Gluten free dairy free chocolate cake
Xanthan gum free, nut free, dairy free *Recipe uses Australian cups and measures. Use gram and ml for international accuracy.
Equipment
- 2 X 20cm (8 inch) cake tins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients for the cake:
- 200 g caster/superfine sugar
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 160 g (1 cup)* white rice flour
- 60 g (1/2 cup)* tapioca flour
- 5 g (1 teaspoon)* baking soda
- 75 g Dutch processed cocoa powder, sieved
- 4 g (1/2 teaspoon)* fine salt
Wet ingredients for the cake:
- 250 ml (1 cup)* soy milk or dairy free milk of choice
- 10ml (2 teaspoons)* white vinegar see substitution notes
- 125 ml (1/2 cup)* vegetable oil
- 2 extra large eggs (45-55g each, weighed out of shell)
- 250 ml (1 cup)* hot water
Ingredients for the chocolate buttercream:
- 150 g plant based butter chilled
- 300 g (1 cup)* icing sugar, sieved (not pure)
- 30-50 g cocoa (Dutch processed or regular are both fine here)
- 20-40ml (1-2 tablespoons)* plant based milk of choice to reach your desired icing consistency
- Pinch of salt
- Vanilla bean paste to your tastes (optional, can help disguise the faux butter flavour)
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180C/356F. Grease and line two 20cm/8 inch cake tins.
- In a large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients until they completely combined.
- Add all the wet ingredients except the hot water to the dry. Continue whisking until a smooth batter has formed. It will look moist enough to go into the oven and you might think you don’t need the water. You do! It blooms the cocoa, developing the chocolate flavour. It also creates a beautifully fluffy cake.
- Add the hot water and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture evenly into the two prepared cake tins and bake for 15 minutes. After this time, swap the cakes in the oven and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cakes are cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before very gently removing from the baking tins to place onto a cooling rack. You can also cool them completely in the tins.
To make the chocolate buttercream:
- Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa together and set aside.
- Use a stand mixer or hand beater to briefly begin creaming the plant based butter. See notes in the body of the post in regards to butter temperature and hot weather. Plant based butter doesn't take long to become looser and a bit fluffy.
- Once the butter is a little fluffy, begin adding the sieved mixture. You can add a tablespoon of milk if you’re struggling to cream the two together. Continue until you have used all the icing sugar and the mixture is a lovely buttercream consistency. Try to use as little milk as possible to make it happen or you risk splitting the buttercream.
- Add the pinch of salt and vanilla, if you’re using them, then beat one last time to combine.
To finish:
- Once the cakes are completely cooled, place the first cake (baking paper removed) on your serving plate. Gently top it with half the buttercream and use an offset spatula or spoon to spread it evenly over the cake.
- Place the next cake on top and top it with the remainder of the buttercream. You can use a scant amount to ice the sides of the cake for a naked cake style finish (as in the pictures) or leave the sides plain. You can top the cake with whatever you like (I used maraschino cherries).
- Leftovers keep well for a number of days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
- See the body of the post for tips, tricks and substitution options.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!