Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting

Take your regular gluten free chocolate cake up a notch and make this winner of a recipe. It's a dream of a cake, and one I know you'll want to bake again and again.

For starters, there's a dark and moist chocolate cake layer swirled with melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder to make it extra rich. It's so good! But the show-stealer is the sweet-salty salted caramel frosting spread thickly over the top.

This gorgeous cake is perfect for birthdays or any special celebration, or, you know, if you just want a weeknight pick-me-up. It's beautifully unfussy, yet it sets itself apart in the chocolate cake category (and, can one ever have too many chocolate cake recipes?!). Use the cake base with chocolate buttercream frosting or a simple chocolate icing, too.

Why I Love This Special Cake

I have a battered old copy of the Fannie Farmer cookbook that I turn to often; its clear, old-fashioned recipes are written in both cups and grams, making them easy to convert to gluten-free. This one, inspired by the "Huntington Chocolate Cake," uses melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder, which helps to create a super tender, chocolatey crumb. I love having a bunch of different chocolate cake recipes to choose from, and this is one for the files. It's:

• Deeply sweet. I can't lie - I like a sweet cake! The combo of granulated sugar and semisweet chocolate ensures that this cake happily satisfies my sweet tooth.
• Finished with the best frosting. Let's not undersell this frosting: It IS that good. Adding salted caramel to, well, anything, will take it from basic to beyond. This cake is no exception.
• Uncomplicated. If you're short on time, using a whisk to make the batter rather than lugging out the stand mixer is perfectly acceptable. In general, simple ingredients come together here to make something special.

Ingredients Needed

Here's what you'll need to make this incredible 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 use plenty of semisweet chocolate here, and you could also use unsweetened chocolate.
• Butter - Unsalted butter is best in both the cake and frosting.
• Vanilla - A bit of pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste adds depth of flavor.
• Gluten free flour - My homemade gluten free flour blend was perfect here, and you can use any 1:1 gluten-free flour blend that you prefer.
• Granulated sugar
• Baking powder
• Salt - Fine sea salt or table salt.
• Milk - I like whole milk for richness and 2% milk is fine, too.
• Eggs - Large eggs are best.
• Frosting - Salted caramel sauce, powdered sugar, butter.

Tips & Recipe Notes

• Can I make it ahead? Yes! If you can, bake the cake the day before you plan to serve it - I always try to bake my cakes a day in advance so that the flavors can fully develop and the crumb firms up, making it easier to frost them. You can frost the cake the day you plan to serve it.
• Rest the batter. Build in 20 minutes (or while the oven heats) to rest the batter so that the gluten-free flour can hydrate.
• Refrigerate the cake before frosting. Like many gluten free cakes, this one is a tad delicate after it's baked. I like to pop it in the fridge for an hour or up to overnight so that the crumb firms up a bit and doesn't flake off into the frosting. If you do frost the cake at room temperature, make sure to do a thin crumb coat over the top first.
• Do I have to use the salted caramel frosting? Absolutely not, although in my opinion this is one of the best parts of this cake! I've given a few other serving and frosting suggestions in the section below.
• Use room temperature ingredients. Bring the butter to room temperature first before you make the frosting. This is essential! A smooth and fluffy frosting with no streaks of cold butter is the vibe we're going for.
• Add espresso. Whisk in 1 teaspoon of espresso powder to the dry mix - this will beautifully complement the chocolate flavor without making it taste like coffee!

Serving Ideas

• With ice cream - Like no-churn pumpkin ice cream, vanilla ice cream, or chocolate ice cream.
• Powdered sugar - Instead of the frosting, sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake.
• Just caramel sauce - In a rush? Spread the caramel sauce over the top of the cake instead of making the frosting, or drizzle sauce over individual slices of cake.
• Another frosting - As mentioned chocolate buttercream is lovely on top of this cake, or you could do chocolate ganache or a simple chocolate glaze.
• Make it two layers - Double up on the recipe and bake the cake in 2 9-inch cake rounds. Split each layer in half and fill and frost it with the caramel frosting.

Proper Storage

• Fridge - Cover the cake with foil or place it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can let the cake sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving, or eat it straight from the fridge.
• Freezer - You can freeze the cake frosted or unfrosted; to freeze just the cake part, wrap it in plastic, place it in a sealable bag, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge before frosting. Or, once the frosting is set, wrap the cake in plastic, then a layer of foil, and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. Defrost completely in the fridge before serving.