What is better than a soft and fluffy Yellow Cake with rich Fudge Frosting? A soft and fluffy GLUTEN FREE Yellow Cake with rich Fudge Frosting!
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Y'all, can you believe Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake is 6 years old?!?! I still have to pinch myself that my dream of baking for a living is actually happening, and it's all thanks to you. Every one of you who visits my site and/or my YouTube channel is the reason for my success and I really, truly can't thank y'all enough for the past 6 years of bliss. And what better way to celebrate than with a birthday cake???
I've had a love for old-fashioned yellow cakes with chocolate fudge frosting for as long as I can remember. And I had yet to find a good gluten free replacement...until now. This yellow cake by itself is unbelievably good, I could literally eat it with no frosting and be satisfied.
But, why would I when I have this chocolate fudge frosting? It's not just any chocolate frosting. It's fudgy. And it goes so well with this cake and is heavenly, there's no reason I would ever need to eat the cake sans the frosting. Just sayin' that you could if you had to haha!
ingredients needed for gluten free yellow cake
- Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend - a store bought blend may be substituted, but hasn't been tested.
- Eggs and egg yolks - the eggs are separated in this recipe and the whites are whipped and added later. This adds to the fluffy texture. There are also more egg yolks for richness and color.
- Buttermilk - buttermilk makes the cake very moist and adds a slight tang.
how to make a yellow cake
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating just until yolks are incorporated. Follow this by one tablespoon of vanilla extract.
Whisk together flour blend, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Alternate adding dry ingredients with buttermilk into cake batter until all have been added.
Whip egg whites in separate bowl to stiff peaks. Gently fold them into the rest of the batter to lighten.
Divide batter between two 8-inch round cake pans that have been greased and floured. Use an offset spatula to level out tops. Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-32 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 15-20 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely. Frost as desired.
ingredients for chocolate fudge frosting
- Powdered sugar - while there is powdered sugar in this frosting, this is not an American buttercream.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder AND melted semi-sweet chocolate - the combination of these two creates a very fudgy frosting.
- Hot coffee - you can use boiling water instead of coffee, but coffee really intensifies the chocolate flavor so I would urge you to try it.
how to make chocolate fudge frosting
Whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add very soft butter, vanilla, and boiling hot coffee or water. Beat until smooth. Add melted chocolate and finish beating to incorporate. Refrigerate frosting for 30 minutes or until thickened enough to spread.
gluten free yellow cake FAQs
There are usually more egg yolks in yellow cake that make them more vibrantly yellow than a regular vanilla-flavored cake.
Yes, simply sub the butter with a dairy-free butter and make a dairy-free buttermilk by mixing one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar with enough dairy-free milk to measure one cup or 240 grams.
It will keep at room temperature, well covered, for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. It can also be sliced and frozen in slices.
more gluten free layer cake recipes
- Gluten Free Coconut Cake Recipe
- Best Ever Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake Recipe
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
- Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Gluten Free Funfetti Cake
- Gluten Free Banana Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream
- Gluten Free Rainbow Cake
- Gluten Free Chocolate Caramel Cake
Happy Birthday to Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake! I hope she has many, many more birthdays to bring you the best gluten free recipes throughout the years.
Gluten Free Yellow Cake with Fudge Frosting
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 cup (226g) butter, softened (a dairy-free butter alternative may be substituted)
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (280g) Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend (a store bought blend may be substituted, but has not been tested)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (240g) whole fat buttermilk, at room temperature (a dairy-free buttermilk may be substituted using 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice and enough dairy-free milk to make one cup)
Fudge Frosting
- 3¼ cups (400g) powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ sticks (12 tablespoon or 150g) butter, very soft
- ⅓ cup (80g) boiling hot coffee (water may be substituted)
- 2 ounces (60g) semi-sweet chocolate, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make Cake Bater
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans (or grease bottom and sides and line bottoms with parchment); set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour blend, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
- Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating just until each has disappeared into the batter. Mix in vanilla extract.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks. Sacrifice about ¼ of the egg whites and stir into the batter vigorously to lighten batter slightly. Fold remaining egg whites gently into the batter.
- Divide batter between prepared pans and spread to edges. Bake for 30-32 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pans on cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pans to cool completely.
