This gluten-free devil’s food cake recipe is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill and contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures for details.
Last month I created a light, fluffy and slightly sweet gluten-free angel food cake using my favorite gluten-free flour blend by Bob’s Red Mill. Today, I am making the antithesis of angel food cake by trying my hand at a gluten-free devil’s food cake recipe. In fact, I’m not trying any old recipe, I’m trying this recipe by this famous baker – and I’m converting it to be gluten-free using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend. Will it work? Let’s find out together!
First of all, I want to start this blog post by telling you that just because something is gluten-free doesn’t mean it’s healthy. So, for all intents and purposes, this cake is a decadent dessert – a treat. Make it the next time you’re having a dinner party so many guests can help you polish off this rich and intensely chocolatey cake (this way you’re not tempted to eat the whole thing with a fork in hand!).
OK, now that I got that off my chest, I would like to tell you a bit more about devil’s food cake.
Devil’s food cake is known as a moist and chocolatey layer cake. For all intents and purposes, this “sinful” cake is simply a rich chocolate cake. It often contains real chocolate (not just cocoa powder like most chocolate cakes), making its flavor more intense.
While I very much enjoyed the light, fluffy gluten-free angel cake I made last month, I have to admit that I’ll take a chocolate dessert over any other dessert in the world. Chocolate, to me, is heaven.
One of the cool things about gluten-free baking these days is just how easy it is to do thanks to Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
You can use this gluten-free flour blend to bake just about anything you like. Seriously, anything!
In the past, to make a gluten-free cake, you’d have to mix together a handful of different flours and starches in order to mimic the consistency of wheat flour. As it turns out, gluten is a nice-to-have protein when it comes to creating baked goods as it adds elasticity and the “glue” needed to hold a cake together.
The days of blending your own gluten-free flour mixes are gone like the wind now that Bob’s Red Mill has perfected the gluten-free flour blend for you. Seriously. It’s perfect and it works! What more can you ask for?
Call me crazy, but I sometimes think my Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend is talking to me. It’s constantly daring me to try a regular wheat flour recipe, swap the flour using cup for cup measurements with my Bob’s flour, just to see if it works. When it works, I can hear the flour whispering to me, “Told you so.”
I knew no recipe would too hard for my trusty Bob’s gluten-free flour blend. That’s why I decided to put Martha Stewart’s devil food cake recipe to the Bob’s Red Mill test. It’s Martha vs. Bob, baby!
The Making of a Gluten-Free Devil’s Food Cake
I’m not going to lie to you, this gluten-free devil’s food cake recipe requires a good amount of work from start to finish. As my Jewish mother would say, it takes a lot of “patshke.” (Patshke is a yiddish word for fussing or messing around.)
In order to make this gluten-free devil’s food cake recipe, you’ll need a few supplies in addition to all the ingredients.
First, you’ll need two 9″ round cake pans. I made the mistake and used 8″ round pans at first go (I didn’t realize it until it was too late). I was able to cut off the excess cake after it baked, but there was quite a bit of excess. Nine inch pans are the way to go. (Although I did enjoy eating the extra scraps!)
You’ll also want a sturdy standing Kitchenaid mixer. You’ll be mixing for awhile, so there’s nothing like having a tool to do the hard work for you.
I’d also venture to say you’d want a frosting spatula. It makes frosting a cake much easier!
So after I spent a few hours patshke-ing this cake in the kitchen, here is the final result. Get ready to oooh and aaah!
Doesn’t this cake look gorgeous? I can’t get enough of it. While I love how beautiful it looks, I honestly couldn’t wait to cut into it (and eat it!). Just look at those two beautiful layers of chocolate cake separated by a light chocolate swiss meringue buttercream…
Is this gluten-free devil’s food cake recipe calling your name too?
Before you set off to make this gluten-free devil’s food cake recipe, I’d like to share a few tips to ensure your cake making process is a success. (If you’re going to spend a few hours making it, you might as well do it right.)
First of all, make sure you have all the cake and frosting ingredients on-hand and ready to go, including your Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend. Remember, purchase the Bob’s Red Mill GF flour in the blue bag, not the red bag. The red bag contains a totally different gluten-free blend that won’t work in this recipe!
Second of all, follow the instructions carefully. This cake takes patience and that means adding in ingredients slowly and purposefully. Don’t rush it.
Third, allow the cake ample time to cool before frosting it. If you frost it too soon, you’ll have crumbs in your frosting and it won’t look as pretty.
Fourth, enlist [lots of] help to eat this cake. It’s big and it will be calling your name day and night. You’re welcome (and I’m sorry).
One of my favorite things about this cake is the light, whipped frosting. My son told me he thought it tasted like whipped cream. The frosting truly is to die for – and combined with this rich, moist, chocolately cake, it’s a match made in heaven.
Thank you to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this devilish post and allowing me to put your amazing gluten-free flour blend up to the Martha Stewart test! This wicked gluten-free devil’s food cake recipe is a keeper!
Visit Bob’s Red Mill online to learn more about the company’s gluten-free safety practices.
Gluten-Free Devil’s Food Cake Recipe:
Gluten-Free Devil's Food Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus additional butter for greasing pans
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 3 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend (in the blue bag)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 6 cups Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream (see below)
For the Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting:
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 5 large egg whites
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Lightly butter two 9-inch round cake pans and then line the bottoms with round pieces of parchment rounds; butter parchment.
- In a small bowl, stir together boiling water, cocoa, and chocolate. Allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside
- Using your standing mixer, beat together butter with sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add in eggs one at a time, occasionally scraping down the sides of bowl.
- Add in vanilla, then chocolate mixture, and continue to beat mixture for another minute.
- Reduce speed to low and add in half of the flour mixture at a time, alternating with the sour cream, until just combined.
- Transfer batter evenly into two 9" inch pans and place in oven.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, for about 35 to 40 minutes.
- Allow the cakes time to cool in pans placed on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Turn cakes out onto the wire rack, leaving the top-sides up.
- Once cake cools completely, use a serrated knife to trim tops of cakes to level.
- While cake cools, prepare the frosting by whisking together the sugar and egg whites in a heat-proof mixing bowl.
- Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk mixture constantly for about 2-3 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Pour mixture into the bowl attached to your standing mixer. Using the whisk attachment, mix on high speed until cool for 7-10 minutes until the bottom of the bowl is no longer warm to the touch.
- Change to the paddle attachment and put mixer on medium-high speed. Add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until well combined, then mix in chocolate.
- Cut four strips of parchment paper and place on the edges of your cake pan to prevent the frosting from getting all over your cake pan (you'll remove the paper before serving). Place one cake layer on stand, trimmed-side up, and spread 1 1/2 cups buttercream evenly over top. Add the second cake layer and spread a layer of frosting on the top and sides.
- Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes or until firm to ensure your frosting doesn't collect chocolate cake crumbs in it. Spread the remaining frosting evenly over top and sides.
- Cake tastes best when eating right away, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for one day. Bring cake to room temperature before serving for best results.
Nutrition
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