Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Perfect for gluten free birthday cake, and cupcakes to stash in the freezer for all of the celebrations in your life!

Dear friends,

Seven years ago I tentatively dug my fork into a gluten free chocolate cake. My hesitation based on the disappointing sawdust like crumbling of gluten-free cake mixes I had tried, I am willing to bet you know just the type. I cautiously tasted, deep flavor, fudgy fluffy texture wrapped in silky buttercream, what in the world was going on? Just a few months earlier I had been a wheat flour bakery owner and cake like this was a plentiful luxury I didn’t know to treasure, but now I felt like Don Quixote and delicious baked goods were only in my imagination. This cake was one of my first real successes, and it has been a favorite ever since.

This cake is the chocolate cake I make for birthdays, layered with chocolate buttercream (recipe included). I bake it into cupcakes and freeze them already frosted to take to birthday parties or celebrations where gluten free options won’t be available. I sometimes bake it as a sheet cake and top with simple whipped cream or whipped coconut cream and strawberries or raspberries, even crushed toffee. I often vary the flavor of the buttercream, adding peanut butter and crushed peanuts to the cake, crushed gluten free oreos for a midnight cookies and cream cake or ginger for a deep dark chocolate gingerbread cake. Use your imagination and create the flavors of your dreams!

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Next Level Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
(serves 12 – 2 8 inch rounds, 24 cupcakes, or one 9x13 cake )

2 cups (298g) Gluten Free Pastry Flour (recipe included) or  one to one gluten free flour blend such as King Arthur Measure for Measure or Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour blend
¾ cup (75g) cocoa powder
1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 tsp (8g) baking powder
1 tsp (4g) baking soda
1 tsp (6g) salt
1 cup (240g) hot water (or coffee)
½ cup (120g) cold water
1 Tb (13g) vanilla extract
½ cup (112g) olive oil plus more to grease the pan
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch round pans and line with parchment.  Whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Add wet ingredients and beat until smooth and combined. 

Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes (18 minutes for cupcakes) until cake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (205 degrees F). Let cool completely in the pans set on a cooling rack before removing from the pan. Frost with Chocolate American Buttercream (recipe included)

Chocolate American Buttercream

6 cups (780g) powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup (227) of softened butter OR for non-dairy use organic palm shortening or stick non-dairy butter
2 (30g) TB coconut milk or milk
3 ounces (85g) dark chocolate or chocolate chips, melted
1 tsp (4g) vanilla
½ tsp (3g) salt

Whip the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, add the rest of the ingredients and whip on slow for 1 minute, then increase to medium high speed and beat until light and creamy.

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Gluten Free Pastry Flour Mix
yield: 8 cups (1,177g)

2 cup (260g) sweet white rice flour (mochi flour or mochiko)
2 cup (256g) fine brown rice flour
2 cup (380g) potato starch
1 cup (118g) sorghum flour
1 cup (160g) tapioca flour
4 tsp (3g) xanthan gum

Scoop all ingredients into a large bowl and whisk well to combine.  Store in an airtight container.  

Note: This flour is the perfect mix for the cookies, cakes, muffins, and quick breads in your life. Weighing your ingredients will give you MUCH better results! On a simple scale put a medium to large bowl, shake or spoon on the flours and hit that “Zero” or “tare” button after each one.  Voila! Cleanup is nearly nonexistent, and you have got a much more reliable flour! Note- this flour is not meant to be used in yeast-based recipes, breads and cinnamon rolls need a bit more strength and not as much tenderness.

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Gluten Free News You Can Use

Have you seen this documentary The Celiac Project It’s really wonderful, explains so much, and is bringing attention and awareness to the celiac struggle! Show it to your friends and family!

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Quick Gluten Free Tip

Summertime is upon us, and so are outdoor summer gatherings! Get some telescoping marshmallow sticks, gluten free marshmallows (Jet Puffed and many other brands are GF), GF chocolate bars, and some gluten free graham crackers (I like Shar or Pamelas brand), or my personal favorite, Gluten-free Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies so you’ll be ready to join in on the firepit fun with your own separate not contaminated stash.

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