Before we get started into what is THE BEST GLUTEN FREE CAKE RECIPE … ever, let me just tell you that I know cake.
I come from a long line of cake lovers – and frosting lovers, truth be told – and it’s not exaggerating to say that it’s critical that we have awesome gluten free cake recipes at our fingertips.
I have developed a great gluten free pound cake recipe, gluten free angel food cake recipe, gluten free lemon cake recipe, gluten free s’mores cake recipe, gluten free pineapple upside down cake recipe, gluten free black bottom cupcakes recipe, gluten free King cake recipe, gluten free red velvet cake recipe, Chocolate Beer Cake recipe … so many more gluten free cake and cupcake recipes that I’m getting tired of typing recipes …. You get the idea.
Oh, and I have a great gluten free yellow/white cake recipe that I have always used for gluten free birthday cakes and gluten free wedding cakes, but I wanted one that was lighter and frankly, required fewer odd ingredients.
So I worked and worked, taste-tested and taste-tested (I’m wiping my brow over here), until I was sure that this was IT!
And in case the reviews on this recipe haven’t convinced you yet, let me assure you that this really is THE BEST GLUTEN FREE CAKE RECIPE!
It truly is.
Bear in mind that the ingredients given are all here for a reason; making substitutions will change the texture and taste of the cake, trust me. Including, and especially, the gluten free flour ingredient.
My gfJules™ Flour is unlike any other; using another blend will absolutely produce a different result.
So please don’t email me or leave a comment that the recipe didn’t turn out as pictured or as described if you use another gluten free flour blend. Gluten free flour blends are ALL quite different; even if you think the ingredients look similar or even the same.
For example, in my gfJules Gluten Free Flours, I use not one but TWO different gluten free modified starches.
Neither of these ingredients are available on store shelves, so there is no way anyone could ever fully replicate my blend because of those ingredients alone, not to mention all the others.
My award-winning gfJules Flour has taken me years to perfect and I modify and improve it periodically when a new ingredient becomes available, or to make it non-GMO, as I did in 2014. Using this blend will make all your gluten free baking better, but for the purposes of this discussion, it will definitely make the best gluten free cake (gluten free chocolate OR gluten free vanilla cake).
As with any recipe, I urge you to also follow the DIRECTIONS. You may be shocked to see the difference it makes just to bake a cake using the exact same ingredients but adding them in a different order!
I’m getting a bit tweaky here, but enough folks write in with questions and problems with baking that I like to cut off potential issues at the pass and show people what NOT to do before things go wrong, so take a look at what can happen with this lovely cake if you simply add the sugar at the end instead of with the dry ingredients at the beginning of the recipe, as specified:
That’s right, the INGREDIENTS matter and the DIRECTIONS matter!
So take a moment to gather the ingredients I recommend and take a moment to read the directions and follow them. You will be rewarded with … the Best Gluten Free Cake! It’s worth it!
And if you’re going to make layer upon layer of these delicious cakes (which I highly recommend), you’re going to need a super tall cake safe.
I love mine, pictured above, because it also collapses to save space! (Click here for the gluten-free sprinkles I used)
If you want sugar-free, I recommend either Swerve or Just Like Sugar. If you can tolerate unrefined coconut palm sugar, it works great in this recipe but makes the cake a darker color. But again, ingredient switches will always change the results.
For more on the differences in gluten free flours, hop here.
For more on converting your favorite recipes to gluten free, hop here.
If you need to replace the eggs in this recipe, check out my favorite egg replacers and recipes here.
And after experimenting for what felt like eons, I nailed this cake recipe and am so excited to share it with you. I now firmly believe it to be my most versatile, delicious, light, and EASY gluten free cake recipe yet!
I’ve given instructions on how to make this a white cake, yellow cake or chocolate cake, but don’t let that stop your imagination! I can’t wait to hear what kind of yummy chocolate swirl, mint, peanut butter, salted caramel or other delicious concoction you come up with using this new super easy cake recipe as your base.
Come back and share with us all when you try this recipe, and if you put any other delicious flavor spin on it!
Makes one 9- or 10-inch round cake or 12 cupcakes; double for 2 layer cake.
BTW — these pre-cut 9-inch round parchment rounds are my favorite way to line the cake pans and lift the cakes out easily!
The Best Gluten Free Cake Recipe
The Best Gluten Free Cake Recipe
After years (and years and years) of recipe testing, I can say with complete confidence that this is truly the BEST gluten free cake recipe! Light and airy, moist and flavorful, this cake takes the cake!
Ingredients
Note: double for two 8 or 9-inch round pans or 24 cupcakes or 9x13 sheet pan
- 1 ½ cups (202.5 grams) gfJules® All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 1 cup less 1 Tbs. granulated cane sugar (Monkfruit works as a sub)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/3 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
- 2 eggs or substitute (for white cake, use 4 egg whites)**
- 1/3 cup mild flavored vegetable oil of choice (safflower, non-GMO canola, avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil melted, etc.)
