Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Cake!
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A two layer gluten free and dairy free chocolate cake for everyone to enjoy! Fudgey, chocolatey, and DELICIOUS. Prepped in 15 minutes, baked in 30 minutes total time of just 50 minutes.
Choosing the right dairy-free butter
The dairy-free butter you use is so important and makes or breaks a dairy-free cake. Many dairy-free spreads sold in plastic tubs contain a high water-to-fat ratio. If you bake with them, the excess water evaporates in the oven, causing your cake to sink, turn dense, or develop a rubbery layer. Furthermore, tub spreads will turn your chocolate buttercream into a runny, split mess.
For this recipe, you must use a hard, block-style dairy-free baking stick (such as the foil-wrapped Stork block or Vitalite block). Because dairy-free block butter softens and melts at a lower temperature than traditional dairy butter, the resulting buttercream will be exceptionally silky and supple. This makes it perfect for slathering generously between the layers and over the top of the cake.
Why you might need xantham gum
In traditional baking, gluten acts as the structure that holds the sponge together and traps air bubbles as the cake rises. When you remove gluten, large bakes lose their form, leading to a brittle, dusty texture that collapses into a pile of crumbs when sliced.
This is where xanthan gum comes in. It acts as a direct substitute for that missing gluten network, binding the starch particles together and locking in moisture. While you can often skip xanthan gum in small bakes like cupcakes, it is absolutely essential for a heavy, two-layer celebration cake like this one. A trusted brand like Doves Farm is readily available in most supermarkets and works flawlessly.
Naturally dairy-free chocolate
The secret to the deep flavor of this sponge is using real melted chocolate rather than relying solely on cocoa powder.
Most high-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or higher) is naturally dairy-free because it is made from cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and sugar. However, you must always check the ingredient label carefully. Some brands introduce milk fat, whey, or milk solids into their dark chocolate blends. If you are baking for someone with a severe dairy allergy, look for brands that explicitly guarantee a dairy-free manufacturing environment to avoid any cross-contamination.
Easy Recipe Variations
This recipe is highly adaptable depending on the dietary requirements of your guests:
- Dairy-Only Variant: If you need the cake to be dairy-free but do not mind gluten, simply swap the gluten-free flour for standard wheat-based self-raising flour and omit the xanthan gum.
- Gluten-Only Variant: If you need it to be gluten-free but can tolerate dairy, swap the dairy-free fat for standard unsalted dairy butter at room temperature in both the sponge and the frosting.
- Egg-Free/Vegan Option: If you also need an egg-free cake, I recommend checking out my dedicated vegan chocolate cake recipe, where you can simply swap the standard flour for a gluten-free blend with a pinch of xanthan gum.
FAQs
Yes, but because plain flour lacks raising agents, you will need to add 2 level teaspoons of gluten-free baking powder to the dry ingredients to ensure the cake layers rise properly.
This is almost always caused by using a high-moisture tub spread instead of a solid baking block, or by opening the oven door before the structure of the cake has fully set (usually within the first 25 minutes of baking).
This usually happens if your melted dark chocolate was still too warm when you added it to the dairy-free butter, causing the fat to melt completely. To fix a split buttercream, pop the mixing bowl into the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes to let the fats firm up again, then whip it on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until it comes back together into a smooth emulsion.
I do not recommend swapping the block butter for liquid oil in this specific recipe. Liquid oils alter the structural chemistry of the batter, making a gluten-free sponge far too dense and heavy, which will prevent it from rising properly. Stick to a solid, block-style dairy-free fat for that traditional, fluffy crumb.
Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 300 g dairy free butter
- 300 g light brown sugar
- 300 g gluten free self raising flour
- 6 medium eggs
- 3/4 tsp xantham gum
- 200 g dark chocolate
Buttercream Ingredients
- 250 g dairy free butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 400 g icing sugar
- 200 g dark chocolate
Decoration
- 12 Strawberries
- Sprinkles
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 180ºc/160ºc Fan, and line two 8"/20cm springform cake tins with parchment paper.
- Melt your dark chocolate in the microwave in short bursts, or in a bain marie. Leave to cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, add your dairy free butter, and light brown sugar. Beat together until light and fluffy.
- Add in your gluten free self raising flour, eggs, and xantham gum, and beat again until combined.
- Add in the cooled melted dark chocolate, and fold until combined.
