Gluten Free Unicorn Cake
The cutest gluten free unicorn cake will delight kids of all ages! Sparkly sprinkles, colored icing, and the tenderest oat flour crumb.
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 514kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups oat flour , or use oat flour or all-purpose flour (210 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅔ cups well-shaken buttermilk
Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar , make sure to sift first
- 1 teaspoon blue food coloring
- cute sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Grease and line 2 6-inch cake pans with parchment.
- In a large bowl, beat the ½ cup unsalted butter and 1 cup granulated sugar together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the 2 eggs one at a time; add the 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the 1 ¾ cups oat flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt. With the mixer on low, add half the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture and beat until just combined. Add the ⅔ cups well-shaken buttermilk and mix well to combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Pour batter into the prepared pans and rest for 20 minutes or while the oven heats. Then place in the oven and bake for about 35-45 minutes, until a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely.
- Make frosting: In a large bowl, beat the ¾ cup unsalted butter until fluffy. Gradually add the 3-4 cups powdered sugar, then beat in the 1 teaspoon blue food coloring.
- Assemble: Set 1 cake layer on a plate and spread it with ⅓ of the frosting. Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake, then sprinkle it with cute sprinkles for decorating.
Notes
- Rest the batter: Make sure to let the gluten-free cake batter rest for at least 15 minutes so that the gluten-free flour can hydrate. You will thank me later when you sink your fork into that amazing crumb.
- Let the cake sit before serving. A little bit before you plan to serve the cake, bring it out on the counter to warm up to room temperature for about 20 minutes. This will help the crumb to relax and the frosting to soften; it tastes so much better if you have time to do this step.
- DIY buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk, mix 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, let it sit for 10 minutes, then use it in the cake.
- Dairy-free substitutions: For the buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of dairy-free milk. For the butter, substitute non-dairy butter.
- Make it funfetti! Swirl in ½ cup of rainbow sprinkles to the cake batter to make it more like my unicorn bars (and a pretty funfetti cake).
- Color the cake: Or, you can add food coloring to the cake batter! You can use any color you like (purple? Pink?) for an even more colorful cake.
- Any color frosting: I love using blue frosting here, but the sky's the limit when it comes to what color you prefer. You can make this into a pink-hued beauty, turn it green, or do a rainbow!
Nutrition
Calories: 514kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 155mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 783IU | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 1mg