This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosures.
This Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake is deliciously fluffy, light and moist. It is filled and covered with a dreamy vanilla swiss meringue buttercream frosting and is the cake you will turn to time and time again when you need a simple yet stunning vanilla layer cake for special occasions. And guess what?? No xanthan gum. We just use the most delicious alternative flours for a gluten-free white cake with perfect texture and taste.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
- What's The Secret To The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe?
- Watch the Video
- Ingredients and Notes
- How To Make A Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
- Expert Tips
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream Ingredients
- How To Make Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Expert Tips for SMB
- Recommended Equipment
- FAQs
- More Gluten-Free Vanilla Cakes You'll Love
- Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake (without xanthan gum)
The gluten free vanilla cake is such an important cake to master as not only should the cake shine in its own right but it is also the building block through which many other celebration cakes can be made. Through this one recipe your gluten free baking repertoire will increase dramatically:
- just change the buttercream to chocolate and you have a perfect gluten free birthday cake with yellow sponge and chocolate frosting.
- add some lemon or orange zest to the sponge and buttercream and you have a gorgeous citrus cake.
- Add chopped nuts to the batter, chocolate chips or even sprinkles for a funfetti cake.
Your basic vanilla cake is where it all starts.
This is my go-to recipe and is an easy yellow cake for first time gluten-free bakers as once you've bought the 3 gluten-free flours I've listed in the ingredients then the process is no different than baking a regular cake.
I'll take you through all the simple steps to create this easy gluten free cake from where to buy your gluten-free flours, to tips on how to mix together the perfect sponge and then a step-by-step instructions on how to make this incredible Swiss Meringue Buttercream which will make your vanilla cake soar.
You will adore this frosting as it is light as air, dreamy as a cloud and buttery as hell. If you have never made or tasted swiss meringue buttercream then you will be transported. The method sounds more intimidating than the practice. But don't be in fear of it, it's simple to make and I'll walk you through all the troubleshooting tips.
So grab your mixing bowl and let's start baking!
Why You'll Love This Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
- It's the perfect gluten-free layer cake, fit for a birthday or any other kind of celebration.
- Light fluffy texture - no claggy, dry sponge here. This lovely recipe produces a moist cake with a gentle bounce and tender crumb.
- This delicious cake holds together beautifully, giving lovely even slices that do not crumble when it sees a knife.
- Taste - of course it's thanks to the vanilla but also our specially selected gluten-free flours. Let's make our alternative flours do double duty of taste and texture here!
- Also no fancy techniques. Once you've whisked together our chosen flours then the cake proceeds the same as any cake. Creaming the butter and sugar, adding the eggs and vanilla then beating in our flour blend. Easy.
- Creamy Vanilla Buttercream. We use the most incredible sweet, buttery and creamy swiss meringue buttercream to fill and frost this cake.
- No xanthan gum! It's simply not needed as we have a perfect balance of starchy flours which prevents a dry and crumbly sponge.
What's The Secret To The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe?
Let me tell you... for the best results when baking gluten-free cakes I recommend blending your own choice of alternative flours rather than a branded gluten-free flour blend. It's the best way to bake gluten-free then you have total control over the ingredients meaning you will always get a fluffy cake without any need for xanthan gum.
Watch the Video
Sometimes it helps to see a visual of what I'm talking about. So watch the video to see what it looks like to make your own Gluten-Free Vanilla Layer Cake Without Xanthan Gum.
Ingredients and Notes
Gluten-Free Flours
We only need three gluten-free flours for this beautifully white cake, to make it as accessible as possible, keep costs down and our larder more streamlined. I don't recommend swapping for a shop bought gluten-free all purpose flour (like Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur Measure for Measure) as it won't give the same result. However, you can swap for my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend which is designed to be able to be swapped in for any cake recipe on my website without the need of xanthan gum.
Sweet Rice Flour (glutinous rice flour). This starchy flour is used here for the best texture. It has a unique sticky texture that binds the ingredients together and gives great structure and bounce to the cake (you cannot substitute regular rice flour here as they are totally different). Sweet rice flour is available everywhere in the UK but it's easy to buy off Amazon or in Asian supermarkets (where it's called glutinous rice flour).
If you struggle to find sweet rice flour you can substitute for almond flour.
