Chocolate Raspberry Gluten-Free Cake

Photo: Chocolate Raspberry Gluten-Free Cake
This cake is as decadent as any Black Forest chocolate cake you’ve ever eaten. It leaves a person fully satiated. Normally I don’t include brand names and other specifics in a recipe, but those with severe gluten sensitivities such as celiac disease need to be very careful. Even using vanilla extract that contains alcohol made from a gluten grain can cause illness.
Yield
Yields 1 – 8" double layer chocolate cake, or 2 dozen cupcakes. Halve the recipe to make a single layer cake.
Gluten-Free
Nut-Free
Soy-Free
Desserts
Ingredients

Cake

  • 3⅓ cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour
  • 2 cups organic pure cane sugar
  • 1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons Bob’s Red Mill Xanthan Gum
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Frontier Vanilla Flavor, alcohol-free

Frosting

  • ¼ cup salted butter, room temperature
  • 6 Tablespoons milk + a little more if needed
  • 1 pound powdered sugar, sifted
  • ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon Frontier Vanilla Flavor, alcohol-free

Topping

  • 6 Tablespoons Cascadian Farm Organic Raspberry Fruit Spread
  • 6 ounces fresh raspberries
Instructions

Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°.
  2. Cut out two 8" circles of parchment paper. Lightly oil two 8" round cake pans. Sift 3 Tablespoons of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour. Use it to lightly dust the pans. Tap out the excess. Place a circle of parchment paper inside each pan. Set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, combine the liquid ingredients. All at once, pour the liquids into the dry. Mix only until all the ingredients are combined.
  4. Quickly pour the batter into the 2 cake pans. Immediately place in the oven on the center rack and bake for 35 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly touched. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool completely.

Frosting

  1. Using a hand mixer on low speed, combine the butter and ¼ cup milk. Increase the speed to medium, and slowly add the powdered sugar and cocoa. Mix in the vanilla. If the frosting is too stiff, add the remaining milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.

Assembly

  1. Run a knife around the edge of each cake to loosen them from the pans. Turn one of the cakes out onto a cake platter. Remove the parchment paper and flip the cake over, so that the flat side is down. If you are making a double layer cake, and if the top of the cake is not flat, trim it with a serrated knife.
  2. Put 1½ cups of the frosting in a separate bowl. If the frosting is too stiff, add more milk, a few drops at a time, so that it can easily be spread.
  3. Place about ¾ cup of frosting on the top and evenly spread it to about 1" from the edge.
  4. Turn out the second cake on a separate plate. Remove the parchment paper and flip the cake over, carefully centering the flat side on top of the bottom layer. Frost the sides and top with a thin coat of frosting to seal in the crumbs. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  5. Put on a second layer of frosting. If you are adept with a cake decorator, pipe a simple design as a border around the top and bottom of the cake.
  6. Just before serving, spread the raspberry jam over the top. Sprinkle the top or around the base of the cake with the fresh berries and enjoy!

  7. Some people have dairy sensitivities along with gluten intolerance. In the frosting, they can substitute a vegan butter substitute, and soy, rice or almond milk for the dairy milk.