- 1 Tbs. white vinegar (lemon juice works as a sub but imparts lemon flavor)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I like Rodelle®)
- ½ cup milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy; skim or fat-free not recommended)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Line with parchment rounds or oil one 8 or 9-inch round cake pan or line 12 muffin cups with cupcake papers.
Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Sift the dry ingredients (including sugar) together in a bowl.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients except milk. If making white cake, first whip egg whites or aquafaba sub quickly to fluff, then add other liquids: oil; vinegar and vanilla (plus chocolate syrup, if using).
Slowly pour dry mix into the liquids and begin to stir, adding the milk while stirring to keep the flour from flying up and out of the bowl while mixing. Continue to beat at medium speed just until the lumps are gone and the batter is smooth and no longer lumpy -- no more than 1 minute.
Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Allow to rest in the pan before baking for 10 minutes (not required if pressed for time).
Bake times:
8" pans = 40+ minutes
9" pans = 40 minutes
(double recipe) 9x13 pan = 42 minutes
cupcakes = 20-25 minutes
Test with a toothpick before removing from the oven. When done, the toothpick should come out clean (not wet) or with a few crumbs attached when inserted into the center of the cake. Your oven may take longer to bake, and cake pan size matters.
Glass, metal and ceramic pans all alter the bake time, so check for done-ness before removing from the oven. Pressing gently onto the top of the cake, it should feel firm and bounce back.
Remove to cool on a wire rack. To remove the cake, gently invert the cake by flipping it upside down onto your hand, removing the pan, then returning the cake to the wire rack or a serving plate.
Frost with white or chocolate frosting. (There are plenty more frosting recipes where that came from - just search the "recipes" tab on my site!)
Notes
**To Replace 4 Egg Whites in White Cake:
1/2 cup aquafaba + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, whipped until frothy
**To Replace 2 Eggs in Yellow or Chocolate Cake:
- 1/4 cup dairy or non-dairy yogurt (not Greek style, not fat-free) OR vegan mayo
PLUS
- 1 recipe of commercial gluten free egg replacer like Ener-G® Egg Replacer (total equivalent of 1 egg substituted)
*For 1 recipe Chocolate Cake (double for 2 cakes or 24 cupcakes) add:
- ¼ cup cocoa (Dutched)
- ¼ cup additional milk of choice
- 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 76Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 32mgSodium 230mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 1g
Make your next birthday or wedding or anniversary or office party … even better! Make the Best Gluten Free Cake Recipe or use my gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake MIX!
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Pin it for later!
I made this cake to use as a short cake with strawberries. Excellent I will use this recipe often.
So glad to hear it, Ruth! You can also try my gluten free shortcakes recipe for an even faster option sometime, if you like!
Happy shortcaking!
~jules
Hello! I made this cake today for my very picky son and he gave me the thumbs up to bake it for his birthday. I used monk fruit sweetener to replace the sugar, EVOO to sub for the vegetable oil, and coconut milk. I also folded in Oreos to the batter as he wanted a cookies n cream cake. Such a great recipe!
Oh MY! Those add ins sound delish! And so good to know that the monk fruit sweetener worked well, too! Thanks so much for leaving your recipe notes and happy birthday to your picky son!!!
~jules
I don’t see directions to make a chocolate cake.
Did you see in the NOTES section, Janel?
~jules
Hi Jules,
Does your gluten free cake flour contain potato starch?
Andrew
Hi Andrew, yes it does. Here’s the link to my gfJules All Purpose Flour – click on the tab below it for ingredients: https://shop.gfjules.com/products/gfjules-all-purpose-gluten-free-flour-1-5-lbs-pack-of-1
~jules
This cake is very moist, I used mayo enstead of eggs, and added almond, cranberries and walnuts, and a bit of flax. Now I can eat it for breakfast, no frosting.
I love these additions! Now I want to run to the kitchen to bake one this way, too!
~jules
I never post my results, but this time I must. WOW! This recipe is PERFECT-A-MUNDO! I used eggs (so not vegan) and used almond milk. I added a lemon’s worth of juice (in addition to 1 T ACV); lemon juice was not in the directions but we had fresh lemons, so… 🙂
I made a strawberry shortcake (coconut cream, not dairy) with this recipe. The cake came out perfectly scrumptious. Thank you for a great GF cake recipe.
Hi Maria, I’m so happy that you were SO HAPPY that you posted your results!!!! I love the addition of the lemon! Anything lemon makes anything better in my book! 🙂
~jules
Are your baking instructions for a convection or regular oven?
Hi Kimberly, regular (static) baking are the directions I give, but if you want to use convection, dial back the temp by 25 degrees and watch the bake time, as usually you’ll need to remove the cakes earlier and rotate during the bake as well.
~jules
Are you baking in a confection or regular oven?
Hi Kimberly, you can bake in either. If you bake in convection, the rule of thumb is to lower the temp by 25 degrees; I would also rotate the cakes mid-bake so they are not blown over by the fan and you’ll also take some time off the bake so as not to overbake and dry out the cakes.