Make Fudge Frosting
- Whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa in large bowl. Add butter, vanilla, and boiling hot coffee (or water) and beat until smooth. Pour in melted chocolate, continuing to mix until combined.
- Place bowl of frosting in refrigerator for 30 minutes until spreadable. Spread in between and on top and sides of cake.
Ruby says
Cakes yummy. What flour do u use in Australia
Jennifer Curtis says
Hi, II’ve used several of your recipes and really liked them. My sister asked if I could make her son’s smash cake for his 1st birthday, and if it could be gluten free and use monk fruit instead of sugar. She wants a vanilla cake with a more white vanilla frosting I was wondering if any of your cakes recipes would work, if I substituted monk fruit for the white sugar. I’ve been thinking maybe this cake would work or the coconut one, but without the coconut flavoring and emulsion. But I’ve never worked with monk fruit and wasn’t sure if you have?
Kim says
I'm so sorry, I'm not familiar with working with any sugar substitute, including monk fruit. I wish I knew what to tell you, but that's out of my league. I apologize.
Lenore says
Hi Kim! I've loved all of the recipes I've used of yours, and I was really excited to try this one. I did everything exactly as specified with precise measurements, and I'm a pretty experienced baker so I don't think I messed anything up. However, I've tried this twice and both times my cakes sank in the middle after being removed from the oven despite being done, at least to my knowledge. Do you have any ideas as to what I'm messing up or doing wrong? I'd happily change anything, because the flavor and texture is perfect!
Liz says
Same here. It's appearing she has her measurements off. Too wet and I'm not sure what else is wrong- but the chemistry of the recipe is very off. I'm an experienced baker-followed both recipes to a T (the AP GF flour recipe tagged in the recipe and the cake recipe itself). I triple checked every step. I did notice discrepancies in the measurements. On new recipes, I both weigh and measure them out. By weight, I'm still missing 1/4 c sugar per the weights listed. Flour was also off. So I ended up going in between the 2 each time- giving me an average. The middles sunk to the bottom of the pan and were incredibly gummy. I see why one person halved the sugar and butter I believe it was- I've never had a cake fail this big. And I've never left a negative review. It was so off, it made me wonder if this was an AI recipe vs real? The flavor was very custardy- shockingly so.
Kim says
I'm so sorry you're having problems with this recipe. I checked my measurements and they are correct, but maybe there's something else going on? I wonder first off, if you're using my flour blend, are you using a superfine white rice flour? There are so many different brands these days and I've tried to find anything other than Authentic Foods brand, but every time I try a different one, they aren't nearly as fine as theirs. In fact, they are very gritty and I know immediately, even without touching the flour, that it won't work. Because those other brands are really gritty, they can't soak up as much of the liquid that the superfine white rice flour can; therefore, it throws the ratios completely off for any recipe they're used in. Also, my flour blend weighs 140 grams per cup, but others may not. Granulated sugar weighs 200g per cup, so the 400g is correct. One more thing to check is the buttermilk. Whole buttermilk is very thick and if you use a skim buttermilk or low-fat buttermilk, that will also cause the recipe to be off. But for the sake of double checking, I actually need to make a yellow cake soon anyway so I'll be extra thorough when I do and let y'all know if there are any discrepancies that I find. Thank you!
Colleen says
I made this recipe and the cake was light and moist. I used half of the butter in the recipe and half of the sugar and it was just perfect. Instead of the heavy butter frosting I made homemade vanilla pudding (with half of the sugar in the recipe) and then topped it with my home grown and canned cherry pie filling (less sugar again) and then topped the cherries with the vanilla pudding. It made a beautiful dessert that could be used for Valentines Day!! Delicious, thank you.
Jill Smith says
Also what coffee and tea is Gluten-free? Thank You
Jill Smith says
How many eggs altogether?
Kim says
You'll need 4 eggs, but you only need 2 whites.
Nicola says
Hi Kim, are you able to clarify for us "bozo's" exactly what eggs are needed. Your recipe
has 4 yolks and 4 whites ? Maybe you could explain this a bit more clearer for those who you know, don't get it lol.
Kim says
I'm sorry if I didn't explain it correctly. I was trying to separate it so it wouldn't be confusing, but maybe I made it more confusing. It's 2 egg whites, but 4 egg yolks. That's why it's listed as 2 whole eggs and then 2 egg yolks. That would total 4 egg yolks and 2 egg whites.