This easy gluten-free chocolate cake is ideal for birthdays and celebrations. Although this delicious irresistible cake is also an amazing everyday treat that is easy and quick to prepare.
1tablespoonapple cider vinegar Alternatively use white distilled vinegar or lemon juice.
Chocolate frosting:
225gramsvegan margarineIf using vegan butter remove from the fridge a short while before using so it can come to room temperature. It will be easier to whisk.
225gramsicing sugarsieved
50gramscocoa powdersieved
100gramsvegan-friendly dark chocolateChopped into squares or use chocolate drops/buttons.
Instructions
Prepare vegan buttermilk:
To prepare the vegan buttermilk add the apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to the plant milk and stir. Leave for at least 10 minutes to start curdling.
The original recipe states to preheat your oven to 220 Celsius/200 Fan/425 Fahrenheit/Gas 7. However I recommend turning the temperature down to 200 Celsius/180 Fan/ 400 Fahrenheit/Gas 6. It does seem a little hot but the cake will be fine.(Also if you want to turn your oven down another notch then just increase the cakes baking time a little)
Prepare the cake:
Grease your cake pans with a little margarine and line the pans with parchment paper.
Add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir.
Mix all the wet ingredients together.
Add the wet mix to the dry ingredients.Give it all a good mix to make sure its all combined.
Divide the mix evenly between your cake pans. If you want to be precise use a measuring scale and ensure each pan weighs roughly the same.
Smooth out the surfaces of each cake with the back of a spoon.
Bake on the middle rung of your oven for around 25 minutes. If possible place both cake pans side by side on the same rung so that they cook evenly at the same time.
Check your cakes after 25 minutes. Cakes are baked when a skewer poked in the middle comes out mostly clean.
Cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes. Carefully tip cakes out of the pans and peel the parchment off. Leave on a wire rack to cool or even just on the parchment paper.
To prepare the frosting:
Once cakes are completely cool they can be frosted.
Add the margarine, icing sugar and cocoa powder to a mixing bowl and whip either with a wooden/metal spoon or with a hand/stand mixer until smooth and creamy.
Melt the dark chocolate:Using a microwave: Place the chopped chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and turn on your microwave for 20-30 seconds, switch off, stir the chocolate, and then heat another 20-30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until nearly melted. Chocolate may still look solid but once stirred quickly will melt.I have a 700 watt microwave and on high setting it only took about 3 repeats until it was soft enough to mix smooth with a spoon.Stovetop method: Place the chocolate into a little heatproof bowl. Place the bowl into a saucepan of water. Gently heat the water to a low simmer. Switch off heat. Stir the chocolate until melted. Don't let the water rapidly boil as if you get a splash of water in the bowl the chocolate could seize up.
Quickly mix the melted chocolate through the chocolate frosting. Its necessary to work quickly as the chocolate will cool fast and little bits of hard chocolate will be evident in the frosting. However, this doesn't affect eating enjoyment so don't worry.
Whip the frosting until it starts to get thicker. It may look thin at first but it will thicken up as the chocolate is blended in.
Place the frosting in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to thicken up some more.
Apply the frosting to one of your cake layers and sit the other layer on top. Cover the cake with the frosting.
The cake can be placed in the fridge to speed up setting of the frosting or enjoyed immediately if desired.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
For baking in general but especially for gluten-free bakes its highly recommended to weigh out ingredients for better accuracy and outcomes.
Bake this gluten-free chocolate cake on the middle shelf and side-by-side if possible. Keep the baking cakes away from the top shelf as they will brown too quickly.
Prep the cake in advance, up to 2-3 months, prior to being required. Freeze the cakes individually and well wrapped. Defrost with the wrapping removed and when cakes are at room temperature add the frosting. Prepping your birthday cakes saves valuable time.
Store the gluten-free cake in the fridge, wrapped if possible, and in a covered container. As doing so will help prevent the cake drying out too quickly.