Gluten-Free Oat Flour - A delicious wholegrain flour that gives a toasty buttery flavour to enhance the vanilla. It has a lovely fluffy light texture. Gluten-free oat flour can be picked up at most health food shops and in some large supermarkets. However, like all alternative flours it can be expensive so I find the most economical way is to buy on Amazon. Or you can even make your own - there's all the info on how to do that in this Ultimate Guide to Oat Flour.
If you are intolerant to oat flour you can substitute for sorghum flour.
Tapioca Flour (tapioca starch). This starchy flour alleviates some of the density of the sweet rice flour and bakes up beautifully, giving the sponge a gorgeous golden brown colour. It’s not difficult to get hold of tapioca flour in the UK. You can often find 100g pots of Doves Farm Tapioca Flour in the supermarket but it’s quite costly and doesn’t give you very much. You can find more varied brands in health food shops in bags of about 500g or you can buy online.
If you are intolerant to tapioca flour you can substitute for potato starch.
The rest of the ingredients
Butter. Unsalted is the best choice here. Make sure it is at room temperature.
Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar. If you can only get hold of granulated sugar you can grind more finely in the food processor before you use it in the recipe.
Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell).
Milk. Use whole milk or a plant based milk if you are making dairy-free.
Vanilla extract. This is the key ingredient since this is a vanilla cake and so I urge you to use a good quality extract, I like Nielsen Massey.
Baking powder. A leaving agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.
Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.
How To Make A Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Beat together the sugar and butter for 2-3 minutes until pale, light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients (sweet rice flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, baking powder and sea salt) in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in the flour mix in 3 additions, alternatively with the milk, and mix until the batter is smooth and all the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Divide between 2 round 8 inch cake tins and bake for 40 minutes.
- Allow the sponge cakes to cook on a cooling rack before filling and covering with the buttercream.
Expert Tips
- In any vanilla cake, gluten-free or not, the quality of your ingredients is absolutely key. Do use the best unsalted butter and whole milk from a local dairy if you can, the freshest eggs from the happiest chickens.
- Always use the best vanilla extract that you can afford for this cake as vanilla is the key flavour. Nielsen Massey is my favoured brand.
- Use room temperature butter and eggs.
- Beat the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides a couple of times. This is how your cake will be beautifully fluffy.
- Break eggs into a separate bowl before adding. Then you're not fishing shell out of your cake batter. It also means you can spot if one of your eggs is bad - although this is a very rare occurrence.
- Add the flour mix alternately with the milk - a few spoonfuls at a time - this ensures it is all evenly mixed.
- After it has baked check for doneness by inserting a clean cocktail stick or skewer. It should come out clean with no wet batter.
- Leave the sponges for 5 minutes to rest in their tins before sliding a palette knife around the edges and turning out carefully onto cooling racks.
- Always leave to cool completely before covering with buttercream.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Ingredients
Egg whites. This recipe uses 9 egg whites. You can use fresh egg whites by all means and then just freeze the egg yolks for another day or make custard or ice cream. However, I recommend buying a carton of liquid egg whites as it saves wasting the yolks or finding a use for them.
Caster sugar. This is a finely ground white baking sugar common in the UK. If you can only get hold of white granulated sugar then that’s a fine substitute.
Butter. Unsalted is the best choice here so you can control the salt content. Make sure it is at room temperature. This means that you should be able to press into the buttercream easily using your fingertip but reach resistance so your finger doesn’t sink straight through the butter. The right temperature for the butter here is absolutely key. There are tips below if you have a cold kitchen and your butter is staying too firm.
Vanilla extract. It’s essential in buttercream to use a good quality extract since this is a vanilla buttercream and will be the key flavour here. I like Nielsen Massey. You could always use the seeds from a vanilla bean if you like the speckled effect which can look beautiful covering the right cake.
Salt. It’s essential too. The salt will bring out the flavour of your vanilla and add complexity and depth to the buttercream – you will really notice the difference if it’s left out.
How To Make Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Heat egg whites and caster sugar in a double boiler (or in your stand mixer metal bowl fitted over a large saucepan of simmering water), stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the temperature has reached 160°F (71°C).
- Remove from the heat and pour into a stand mixer (or place your mixer bowl back into its stand). Whisk until the meringue mixture forms stiff peaks and the temperature has lowered to room temperature.
- Then on a low speed beat the butter in one cube at a time until it's totally incorporated. Allow the buttercream to keep mixing after the butter has all been added until it stabilises into a thick creamy homogenous buttercream consistency.
- Add the salt and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Expert Tips for SMB
- SMB is incredibly forgiving and if you are worried that it has broken at any stage it can usually be rescued.
