Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake
We believe this decadent, gluten free German chocolate cake recipe wins the chocoholic-cake prize. Wowzie! I made it twice this week, just to share with family and friends. The combination of bittersweet and semisweet chocolate mixed with espresso and sour cream make a heavenly dessert that begs to be eaten. German chocolate frosting tops the cake in our house, Yum! We make a version with less sugar, unsweetened coconut and homemade evaporated milk. Need to dive in to that? Click here.
German Chocolate Cake: Tips for Success
- Bring the eggs to room temperature
- Not all Dutch-processed cocoas are created equal. Use a high quality Dutched chocolate that is rich in color and flavor
- Use both types of sugar: cane sugar and light brown cane sugar
- Xanthan gum helps maintain the rise and structure of the cake; however, we have made this cake without xanthan gum and it turned out with minimal cave
- Spray pan(s) with non-stick spray. We have a homemade version of Goop that is fool proof. Click here
Size matters?
Some people create cake with a level of genius that we admire. There are books and magazines devoted to the Art of Cake. Our family is a bit more simple, (and crazy busy!) For our special occasions, we like to make a single layer cake or sometimes a two layer and just frost the middle and top. Easy, peasy. This recipe will make a perfect 9×13″ sheet, or 2 – 9″ rounds.
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Please send us pictures of your brilliant gluten free German Chocolate Cake and show us how it’s done. Also, rate and leave a comment in the section provided below the recipe. We love to hear from you!
An important note: this recipe successfully uses Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend. Flour Farm may be purchased through our website or through our partners: Amazon.com & Azure Standard. If you choose to make this with another flour blend, please note that your results may differ.
Peace & LOVE – Teri
P.S. Flour Farm gives back. We are committed to bringing healthy food to members of our community. If you are looking for equipment or ingredients used to make this recipe, please consider supporting Flour Farm and 2nd Harvest by clicking on this Amazon Associate link. We donate 50% of the profit made from Amazon purchases to 2nd Harvest, which is a local organization dedicated to feeding our children, our community and helping those in need. You will be sent directly to Amazon.com; we do not store any of your information. Thank you and share the love.
– Teri & Dave
Recipe Inspiration: Teri’s Birthday! And a little help from Cooks Illustrated; Photos by DuPree Productions; Recipe updated 4.20 for clarity
Birthdays are Better with GF German Chocolate Cake
Very thick batter 
Out of the oven 
Flip it over to frost 
Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
How does one describe German Chocolate Cake? Sinfully delicious works for us. Use premium Dutch chocolate, espresso, and coffee emulsion for best results.
Ingredients
Choose Gluten Free, Non-GMO & Organic Ingredients.
Substitutions: Do you need to swap out an ingredient? Click here for suggestions.
Note: If clicking the 2X or 3X scale boxes to the right, please know that weights listed in parentheses below may or may not change. Please take care to check amounts if increasing the recipe.
Chocolate
- 113g (4 oz) Bittersweet and or Semisweet Chocolate, chopped to fine bits
- 23g (.8 oz) Dutched chocolate, measure then sift (1/4 C)
- 2 tsp Espresso Powder or Instant Coffee (4g)
- 118 ml (4 fl oz) Boiling Hot Water (1/2 C)
Dry
- 240g (8.5 oz) Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend (2 1/4 C spoon & level)
- 3/4 tsp Aluminum Free, Double Acting Baking Powder (3g)
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda (1.5g)
- 1 tsp Xanthan Gum (3.5g)
Wet
- 170g (6 oz) Salted Butter, softened (12 T or 1 1/2 sticks)
- 200g (7 oz) Cane Sugar (1C)
- 135g (4.8 oz) Light Brown Sugar (packed 2/3 C)
- 3/4 tsp Extra Fine Pink Himalayan Salt (4.5g)
- 4 large Pasture Raised Eggs (200g)
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (5 ml)
- 1 tsp Chocolate Extract (5 ml), or use 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Coffee Emulsion – optional (5 ml)
- 180g (6.3 oz) Sour Cream (3/4 C)
Instructions
Equipment: Digital Scale (preferred), 2- 9″ Round Cake Pans or 9×13″ Baking Pan, Mixing Bowls, Whisk, Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment or Electric Mixer, Measuring Spoons & Cups, Rubber Spatula, Cutting Board, Sharp Knife, Unbleached Parchment, Cooling Rack
Before You Dive In – Prep: Please read!
- Bring eggs, butter and sour cream to room temperature
- Roughly chop chocolate into bits
- Boil the water
- Sift the Dutched chocolate
- Move oven rack to center
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 C)
- Line the bottom of pan(s) with parchment and apply non-stick spray (click the link for our non-stick baking Goop recipe)
Step 1: Combine the chocolates and espresso powder in a small bowl. Pour in the hot water and whisk together. Let stand for two minutes and whisk again until smooth. Set aside.
Step 2: Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Step 3: In a bowl that attaches to the stand mixer or a large bowl, beat together butter, sugars and salt on medium-low speed just until combined. Turn mixer up to medium high and beat for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. Turn mixer off and scrape down sides of the bowl.
Step 4: Turn mixer onto medium and add in eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each egg is added.
Step 5: Add in extracts. Turn mixer to medium-high and blend for about 1 minute until fluffy. Turn mixer off and scrape down sides of the bowl.
Step 6: Turn mixer to low and add the chocolate. Increase speed to medium and beat for about 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl again.
Step 7: Turn mixer on low and add flour mix and sour cream in alternating batches. Beat just until combined, do not over mix. Begin and end with flour. Turn mixer off and stir by hand with a sturdy spoon or spatula. The batter will be VERY thick.
Step 8: Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Bake for about 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean. Try to refrain from opening the oven door before the time is up. Look for the sides of the cake to pull away from the pan before sticking the toothpick in.
Step 9: Remove cake from the oven and cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Invert cake onto a sheet of unbleached parchment and cooling wire rack. Cool cake completely before frosting. Cake stays delicious when covered tightly and stored at room temperature for two days.
Enjoy!
Notes
Chocolate cake tastes delicious naked! However, please frost to the delight of your taste buds. For traditional German Chocolate Cake frosting, click on this link.
The nutrition information provided below is for the cake as written using 2 oz of semisweet chocolate, 2 oz of bittersweet chocolate, and King Arthur’s Espresso Powder. Each piece weighs about 3 oz (80g).
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: cake
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 24g
- Sodium: 250mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 80mg
Keywords: Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake
Fore more sweet gluten free recipes by Flour Farm, click on this link!
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