Have I told you that I’m starting a cake business? I’m in the permitting process right now, but that means I’m testing lots of cake and frosting recipes which I plan to share here. Some people like to keep their recipes “secret” but how secret can the ingredients really be? Plus, I want people who don’t live in Boston the opportunity to bake one of my cakes for themselves!
Today I’m sharing my One-Bowl Gluten Free Chocolate Cake. Gluten free baking is a challenge. You have to use a pre-blended flour or your own blend of at least three flours to come close to the texture of gluten-filled cake. For this recipe, I used King Arthur’s gluten free all purpose flour blend for two reasons: It is available nationwide, and the bakeshop I work in was getting rid of some so I had it on hand. I would not recommend using a different flour blend in this recipe. I have worked with gluten free bake goods for years now and I know the impact that substituting a different flour (or even a different brand of the same flour) can impact a recipe.
However, if you can’t find this King Arthur gluten free all purpose for some reason, or if you have a favorite blend that you would like me to make a recipe with, please leave a comment down below. I’d be happy to make more gluten free goodies for you.
Other than the flour, this recipe is really straight forward. I measure all of the wet ingredients into a bowl, give them a whisk, then measure all the dry ingredients into a sifter and sift them on top of the wet ingredients in the same bowl and whisk everything together really well. You don’t have to worry about making your cakes tough when they are gluten-free because there is no gluten to activate by whisking- so whisk away!
Then I divided the batter into three 7inch pans and baked them until a toothpick came out with a few moist crumbs on it, let them cool and decorated as I liked.
This cake comes out tender and moist but is sturdy enough to build a layer cake. The chocolate flavor is perfect and comes through nicely when paired with vanilla or chocolate frosting. In other words, its my perfect chocolate cake. Just look at this beauty:
One-Bowl Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 ¼ Cup Water
- ⅔ Cup Canola Oil
- ½ Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ Cups King Arthur Gluten Free All Purpose Flour not the cake mix
- ¾ Cup + 2T Cocoa Powder
- 2 tablespoon Coconut Flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350* F.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, water, applesauce, oil and vanilla with a whisk. Over top of the bowl, place a sifter. Into the sifter, measure the flour, cocoa, coconut flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and xanthan gum. Whist well to combine. About 1 minute.
- Prepare your pans of choice by greasing the with a little coconut oil or pan spray. Portion batter into prepared pans and bake at 350* for 45-50 minutes for 7 inch cakes, 40-45 for 9 inch cakes, or 20-25 minutes for cupcakes. They are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Decorate as desired and devour with friends.
Let me know how this recipe worked for you and if there is anything you’d like to see me create!
Emily R.
Thank you for thinking of the gluten free community. I’ve been gluten free for 7 years. Baking is stressful for me. Cup 4 Cup gfree mix is my favorite mix so far. Can you use that mix in a recipe?
Megan Calipari
Gluten free baking can definitely be a challenge. I've been doing it for quite a while now, so I think I've gotten it down pretty well. I will check out the cup for cup! One of the bakeshops I worked in used that as their GF flour but I have never personally experimented with it. Stay tuned!
Emily R.
Thank you for thinking of the gluten free community. I’ve been gluten free for 7 years. Baking is stressful for me. Cup 4 Cup gfree mix is my favorite mix so far. Can you use that mix in a recipe?
Megan Calipari
Gluten free baking can definitely be a challenge. I've been doing it for quite a while now, so I think I've gotten it down pretty well. I will check out the cup for cup! One of the bakeshops I worked in used that as their GF flour but I have never personally experimented with it. Stay tuned!
Megan King
Yay! Glad to see a good gf dessert. Could you try the Krusteaz 1:1 flour? This is the only one I could find and would like to know what I can bake with it/if it would give the same results.
Megan Calipari
I'll look into it for sure!
Megan King
Yay! Glad to see a good gf dessert. Could you try the Krusteaz 1:1 flour? This is the only one I could find and would like to know what I can bake with it/if it would give the same results.
Megan Calipari
I'll look into it for sure!
Ashley Hadley
King Arthur GF is THE BEST. I can't wait to make this. I would love for you to post a video of your icing swirl technique.Also make sure you tag KA. They regularly highlight bakers who tag them and your desserts are always gorgeous.
Megan Calipari
Yes! It's my favorite pre blended flour I've tried so far. I'll definitely get a video up for you soon. Its so simple but makes really simply decorated cakes look so refined! Thanks for the tip!
Ashley Hadley
King Arthur GF is THE BEST. I can't wait to make this. I would love for you to post a video of your icing swirl technique.Also make sure you tag KA. They regularly highlight bakers who tag them and your desserts are always gorgeous.
Megan Calipari
Yes! It's my favorite pre blended flour I've tried so far. I'll definitely get a video up for you soon. Its so simple but makes really simply decorated cakes look so refined! Thanks for the tip!
robin mccluggage
So you add coconut flour and xantham gum in addition to KING Arthur. Ive only known I’m celiac for 2 yrs and learning to bake. (Which is challenging) does anyone get stomach upset from gluten free flour. I made blueberry muffins that tasted great but caused stomach upset for my family? JUST WONDERING
Megan Calipari
Gluten-free baking is HARD. You have to relearn everything you though you knew about baking. I have heard that some people get an upset stomach from xanthan gum which is commonly used in GF baked goods. There are other binders that you can use if that is the case. The most natural one is psyllium husk fiber. But also it could have been a coincidence, or something else! I try to use the bare minimum for xanthan gum, which is why I also included coconut flour here. The coconut flour is really high in flour and absorbancy so it helps everything stay together and moist!
robin mccluggage
So you add coconut flour and xantham gum in addition to KING Arthur. Ive only known I’m celiac for 2 yrs and learning to bake. (Which is challenging) does anyone get stomach upset from gluten free flour. I made blueberry muffins that tasted great but caused stomach upset for my family? JUST WONDERING
Megan Calipari
Gluten-free baking is HARD. You have to relearn everything you though you knew about baking. I have heard that some people get an upset stomach from xanthan gum which is commonly used in GF baked goods. There are other binders that you can use if that is the case. The most natural one is psyllium husk fiber. But also it could have been a coincidence, or something else! I try to use the bare minimum for xanthan gum, which is why I also included coconut flour here. The coconut flour is really high in flour and absorbancy so it helps everything stay together and moist!