- If you are new to the SMB party then use a sugar thermometer so you know exactly when to move onto the next step of the process.
- Any problems with the buttercream are usually down to certain ingredients being the wrong temperature - don't worry, we can fix it! - The problems will always seem to arise when you add the butter.
- The butter should be at room temperature - just slightly soft.
- If you are doing everything right then after you have added all the butter the mixture will look curdled. Do not fret – this is supposed to happen and just means you are nearly done. Just continue to mix the buttercream. Evenutally once the butter has totally mixed into the meringue and whipped up sufficiently the buttercream will miraculously become a smooth velvety consistency.
- If when you add the butter the buttercream turns to soup then either your meringue or your butter was too warm when it was added. Place the whole mixing bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes then try mixing it again.
- If the butter is too cold then it won't whip nicely into the egg whites. The mixture will seem greasy and the butter won't incorporate. Put the mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, when the butter melts at the edges, remove and beat it up again.
- If you are still unsure on the process then don't worry I have written a whole post on How To Make Swiss Meringue Buttercream and there is plenty of tips, tricks and troubleshooting plus more detailed step-by-step photos and a recipe video.
Recommended Equipment
- Stand Mixer - The Kitchenaid is definitely my choice for the ultimate stand mixer. It's used everyday in my kitchen for all my cakes, bakes, buttercreams plus so many other savoury uses like making mayonnaise or whipping sauces.
- 8 inch Round Cake Tins - These cake tins are what I always use. They have completely straight sides so your cakes will be beautifully neat, the anodised aluminium means the heat disperses evenly throughout the cake without cooking the sides too quickly, which some darker cake tins do. The cakes slip out of the tins easily and they come in all the sizes you would need, although typically I use the 8 inch tins.
- Cooling Racks - These are actually really useful as they are nice and high which allow more air to get to your cakes to cool quickly. Plus the cooling cakes take up less room on your kitchen counter if they stack up.
- Sugar Thermometer - this thermometer is the best way of checking those temperatures when you're making the buttercream. If you want to temper chocolate or make fudge or other sugary treats then this tool will be invaluable to you.
- Double Boiler - I use this double boiler for everything - it's brilliant for melting chocolate and making this buttercream.
- Large Closed Star Piping Tip - This is the piping tip to use if you want to recreate those buttercream flowers
- Recyclable Piping Bags - I get a huge pack of them as the worst thing is to get ready to ice your cake and discover you don't have any piping bags left. I use these piping bags for everything from cupcakes to drizzling melted chocolate to piping a straight level of buttercream evenly over a whole layer cake.
- Small Offset Spatula - I love the control this spatula gives to smoothing down the sides of the cake.
FAQs
You can make and store the sponge layers up to 2 days before filling and covering with the buttercream. Store in a cool dark place (not the fridge as it will dry out) in an airtight container.
The finished vanilla cake is best stored in the fridge for up to 3 days but allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Absolutely, this cake is suitable for freezing either before or after you have covered in buttercream. You could also freeze leftover cake in slices. You can freeze the cake successfully by double wrapping it. First wrap it tightly in plastic wrap then aluminium foil. Then place in a resealable freezer bag or airtight container. Don’t forget to label including the date. To enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, allowing it to come to room temperature before serving.
Yes! You can use this recipe to make gluten-free vanilla cupcakes. This recipe makes enough for 18 cupcakes.
More Gluten-Free Vanilla Cakes You'll Love
✨Have you tried this Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake (without xanthan gum)
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
- 225 g unsalted butter - room temperature
- 400 g caster sugar
- 4 eggs - medium size, (about 60g each)
- 150 ml whole milk
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 160 g sweet rice flour - (glutinous rice flour)
- 140 g gluten-free oat flour
- 40 g tapioca flour - (tapioca starch)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 9 egg whites - 270g
- 450 g caster sugar
- 540 g unsalted butter - at room temperature, cubed
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted /gas mark 4 / 350°F and line and grease 2 x round 8 inch cake tins.
- Beat together the sugar and butter until pale, light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating on a low speed.
- In a measuring jug whisk together the whole milk and vanilla extract and set aside for a moment.
- Whisk together the flours, baking powder and sea salt in a large mixing bowl until completely combined.
- Add the flour mix alternately with the milk, adding the flour in three additions and the milk in two (begin and end with the flour), scrape down the sides of the bowls as needed and mix until just combined.
