My oldest son’s 10th birthday was approaching so I asked him what kind of dessert he’d like at his party. He answered “Mommy, I’d like a TALL chocolate cake with chocolate frosting & writing on it like the ones at the store.” With much emphasis on the ‘tall’ part. With his sensitivity to all kinds of foods, including an allergy to eggs, I knew the cake had to be both Gluten Free & Vegan – and not too sweet. Thankfully I had the perfect recipe!
The best part about this Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe is that it has an excellent rise & a moist texture similar to a devil’s food cake. Plus, it’s completely Vegan and made with whole food ingredients for an even healthier option vs. the store bought kind. I filled the 4 layer cake with homemade chocolate frosting & strawberry filling… Then topped it off with another thin layer of chocolate frosting & wrote his name on the top.
The big #10 birthday came & my son was delighted with his ‘tall’ cake… and it was promptly devoured by the nearly 20 attendees with no one wiser to the ingredients (or lack thereof).
If you’re looking for a totally Grain Free Chocolate Cake Recipe using Almond Flour & Eggs… It’s over here.
The Tools & Ingredients Used in this Recipe:
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
This delicious Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe is both moist & perfect for birthday cakes, cupcakes, mini cakes & donuts! Made with Whole Food ingredients
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 Cups (or approx. one 13 ounce can) Unsweetened Coconut Milk – not the low fat kind
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 1/4 Cups Unsweetened Applesauce
- 1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
DRY MIX INGREDIENTS:
- 2 1/4 Cup Erika’s All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix
- 1 1/3 Cups Sugar (you can add extra sugar if you find this isn’t sweet enough for you)
- 1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly spray (2) 8″ Round Cake Pans or (1) 9 x 13 Rectangular Pan with nonstick spray & Dust with cocoa powder. Use cupcake liners if making cupcakes. Set Aside
- Whisk the Coconut Milk & Apple Cider Vinegar together in your mixing bowl or stand mixer with whisk attachment and set aside while you gather your other ingredients.
- Add in the Applesauce, Coconut Oil & Vanilla Extract & beat until mixture is a bit foamy.
- Whisk together all of your Dry Mix Ingredients & gradually add to the the wet ingredients while mixing.
- Beat on Medium-High Speed until no lumps remain – It should be smooth and pourable.
- Divide batter evenly between your cake pans.
- Bake 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I generally cook my Gluten Free Baked Goods until they register 210-220 on my digital thermometer. Trust the temperature & toothpick over the actual time cooked since every oven & pan cooks differently.
- Let cool completely before frosting.
Notes
I’ve used this recipe to successfully make Cupcakes, Donuts, Mini Cakes, Sheet Cakes & a 4 Layer Birthday Cake!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 270
It may not have been the prettiest cake, but my son was happy at how tall it turned out. Time always flies when you’re in love… How is he 10 already?!
Can you substitute pear sauce for the apple sauce? Also is there a way to make this a plain cake instead of a chocolate one? Thanks.
Hi thank you so much for your recipes and knowledge on GF recipes. I’m trying so hard to get on hoard with this to see if it will help me with mist my ailments. I was wondering what is your recipe for your Choc Frosting to complete this delish cake recipe. Thank you!
What frosting did you use? Was it vegan too?
Thank you so much for this recipe. We followed the instructions, and it turned out great. cooking for a gluten free vegan and general health nut pretty much the only thing we eat are vegetables , so we had none of the ingredients on hand. Meaning to get started after making the Erikas gf flour( which truly is the best) and the other ingredients cost around $45 us dollars. However we have a lot left over for additional baking ( about 18 cups of gf flour).As for the cake it was a definite Hit and easy to make. Being able to bake again for special occasions is definitely priceless. So again thank you. And we look forward to your other recipes (especially the tortillas). side note my mother who is not a vegan or gluten free and general chocolate cake aficionado said the cake was good and wanted another piece.