- Split evenly between your tins, and bake for 35-40 minutes. Start checking the cake after 30 minutes, if its looked baked. A skewer should come out clean!
For the Buttercream
- Melt your dark chocolate in the microwave in short bursts, or in a bain marie. Leave to cool to room temperature.
- Make sure your dairy free butter is supple enough to mix first by leaving it to warm on the side for a bit.
- Add your dairy free butter to a bowl, and beat on its own for at least a minute to loosen it up.
- Add in the icing sugar and vanilla extract, and beat again. Add in the melted dark chocolate, and fold through.
For the Decoration
- Get your first cake, and and slather on half of the buttercream.
- Add on the second cake, and slather on the rest of the buttercream.
- Add a fresh strawberry for each slice, and sprinkle over your favourite sprinkles!
Notes
- This cake will last for 3 days once baking, and should be stored at room temperature.
- I use this 8″/20cm springform tin.
Storage and freezing
Keep the cake covered at room temperature for up to four days. If you need to make it ahead of time, the un-iced sponges freeze beautifully. Ensure they are completely cold, wrap them tightly in a double layer of cling film, and freeze for up to three months.
Gluten free baking
I’ve dabbled slightly in gluten free baking before with my gluten free double chocolate cookies and gluten free chocolate cupcakes and a few others, and I’ve done one dairy free recipe so far with my dairy free brownies, but I haven’t done both before. It’s something you do have to think about. You have to check every single ingredient first, which I made a mistake with before and it was a little odd.
Hi Jane, donI need to make any adjustments to use this recipe to make cupcakes?
Thank Andrea
Hi Jane,
Absolutely love your recipes. I make them all the time. I am gluten and dairy free and wondered could I make this as a plain sponge? Do I just take away the dark chocolate? Thanks x
Hello I need the gluten free side of this cake, will the recipe work if I was to add normal butter instead of dairy free? And do you have to use xantham gum?
Hiya! Yes you can do this, and yes I would recommend using xanthan gum. Hope this helps! x
Hi Jane
I have purchased the flour recommended in your recipe, but have noticed it already contains Xanthan Gum. Silly question, do i still need to add more?
Thank you
Frankie
Hiya! You don’t have to if you don’t want to! Hope this helps x
Same question as the user “Maddie”, you make mention of cocoa powder in the comments, like it’s in the recipe – but there isn’t any cocoa powder mentioned anywhere in the recipe…. Am I missing something?
Also, to add some color and more chocolate oomph, could I lower the flour and add a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder? Or too risky? Thanks
Hiya! Yes you can do this! However cocoa powder may just slightly dry the sponge. Hope this helps! x
Hi, I’m baking this as 3 tier cake, 8”, 10”, 12” could you help me with the extra measurements for the 2 larger cakes, I’m struggling with the maths of it! This cake was a massive hit last time!! Thanks
Hi Jane,
I have made this cake before and it was amazing but I never know quite how much xantham gum to use and some cakes have been more successful than others. It says 3/4 teaspoon in the recipe but is that three quarters or 3-4 teaspoons? any chance you could give it too me in grams?
I am a huge fan of your cakes, keep up the great work.
Hiya! By this I mean 3 quarters yes! Hope this helps! x
Hi Jane,
Is there a way to actually make this cake dairy free. You use dark chocolate which has dairy in it?
As mentioned on the post, not all dark chocolate has dairy in it – you need to use one that doesn’t.
Hi Jane I’m making a dairy free abs soy free cake. Do you know if this recipe contains any soy please? Thanks Ellie x
You need to check the ingredients that you buy to check for soy!
Hi Jane, if I were to make this as a 3 layer cake, how much xantham gum would I use? Xx
Is there a reason you use melted chocolate in this sponge instead of cocoa powder? Is this due to GF flour being drier than ordinary flour?
Hiya, I found it prevented the cake from drying out better, yes x
How is this dairy free when it contains eggs and what can I replace the eggs with?
Eggs aren’t dairy. For a vegan bake, you need to look at my vegan chocolate cake recipe.
😱 since when the eggs are dairy ? 🤷🏻♀️
Hi, how far in advance can I make this cake?
Hello! Potentially a very silly question here but is it “three quarters tsp” of xantham gum, or “3 or 4 tsp”? Thank you!!
it means three quarters x