{Gluten-Free} Perfect Vanilla Birthday Cake

Chocolate cake is typically my preferred flavor of cake to eat and to serve but there is a special place in my heart for vanilla cake and chocolate buttercream, particularly as a birthday cake. It’s such a classic combination that I turn to again and again when I want to make a simple and delicious celebration cake. For this recipe I used a combination of five naturally gluten-free flours — admittedly a few more than I usually do, but despite the (brief!) extra steps it’s so worth it. The crumb is velvety and rich, the butter cream frosting smooth and satisfying. I made this last month for a birthday party to rave reviews (and no one guessed it was gluten-free).

I recommend bringing this cake to room temperature or almost before serving and if you have leftovers, it’s best to treat them the same way. Gluten-free cakes can have a tendency to dry out a bit more quickly than their all-purpose flour counterparts, but if you are diligent about keeping them well covered/wrapped in the fridge this will go a long way to extending their lifespan. Accordingly, letting the cake warm up a bit will soften the crumb and let you really taste how tender it it.

For layer cakes I bake the cake the day before and let rest overnight in the fridge so it’s very easy to frost and/or split the layers. The morning of the day I plan to serve it, I’ll fill and frost the cake and let it rest again in the fridge until about an hour before serving to let the flavors fully develop and the frosting to set. You can use the base cake recipe for any iteration of a layer cake along with your favorite fillings and frostings. Each layer also slices in half beautifully so you can do a four-layer cake.

Hope you enjoy this one!

Til next time – N x

Need substitutions? Swap sorghum flour for the oat flour, almond flour for the sweet rice flour, millet flour for the sorghum flour, and arrowroot for the tapioca. Swap white sugar for the maple sugar. Try two flax eggs in place of the eggs and your favorite non-dairy butter and milk to make dairy-free.