Moist Rich Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

it's not the Holy Grail, but people like it

In my experience gluten free chocolate cake, and perhaps other flavour cakes made with gluten free flour, can taste a bit powdery. This recipe from Dove's Farm, produces a beautifully moist springy cake. This one is made with a sweetened ganache (chocolate mixed with cream), but you could use a normal buttercream.

The recipe uses milk and oil in the place of the more usual butter. It doesn't matter whether you're an experienced cake maker or not because this cake is really a doddle. Just follow it and stir everything when it says to in the recipe below.

The cake keeps well. But there isn't really a risk of that. Enjoy.

Chocolate cake

• 75g cocoa powder
• 250 gluten free self raising white flour
• 325g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 200ml milk
• 200ml oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 125 ml boiling water
• Oil, for tins

Chocolate filling and topping

• 250g dark chocolate
• 250 ml double cream
• 100g caster sugar

Equipment: Three 20cm/8” cake tins, large jug, saucepan and two mixing bowls

Preparation: 

• Pre-heat the oven at 180 C/ fan 160 C/ 350 F/ Gas mark 4
• Prepare the tins, by oiling them or using a baking liner

Method

Cake

• Sieve the cocoa and flour into a bowl
• Add the caster sugar and stir to combine
• Break the eggs into a large jug, add the milk, oil and vanilla extract and beat together well
• Pour the egg mixture into the mixing bowl and mix everything together with a whisk
• Add the boiling water, beating well – this will make a runny mixture
• Divide the mixture between the three cake tins
• Bake for 35-40 minutes – they’ll be springy to the touch and a skewer will come out clean

Cool the cakes for a couple of minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack.

Filling and topping

• Break the chocolate into squares
• Put the cream and sugar into a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until it’s about to boil
• Pour the cream/sugar mixture onto the chocolate pieces and stir until combined
• Leave to cool, stirring every now and then until you have a thick paste
• Spread the filling over each cake, then stack them on top of each other