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.
Good
Recipe great but if you are adding dark chocolate this adds dairy if the person has grade A allergies.
I have a friend who is gluten and dairy free . Does the dairy free chocolate do the same thing?
Lots of dark chocolate can be naturally dairy free – you just need to check the packaging!
This is easily the best gluten free chocolate cake recipe I have tried! As I didn’t need it to be dairy free I used unsalted butter and it worked a treat.
I would like tu use this recipe to make gluten free version of your Triple Chocolate Cake. Would this recipe work OK for milk chocolate and white chocolate layers?
Hi Jane, hoping to make this for my little one’s birthday and wanted to ask whether you can tell it is a dark chocolate cake (I.e. is it more bitter tasting than milk choc) or is it best to use diary free milk chocolate if we prefer that taste over dark (and can hopefully find some in the shops)?
Does it also stack well with 3 tiers? I was considering doing an extra half of the cake mix and buttercream to make a third tier – would this work? Cake baking newbie here so sorry for the silly questions, will be doing a trial run beforehand too!
I am unable to leave an official rating right now because I have not tried the cake yet, it is still baking. But, the batter was delicious from the little bit I licked off of my finger.
My comment was regarding the extreme difficulty I encountered when mixing the batter. It was VERY thick, like a step down from dough. I was tempted to add a little bit of almond milk…. BUT after double and triple checking the ingredients to make sure I didn’t miss something, I realized I may have let my chocolate cool too much. Once I added the melted chocolate to the rest of the ingredients, I coups not even mix it in. It took a lot of effort to get something resembling chocolate cake. It looked like marble.
When I tried to transfer the batter from the bowl to the pan, it came out so thick and sticky, I found myself trying to spread and flatten it from the ball to form the pan. Then, I saw small chunks of chocolate forming. Even though all my ingredients were room temperature, and I melted the chocolate on the stove top, I think these Minnesora winters are just too cold of ambient temps for this cake, LOL. It was as if the combination of the cooling chocolate and the room temp ingredients just cooled the chocolate even more and it was like little shavings of chocolate within the batter.
Upon taking trying this I will let yall know how it turned out, but so far, it’s been a pain in the A$$ 😂
Hi! I don’t have any spring tins just regular cake tins, does this matter at all? Thanks!
First time making this cake this morning and WOW. So tasty and light!
Yet to try it easy to make. Will be icing in the morning. My cakes had a crust not over cooked I checked at 30 mins not quite ready so cooked for 35.? It had a flaky outside layer which I removed. Any idea why it went like that? Followed recipe to the tee.
It sounds like their could have been too much air in the mix if you created a flaked outside x
Can I use gluten free plain flour? If so how do I adjust the recipe. Thanks
Hi Jane, I made cupcakes using this recipe and they were delicious. Would now like to make a 9 x13 traybake.
I assume the ingredients would need to be increase by a quarter to 8 eggs, 400g butter, sugar, flour etc. etc
My question is would I still use temp of 160c fan and roughly how long would you suggest baking for.
Any advice gratefully received. Thank you
Hey, hope it’s okay to jump on and ask if you adjusted the recipe or method at all to make cupcakes? Other than using cupcake cases instead of a cake tin! I’m planning to make as cupcakes too. Thank you!
Absolutely wonderful cake – thank you! I was wondering, would it be possible to add walnuts to the chocolate cake? If yes, how much would you recommend? Thank you!
I already added 200g walnuts and I can’t wait to taste it tomorrow. 🙂
I made this cake for work and it was a hit! People told me it was the best chocolate cake they’ve ever had (including Non- GF!) people were asking me for the recipe and said the cake was divine! Thanks Jane! X
Made this today for my gluten free colleague at work but omitted the dairy free bit. It was amazing and by the far the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made either gluten free or normal. My friend couldn’t believe it was actually gluten free. I can’t wait to make some of your other gluten free recipes. Xxxxxx