Vegan & Gluten-Free easy to make Chocolate Cake! (nut free as well)

We had a birthday party to attend yesterday, with my gluten-intolerance & a little friend of ours severe food allergies, I offered to help the hostess make sure that MG (our friend) & I had a safe cake to eat at dessert time.  (this way no one feels left out of festivities & we get a sweet treat too).

Let me say in all honesty, chocolate would not be my first choice in cake & chocolate cake with chocolate frosting would never be my choice, but when baking for a 5-year-old – you go with what they want & you know they’ll eat.  (keeps everyone happy)

This was honestly one of the best gluten-free cakes I have made to date, moist, not too dense, sweet, but not too sweet, I really enjoyed it & thankfully so did MG, success!  So, I’m going to share the recipe for the cake with you, as it was all in all pretty easy – I try to keep my recipes typically as simple as possible, so they don’t feel overwhelming and can be accomplished while still dealing with 2 very active little boys in the house!

Preheat oven to 375 F

3/4 cup Organic Sugar (pure cane I use)

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose baking flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)

1/2 cup Tapioca flour (or tapioca starch) (Bob’s Red Mill)

2 TBSP Potato Starch (Bob’s Red Mill)

1/3 cup Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract (I use a pinch more honestly)

1/2 cup Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Cold water

2 TBSP Organic apple cider vinegar (there is a very cool reaction once you add the vinegar – foamy fun, stir vigorously to incorporate)

Now here’s the thing; I’m sure other bakers will tell you separate dry, wet, then mix & in some cases I agree, it must be done.  This being said I’m not a fan of making extra dirty dishes for myself to clean later.  So, in order (listed above) add all ingredients to 1 large bowl, mixing as you add each additional ingredient.

Line a 9 in. round pan with wax paper & slightly grease that (I use cooking spray, lightly).  You can use whatever type of pan you want, I wanted a round 2 layer cake, so I could put frosting in the middle of the cake as well.  That’s why I chose the 9 in. round.

Put  first layer of cake in pan & bake for 15-20 min.  Check cake for completion by poking in center of cake with skewer, or toothpick & should come out dry.  Toss upside on to a plate to cool, by grabbing your plate putting over pan & flipping upside down, cake should come out of pan very easily & then peel off wax paper.

Now flip your wax paper over in pan (reduce, REuse, recycle), spray lightly again & add second layer of cake to oven.  Bake second layer for 10-15 min., slightly thinner layer of cake, less cooking time.  Once first layer has cooled completely frost top, which in turn will be center.  Once second layer is out & cool, flip out of pan (completely cooled down) onto your hand (what I do, I’m sure there’s a much more professional way to do this) and place on top of frosted first layer.  Now frost whole cake on top & then sides – done!!  Delicious – Enjoy!!

**Side note, the reason I’m not mentioning the frosting, I normally make my own, but all my recipes call for buttermilk, obviously if I’m doing a vegan frosting – there would be no buttermilk involved, but I didn’t have soy, or rice milk to substitute for a good vegan recipe (I have a couple), so I did use a name brand store-bought frosting that I knew was safe & allergy friendly**

My friend MG – taster/critic gobbled up 2 pieces, I took this as a great sign, I had a piece myself, hubby did & so did the hostess, I think it was all in all my best gluten-free cake to date and huge bonus that it was vegan & allergen friendly as well!

First layer of chocolate cake cooling on plate.

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cake half eaten! Delish.

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