- Divide between the cake tins and bake for 40 minutes or until an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Heat egg whites and caster sugar in a bain marie (or bowl of stand mixer sitting on large saucepan filled with simmering water), whisking constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the temperature has reached 160°F (71°C).
- Remove the egg whites and sugar from the heat and pour into a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on a medium setting for about 10-15 minutes until a glossy meringue has formed into stiff peaks and the temperature has lowered to room temperature 68°F to 75°F (20°C to 24°C).
- Change the whisk attachment to a paddle beater and beat on low adding the room temperature butter one cube at a time. Once you have added all of the butter the mixture will look thick and curdled but keep whipping the buttercream until it comes together to a smooth and creamy consistency.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix in until thoroughly combined. Your buttercream is now ready for decorating and piping.
Assembly
- Place one of the cake sponges on a cake board or cake stand.
- Fill a piping bag with the buttercream. Snip the very top off the piping bag and pipe concentric circles around the top of the cake sponge. Use a small spatula to smooth so it creates an even layer of buttercream.
- Place the second cake sponge on top of the buttercream then add another layer of buttercream.
- Pipe the rest of the buttercream around the sides of the cake and use a spatula to smooth.
- Decorate with piped buttercream if you wish.
Video
Notes
- Use the best quality ingredients you can and always use vanilla extract (never essence).
- Use room temperature butter and eggs.
- Beat the butter and sugar for about 6 minutes, scraping down the sides a couple of times. This is how your cake will be beautifully fluffy.
- Break eggs into a separate bowl before adding.
- Add the flour mix alternately with the milk to ensure it is all evenly mixed.
- Check the cake is baked by inserting a clean cocktail stick or skewer. It should come out clean with no wet batter.
- Leave the sponges for 5 minutes to rest in their tins
- Always leave to cool completely before covering with buttercream.
- Use a sugar thermometer so you know exactly when to move onto the next step of the process.
- The butter should be at room temperature - just slightly soft.
- If you are doing everything right then when you have almost added all the butter the mixture will look curdled. Do not fret – this is supposed to happen and just means you are nearly done. Just continue to add all the butter. Once the butter is totally incorporated the buttercream will miraculously become a smooth velvety consistency.
- If when you add the butter the buttercream turns to soup then your butter was too warm. Place the whole mixing bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes then try mixing it again.
- If the mixture seems greasy and the butter won’t fully mix in with the egg whites then the butter was too cold. Put the mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, when the butter melts at the edges, remove and beat it up again.
Freezing and Storing
- This cake is suitable for freezing either before or after you have covered in buttercream for up to 3 months.
- Keep the cake in the fridge if you are not serving it straightaway. Remove from the fridge about an hour before serving.
Taylor Martin says
Hi! If I wanted to make this a wedding cake with almond buttercream frosting, how much almond extract would you add to the cake and the frosting? Would you adjust the vanilla at all? Thank you so much!
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Taylor, it does depend on taste - a little almond extract goes a long way. I would start off with 1/2 teaspoon in the cake batter and you can taste the batter before it goes into the oven to see if you want to add another 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon. If it's for a wedding cake I always recommend testing baking the cake before you make the final version. I would start off with 1/4 teaspoon in the frosting and again add a little more to taste if you think you would like more. It's totally up to you whether you omit the vanilla or not. Maybe taste without the vanilla and if you feel it needs more depth then again, add 1/2 teaspoon at a time. I'd love to know how it goes.
Tricia says
Let me just say, I am a retired cake dec, and was diagnosed gluten sensitive over 12 years ago. So I have much experience with GF cakes. I was disappointed with this cake results. It was not as light and fluffy as stated.I followed the recipe precisely. Even making my own “ oat flour” and putting my sugar through my food processor. I may try it again, but I honestly cain’t say I would recommend it. Still searching for the” Best gluten free Vanilla Cake!
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Tricia, thank you for sharing your experience and insights. It sounds like you've got a lot of expertise with gluten-free baking, so I'm sorry to hear that this cake didn't meet your expectations. If you would like to troubleshoot it together I would love that if there was something specific you didn't enjoy about it.
Danielle says
I love this recipe and so does everyone I share it with. I have made the cake 3 times and non-GF friends love it just as much as the GF friends. I have not made the frosting as we prefer a traditional buttercream.
Georgina Hartley says
This cake is so versatile - and yes tastes great with so many different frostings. Thank you for leaving your feedback!