~jules
Can I sub milk for buttermilk?
Hi Lisa, of course! You can add a touch of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk to make your own buttermilk, too.
~jules
I loved this cake! I think if you don’t have the specific flour that they use, it is completely fine. The other flour I use worked super well. It is a little watery at first, but once you bake it, for me it came out spongey some how! I think the only problem other then it being to watery was just that I sprayed the pan too much but that was my fault. If you have little cake pans, that is what I used and they came out super cute and I am going to but them on top of each other and make a mini cake. If you are using those, they are smaller so I baked them for 8-9 minutes. We defenetly have enough for another batch so this time I will not use as much oil 🙂 I would defenetly recommend this cake if you are bored and want to bake.
Hi Della, I love that you said you were bored and wanted to bake. I think there’s a lot of that going on right now. 🙂 Happy that you were happy with my recipe!!!
~jules
I have made this cake twice now, and it is delicious. I served it both times as a single layer spread with raspberry jam and unsweetened whipped cream. Yum!
That is so great to hear, Carol!! thanks so much for coming back to let me know how much you’ve loved this gluten free cake recipe!
~jules
What about baking directions for using a 9×13 pan?
Hi Donna, for a 9×13 you’ll need to double this recipe; baking directions would simply be a longer bake time and doubled batch. Keep a close eye on it to make sure it’s not over-cooking, of course, but I’d look for it to need around 30-35 minutes bake time in a 9×13 pan. A glass pan will need a bit longer than a metal pan. Enjoy!
~jules
I’m using your flour and followed directions carefully. The batter is so thick! Should it be? It clings to the mixer/spoon. Any suggestions?
Hi Tracy, sorry I missed seeing your comment earlier! Hopefully you’ve seen other comments or tried again and figured it out? Check out my gluten free baking tips any time you have a baking issue: https://gfjules.com/converting-recipes-gluten-free-flour/
It sounds like maybe there was a measuring issue here? Too much gfJules Flour, perhaps? Check out the how to measure flour properly tips (it’s SO easy to not measure properly, so don’t feel bad if this happened!). Anyway, it also could be that you baked the cakes off and they were just fine. Hard to tell until you’ve baked them out to see the end result.
If you leave a comment here and need help but I have missed it and not responded, please feel free to email [email protected] anytime!!
~jules
This was excellent! I was shocked by the idea of vinegar. Would love to know more about the inspiration or science behind that!
I think the vinegar is used to react with the baking powder/soda to assist in the rise.
Thanks Maria! I had missed Neal’s question earlier!!
~jules
Hi – Jazzed to make a GF white Birthday Cake, with your mix. Would love to get away from cane sugar tho’. Never worked with coconut sugar or date sugar, but I did have an absolutely wonderful cake that someone else made using that. I have asked her for the recipe, no response. Can you advise my cane sugar options that you know would work ?
Hi Suratis, you can absolutely use unrefined coconut palm sugar in this recipe. It will make it taste a bit like a graham cracker cake — really yummy, but not like a white cake, though. Some other options would be products like Swerve or Just Like Sugar. I hope that helps give you some options that will work for you!
~jules
I made these tonight for my husband, and wow they turned out amazing. I added crushed pineapple to the batter and an extra tsp baking powder. So so good! Thank you for the recipe
Cindy
Aw, you have a lucky, lucky hubby, Cindy! So glad it turned out so well with the pineapple – yum!!!
~jules
What can be subbed for the chocolate syrup in the chocolate cake recipe? This isn’t something we use in our home, and I do not want to buy it for just 3 tablespoons in a recipe. Thanks!! 🙂
Hi Patti, you could use honey, molasses or another liquid sweetener in equal proportion, but it won’t be as chocolatey. In that case, I might recommend adding some chocolate chips to the batter to make it more of a chocolate flavor in that way. I hope that helps!
~jules
Can I substitute Xylitol for the sugar?
Hi Nancy, if you’ve found a baking xylitol brand that you have good results with, you can certainly give it a go in this recipe. As long as it’s billed as a 1:1 for granulated sugar, it should work in this recipe, as well. There are always some differences in results, but they’ve come a long way with the sugar substitutes and they’ve gotten much better! I’ve had good luck with Swerve and Just Like Sugar, if you can tolerate those. Fingers crossed!
~jules
My batter turned out very thin almost watery. I checked the amount of ingredients 10 times. Is it supposed to be that thin or have I missed something? Many thanks
Hi Nora, did you end up baking the cake? Just wondering how it turned out. Did you use my gfJules Flour? How do you measure your flour: by weight (135 grams = 1 cup of gfJules Flour) or by volume (spoon flour into the cup)? There are some ways to throw a recipe off unintentionally with measurements, so I always look there first. Any other substitutions with ingredients? It shouldn’t have been watery, but it’s not super duper thick batter, either. Let me know more details!!!
~jules