As for the frosting we googled vegan chocolate glaze and found one we really liked. most frostings are or can be made vegan pretty easily its finding one you like that can be tricky. and everyone is different
Thanks for the kind comment Joseph! So glad the cake turned out well for you and that you are enjoying the gluten free flour blend. I have an amazing Vegan Buttercream Frosting Recipe that I am working on right now – keep your eyes peeled for it soon! =) God Bless! ~Erika
Lobbed onto your site and am so looking forward to trying so many of theses recipes – will pick up ingredients for the flour this week. Reading comments, a frosting I tried uses, 5.5 Tablespoons plain Yogourt, 5.5 Tablespoons cream cheese and lemon zest from one lemon (I have to do dairy free, soya and casein free, but fortunately we have a product made here in Canada, by Daiya Food Products and the US would most likely have a similar product for your food compromised readers. I keep the frosting in the fridge and put it on a piece(s) of the cake when serving. Stays fresh in the fridge. Thanks again for all the wonderful information. May be in my next life I will be in possession of a Vita Mix unit – meantime, it’s all good!!
Hi Lillian! Thanks so much for the comment & sharing your frosting suggestion… it sounds really good! =) God Bless! ~Erika
Hi this is an absolutely fabulous website. In south africa im finding it very hard to find sweet rice flour. What can i substitute it with? Thank you
Hi Shakira! The sweet rice flour is really essential to the GF flour mix and can be found online at Amazon or under the name ‘mochiko’ in different sections of your grocery store (it’s often in the Asian food section here). Hope that helps. God Bless! ~Erika
Wow! I decided to make this cake this morning for a birthday party tonight. I hoped it would turn out good, and it so exceeded my expectations! This cake was delicious! It was moist, cakey, fudgey and OMG so good! I made it in 2 springform pans (9″) with parchment on the bottoms. Bake time was little over 35 minutes. I left the 2 cakes whole (didn’t split them into layers) I placed one cake on a serving plate, frosted it with a mixture of coconut oil, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and coconut milk to moisten. Added a sprinkle of chopped roasted filberts between the layers, put the top layer on, then finished frosting the whole cake. Decorated with whole roasted filberts (hazelnuts) and served with Cocowhip and fresh raspberries. My first GF and Vegan cake ever and it was spectacular.
Hi Teener, What a great idea to use the springform pans… and the frosting/toppings sound SO good! Glad the recipe turned out & that you enjoyed it! =) God Bless! ~Erika
Oh. I forgot to mention – I used Bob’s Red Mill “1 to 1 gluten free baking mix”
Sounds like a great recipe . You forgot to include the amount of unsweetened applesauce . Can you let us know ASAP . Thank you.
NEVER MIND . SORRY.
In your recipe it calls for apple sauce and apple cidervvinegar. My daughter is allergic to apples, is their something else I could substitute for those ingredients?
Hi Stephanie, Can she eat eggs? If so, you can sub the applesauce for eggs. Or you can also try mashed bananas, pureed pineapple, etc… although the texture may be a bit more dense. As for the ACV, you can try using just regular vinegar in its place. Hope that helps. =) God Bless! ~Erika
Stephanie, did you try making it with eggs, as one of the suggestions? I don’t have any apple sauce, and I don’t want to go out to buy any, so I’m interested in making this with eggs. Wanted to know what the texture turned out like.
How well would this cake freeze. We will be making it a few days before the birthday and hoped to freezr it until party day.
How can I make this cake without cocoa?
What can I use in place of cocoi butter and coconut milk?
Ahhh…. so close, but it still has one of our allergens – coconut. Looks really good though!
i absolutely love your gluten free sandwich bread – you have made my husband very very happy. I want to make him a carrot cake. Can I use your flour mixture as I would any other all purpose gluten free flour for a cake?
Hello,
Does anyone know these measurements in metric?
Thanks,
Sylvia
Hi! If we want to sub eggs for the applesauce, how many eggs do we need?
Hi,
I love this recipe, it is one of the best that I’ve tried however, it came out too gooey. How could I get it just a touch less fudgy? (I know- a crazy request) but I cooked the cake forever and it was still too fudgy.
Just made this recipe into cupcakes… I followed the cake recipe exactly & they turned out perfectly! if you’re wondering, it made 21 standard sized cupcakes and they dont even taste like coconut (i was concerned about that). I baked them at 350 degrees F for approx. 22 minutes. thank you!
★★★★★
I made this yesterday for Halloween as the base for my graveyard cake that I made and it was PERFECT!! Such a tasty & moist cake. I even cut some up & gave some to my neighbor. He & his wife loved it!!! Great recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Erika, do you add the coconut oil for its hardening properties, or would using canola oil instead run the risk of ruining it? I need to limit coconut oil wherever possible, that’s why I ask. Thank you for all your efforts. I just recently found out I need to get rid of wheat in my diet, and it’s really great to be able to have access to solutions wonderful people like you have already discovered.