Dianne Hamblin says
Hi. This recipe looks fantastic. My daughter cannot have the oat flour as it has a certain amount of gluten. WHAT CAN I USE TO REPLACE IT?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Dianne, this recipe is made with gluten-free oat flour which you can buy in the UK. However, I totally understand if that's not available where you are - or if your daughter reacts to oat flour as that is very common since the avenin protein can be problematic for many people too. Not to worry you can substitute the oat flour directly with sorghum flour which works just as well.
Jamaica says
Hello Georgina! I am finally posting a review and will try to catch up as I bake my way through your recipes. I made this for my friend’s wedding a few weeks ago and it was INCREDIBLE. The texture and flavor were just everything I hoped for. The only variant in the cake was that I added half a teaspoon of fiori di Sicilia (homemade- 1 part vanilla, 1part orange, 1 part lemon extracts), which added a very subtle depth. I also opted for a different frosting, since I don’t actually like a Swiss meringue buttercream (but I’m looking forward to trying your maple one, since I live in Vermont where maple is abundant and I can make my own!). I made a cream cheese whipped buttercream that had a lot of whipped cream and not a lot of sugar, to compliment the mashed strawberry layer and fresh strawberries I layered in. Thank you for this stunning recipe!
Georgina Hartley says
You are so welcome - what an honour that it was used for a wedding cake. And those variations you made with the flavouring and the frosting sound delicious!
Kat Finn says
Hi Georgina, now that we're on a first name basis...sorry to say I'm in north America where caster sugar is unknown. I think it's very finely ground sugar, but not as finely ground as icing sugar. Would you please let me know, as I cannot get it and have to make it from plain old regular granulated sugar. Thank you! Kat
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Kat, don't worry you can use regular granulated sugar instead! I hope you like the cake.
Kat Finn says
Hi again Georgina, that's great. And let me say I am so impressed at the amount of research you must have done on this topic. I think that most people developing gluten-free recipes are taking constant stabs in the dark. I have only started to look at your recipes and info, but it looks to be deep and unique. Thank you so much! Kat
Margaret Krug says
I was wondering if you could use the whites only in this cake? When I see the whole egg in a cake I don't think it is white but more of a yellow cake. I am looking for a white cake recipe. Also can cupcakes be made with this recipe?
Georgina Hartley says
I have never tried just using the egg whites. It wouldn't recommend it if you want to achieve the same results as the original recipe. Yes, cupcakes can be made with the recipe.
Yves Lapierre says
Tried subbed with sorghum flour, result was grainy and crumby, meringue lacked sweetness.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Yves, I'd love to get to the bottom of why your cake was grainy and crumbly as this is very far from the results that the recipe should produce. Can I check whether you substituted just the oat flour for the sorghum flour or all the flours?. Did you use sweet rice flour (not regular rice flour) and tapioca starch? Using a majority of starchy flours in the blend should negate any crumbliness.
Yves Lapierre says
Only subbed the oat flour as recipe suggests; this is not my first forray into gluten free baking (I can make out sweet/glutinous/brown/white etc rice flours), but thanks for the tip about starch content.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Yves, no problem - I'm a little concerned your results were so far off my experiences with this recipe (and I've been making it for years) so I have to start my troubleshooting from basic issues. If there is anything you can think of that may differentiate from the original recipe so I can help more then I would appreciate it as I don't like to think you wasted your time and ingredients. This is the difficulty of publishing my recipes online as I can't be there when people are using them so it's hard to understand where discrepancies lie. Thank you, as always, for your feedback.
Phee says
Great recipe thanks for sharing. So pleased to have found this recipe. Love the texture. The only thing I would say is there is way too much sugar and I only used 300g instead of the 400 & the cake still came out well. Some recipes use an equal amount of butter:sugar, so I was wondering if sugar is playing an important function in this recipe? I'm tempted to try with 200 g next time. Otherwise, it was perfect
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Phee, thank you for your feedback - I'm happy you liked the cake and it's totally cool that you reduced the sugar - this recipe can take a less sweet flavour and it won't affect the structure.
Christin says
Wow! I'm so excited to try your recipes, as I do not like using gums in my gluten free baking. Im curious; could I substitute potato starch for the tapioca starch? Would it affect the texture much?
Georgina Hartley says
Yes you can make this swap, it will be a little different but not noticeably.
Christin says
Thank you!
Su says
Hi Georgina, may i substitute the oat flour to almond flour & milk to kefir / yogurt ?
