I have been prescribed a little indulgence in these later stages of pregnancy, so I have been making my favorite baked goods and cheese-filled Italian dishes. I will have to balance out my blog entries with healthy entrées once the baby is born.
It has been ages since my last piece of chocolate cake, so I made one today while my toddler took a nap nearby. Apparently, he is comforted by the hum of the mixer and smells of the kitchen because he slept a really long time! I didn’t have the energy for a layered cake, so I made a simple chocolate pan cake.
CHOCOLATE CAKE
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 cup dutch-processed cocoa, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/2 sticks salted butter, room temperature (if you use unsalted, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan. Sift the three flours together. Add cocoa, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda to the flours and whisk together in a med. bowl. Beat the butter until creamy . Slowly add the brown sugar and the granulated sugar; whip until fluffy. Add the eggs and the egg yolks one at a time. Add the vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake is springy to the touch.
Since this was truly a no-frills chocolate cake, I made a simple frosting. Feel free to substitute your favorite frosting. This one is not very sweet, but my toddler loved it.
5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 Tablespoons whipping cream
Directions: Melt chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler. Let the chocolate cool until warm. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Add whipping cream to desired consistency. The frosting will thicken slightly as it cools. Once the cake has cooled, frost the cake. This frosting provided a simple, thin layer of frosting for my no-frills chocolate cake.
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Posted on April 22nd, 2007 by Natalie
Filed under: Cakes, Celiac, Desserts, Gluten Free
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Please save me a piece. I am on my way to your kitchen. love, mom
That cake certainly looks delicious!
And, plenty of cocoa - always a favorite ingredient of mine
Kudos on the use of Sorgum too — that’s a nice flour for GF baking.
Here’s hoping your pregnancy is a long one! These sound soooo yummy. I have a major sweet tooth, though.
Hey…chocolate cake is healthy! RICE flour, EGGS, CREAM….heck that’s HEALTH FOOD!!!
Mike- Thanks, I have started to love sorghum flour. I am not sure why it took me so long to use it!
Krista- I really liked this cake- well worth the calories!
Are you using brown rice flour or white rice flour? I only have the brown variety and Pamela’s (in addition to sorghum and tapioca) - which do you think would work best?
M-
I used white rice flour, but I think brown rice with the other two would work great. I have not tried this recipe with Pamela’s yet. Let me know how it turns out!
Just wanted to thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve made tons of gluten free goodies, but I was looking for something a little different and super-good for my husband’s 35th birthday last night. This delivered big time! I didn’t have any tapioca flour so for that I subbed 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup pamela’s. I also reduced the sugar by doing half sugar and half stevia. Thanks again for an excellent recipe to play with!
Wavybrains- I am so glad it was a success!
I meant to write this weeks ago
Thanks so much for this recipe! I made it for two birthday parties and everyone loved it. I even had three gluten eating guests asking me for the recipe (in addition to a few gf guests who wanted it too). I sent them all to your website 
I use your basic buttercream icing because that’s always been my favorite, but the cake I made as you wrote. Delicious! Chocolately! Moist! Yum! Thank you
do you serve this cake in the pan, or did you de pan it first and then frost? I am looking for a 9×13″ sheet cake recipe for a 9 year olds birthday.
what is the cooling time if you take it out of the pan?
thanks,
stephanie
Stephanie-
I have done it both ways! If you want to take it out of the pan, let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then release on to a rack. Make sure the cake is completely cool before frosting. Happy Baking!
i don’t need to be gluten-free, but i love the creativity of gluten-free recipes. this is just awesome!
Hey! I just made this cake an hour ago and just got done frosting it with a basic chocolate frosting. WOW!!! It’s amazing!!!! I don’t have a gluten sensitivity or allergy, but I love to dabble in gluten-free baking b/c I have several friends who have Celiac’s or have a gluten issue, so then I can bake things they can eat when I go to their house!! Also, I just love baking with different ingredients and I love all the gf flours that are available these days!! I used Bob’s Red Mill GF baking flour for the flours and 1/4 cup of cornstarch, and 1/2 cup brown rice flour. The cake is unbelievably moist and chocolatey and rich!! I just love it!! I can’t wait for my husband to taste it!! I don’t tell him when I make something that is GF, so that I can see his response, and then say “HA-Ha!!!! ” Thank you so much!! Your website is beautifully done and so well organized AND what wonderful photos of food!!! You could work for a fancy food magazine as a food photographer!!!
Sara- you are too sweet. thank you for the nice compliments.
What brand of gluten-free cocoa powder do you recommend?
I just use Hershey’s cocoa. I think most dutch-processed cocoa is gluten-free, but you will have to check with the manufacturer.
When you say “cocoa” in your recipe. are you always referring to the dutch-processed variety, or just for this cake?
Howdy, I made this one yesterday and subbed cornstarch for the sorghum. Other than issues with my ‘clomping around’ in the kitchen which made the cake fall a little, this came out wonderfully! I have enough cake to freeze ahead (Which I have done as of last night) For the time in the next trimester that I don’t feel like cooking, or we’re at my inlaws and I need something GF and good to eat
The icing is really delish! I Never would have thought of making an icing using sour cream and whipping cream! The only thing I changed with that is that I used a more bittersweet chocolate than I usually do, and it seems to really balance out the sweetness of the cake itself.
Thanks for posting this one! I think today if I am up to it, I might just make the carrot-cake recipe I saw you posted
LOL
Rick- Yes, I am referring to Dutch processed cocoa. I really should specify that because it does affect the leavening action. I need to go back and check that in my recipes. Sorry for the confusion!
Stahl- It is a GREAT idea to freeze something for the upcoming trimester! I did that with my second baby and it worked out really well on days I wasn’t up to cooking. You seem to have a good rush of energy today! I hope the cakes turned out well for you. I don’t bake with cornstarch much (it seems to me I am a little sensitive to it) but I am glad the cake worked out.
I recently discovered your blog and I love it. I am also celiac and a baker and I am going to try your “no frills” choc cake. I really like the plates you have the cake on in the picture you took of the cake slice. I collect milk glass and it reminds me of that. Keep cooking GF!
Sandra
I just read this same recipe, posted by you (or so they said) but some of the amounts are different, ie: it calls for 1 1/2 Tablespoons of xanthan and 2 1/2 Tablespoons of baking powder instead of the teaspoon amounts you list here. Now, which one is correct? I’d like to make the cake but not sure which one to use. Please help! Thanks
JS- The teaspoon amt listed above (on Gluten Free Mommy) is correct!!
[...] all sounds awesome! No, I found a recipe http://www.gluttenfreemommy.com No Frills Chocolate Cake | Gluten Free Recipes It’s pretty darned fluffy! It is cooling right now, I will report [...]
bless you for this! sooo good