect gluten free flour blend. Oat and almond flour combine to make a sturdy yet fork-tender crumb that holds up well to whatever frosting you pair it with.
• Easily made gluten-free. Along with the gluten free flours, the rest of the ingredients in this cake are naturally gluten free pantry staples.

Ingredients Needed

• Oat flour - You can grab a package of oat flour or learn how to make oat flour at home.
• Almond flour - Use almond flour not almond meal for a finer crumb.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder - Make sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder so that the cake doesn't turn out overly sweet. 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 - I tested this recipe using large eggs, which is what I recommend you use as well!
• Greek yogurt - Low-fat or full-fat Greek yogurt works equally well.
• Milk - I use whole milk but 2% will also work.
• Freshly brewed coffee: If you don't drink coffee, feel free to use hot water instead.

See the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.

Variations

Use this cake recipe as your base and try different frostings or even switch out the flours. Here are a few variation ideas:

• 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.
• Use gluten free flour - If you don't have oat or almond flour in the pantry, use a gluten free all-purpose flour (like my homemade gluten free flour blend). Substitute 2 ¼ cups gluten free flour for the combo of oat and almond flour.

If you want a traditional cake recipe made with wheat flour, try my recipe for chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting!

Substitution Suggestions & Tips

• Make it refined sugar-free - Use coconut sugar or maple sugar in place of the granulated sugar and brown sugar.
• 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 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.
• Use room-temperature 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 heats. Oat flour, like most gluten-free flours, benefits from resting to let it hydrate (i.e, absorb liquid) before baking.

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:

• 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.
• Plain! Sift some powdered sugar over 1 cake layer, or just serve slices plain with ice cream.

Storage

• 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.