Georgina Hartley says
Those changes will affect the outcome of the bake and make it more dense. That's not to say you can't make the swaps but the finished cake won't be the same.
Tamsin Handley says
Hi I’m trying to source the 3 different flours used in this cake. Please could you advise if there is any difference between tapioca flour/starch and cassava flour.
Also is there a gluten free certified substitute for oat flour?
Thank you Tamsin
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Tamsin, tapioca flour and tapioca starch are the same. Cassava flour is different. Have a look at this guide to tapioca flour for more information. In the UK you can get gluten-free certified oat flour. However, if this isn't available where you are then you can substitute the oat flour for sorghum flour.
Alexis says
Hi, can I replace the butter with dairy free butter and the milk with almond milk?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Alexis, I have never baked with dairy free butter so I don't know about this substitution. The almond milk would be fine though.
Carlota says
This cake recipe is SUPERB! I’ve been so frustrated looking for a good GF recipe without comercial mixes (difficult to find in other countries) or fussy ingredients and this recipe has been a saviour! So so happy with the result. Will keep it as a treasure.
Georgina Hartley says
That's brilliant to hear Carlota - thank you so much for your feedback.
Rachel M. says
Excellent gluten free cake. We made this yesterday and it was delicious. I don’t think anyone would be able to tell it is gluten free. It has a fabulous texture and didn’t last long. We devoured it. I love that it doesn’t have gums in the flour mix!
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Rachel - that's great to hear, I'm so happy you like the recipe!
Mariana says
Georgina this looks very simple and Im so excited to make it for my son’s birthday in 2 days. One question before I begin: if i use regular rice flour, is it necessary to add more sugar? I dont particularly care for very sweet cake, so, Im guessing it should still be sweet enough. What’s your take?
Also, if i bake the cake the night before i build it, do you think it will hold up well?
Thank you!
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Mariana, please don't substitute the sweet rice flour with regular white rice flour. Sweet rice flour is actually a starchy flour sometimes called glutinous rice flour (no sugar or gluten involved!!) and so will help to bind your cake together and add fluffiness and bounce. You can find it in Asian supermarkets or order online from Amazon. For more info on sweet rice flour see here. If you sub in white rice flour your cake will not have the right texture or structure. Don't worry - your cake will not be overly sweet!!!
You can definitely bake the cake the night before, store in a cake storage box overnight (not in the fridge or it will dry out) and fill and decorate the next day. In fact this is how I make all my cakes.
Let me know how you get on and if you have any further questions on sweet rice flour. It's an amazing flour!!
Evie says
This looks wonderful! I can’t have butter, and I wonder if this would work well with solid coconut oil instead of butter or is there another substitute that would work better that you could recommend? Thank you.
Georgina says
Hi Evie, I wouldn't recommend substituting the butter with coconut oil as the composition of the two ingredients including melting point is different so the cake would not work as well. Is it dairy that's a problem? I am working on a vanilla gluten-free vegan cake but it's not quite ready for posting yet. Keep an eye on the blog, hopefully I can post it in the next couple of months. Thanks!
Evie says
Hi Georgina! Yes, dairy is the problem. But I will patiently wait for the vanilla gluten free vegan cake that will be posted on your blog soon! I made the chocolate cake that’s also on your blog, and it’s the best chocolate cake I’ve had. How do you recommend storage for the cake?
Georgina says
Hi Evie, that's lovely to hear about the chocolate cake, which one was it? If it's a chocolate cake covered with ganache then I will store it in a cake tin for a couple of days out of the fridge in a cool part of the house. Longer than that then the cake will have to be refrigerated, but keep covered in a cake tin if possible. Do bring up to room temperature before serving. Cakes covered in swiss meringue buttercream I will store in the fridge if it has not been eaten on the same day.
Evie says
Hi Georgina,
It was the chocolate raspberry cake- very chocolatey and moist. I used a vegan chocolate frosting that went very well with that cake as I can’t use butter.
Ali says
I would LOVE to try this, but I'm having difficulty translating the measurements into cups from grams! Could you please help me out? This recipe looks soo promising, but don't want to mess it up with wrong measurements!
Georgina says
I'm so sorry Ali but I have no idea how to bake in cups. I agree it can be a bit tricky when you're guessing but I have had success when googling the conversions, although cups to grams is a lot easier than grams to cups. Have you ever thought of buying a digital scale, they are just the best to get really accurate measurements when you're baking, especially when you're dealing with a few different flours.