Gluten-Free Chocolate Raspberry Cake
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This Gluten-Free Chocolate Raspberry Cake features three gorgeous buttermilk chocolate sponge cake layers, sandwiched together with a raspberry crush filling and a light and creamy fresh raspberry swiss meringue buttercream.
The perfect flavour combination of chocolate and raspberries are celebrated in this indulgent celebratory Chocolate Raspberry Cake. The gluten-free chocolate sponge recipe is one of my favourites that I return to time and time again for all kinds of chocolate cakes. It’s moist and tangy from the buttermilk but incredibly chocolately thanks to cocoa powder and melted 70% dark chocolate. Easy to come together and quick to bake.
We're pairing our chocolate cake with raspberries, raspberries and more fresh raspberries. We amp up a store bought (or homemade - if you have it) raspberry jam with crushed fresh raspberries to fill our cake. It's simple and squidges out of the cake just enough to be tantalising but not so that it turns into a mess to eat.
It's the swiss meringue buttercream that you'll be tending to the most when making this cake. If you've made it before then you'll know that it seems intimidating but actually is easy once you work your way through the steps. It's my preferred buttercream for all my layer cakes and every time I serve a cake I always receive comments that my buttercream is the best ever tasted. It's not down to my unique talent - it's just that I usually use swiss meringue buttercream and it is the creamiest, butteriest finish to a cake which isn't too sweet.
But we do take our swiss meringue buttercream into flavour sensation overload as we add reduced fresh raspberry puree for a blush pink colour and bright fruity flavour. It's the perfect accompaniment to this darkly intense chocolate sponge.
I have lots of photos to share and recipe video to help you bake this cake perfectly first time. It's easy, just a few steps, but don't worry, I'll hold your hand throughout.
Why You’ll Love This Gluten-Free Chocolate Raspberry Cake
- Deep indulgent chocolatey flavour thanks to a thick molten chocolate and cocoa powder cake batter.
- Easy chocolate sponge cake to pull together and quick to bake.
- Bright fresh raspberries used in the easy crushed jam filling, in the swiss meringue buttercream and covering the cake copiously.
- The creamiest butteriest frosting which is just sweet enough and joyously fruity.
- No xanthan gum needed.
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 Chocolate Raspberry Cake.
Ingredients needed
Chocolate Sponge Cake
Dark chocolate. This recipe uses 70% dark chocolate. However, you can use 50-60% chocolate for a softer chocolate flavour.
Gluten-Free Flour – FTL Blend. This recipe uses my Homemade Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour which works really well here as the flour ratio has been carefully tested to ensure the mix between wholegrain flours and starchy flours is balanced. This also means we don’t need to use xanthan gum as the blend is strong enough and produces a well structured and textured bake which can hold together without needing any extra binders.
This flour blend is a mix of 4 different flours: sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour), sorghum flour, oat flour, tapioca flour (tapioca starch).
Cocoa powder. Choose a high quality organic brand if possible. This recipe was tested with Dutch-processed cocoa powder (which is the more common type in the UK – but do check the labels) which means it has been treated with an alkalizing agent to neutralize its acidity, resulting in a smoother, milder flavour and allowing for a better rise in tandem with the baking powder.
Coffee powder. Brings out the chocolate flavour rather than giving a coffee flavour. It can be omitted.
Baking powder. A leavening agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.
Bicarbonate of soda. Also known as baking soda, this is a white crystalline powder that is commonly used as a leavening agent in baking.
Buttermilk. It gives a lovely tangy flavour and a tender crumb. If you can't get hold of buttermilk then you can use whole milk + 1 ½ tablespoons vinegar stirred together and allowed to sit for 5 minutes. (apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar is fine)
Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar. You can substitute with granulated sugar.
Brown sugar. Gives lovely gentle molasses flavour and moisture.
Olive oil. Use a flavourless mild and light olive oil.
Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell).
Vanilla extract. You don’t need to use the best quality vanilla extract here as there's already a lot going on with the flavours and it won't make a difference. A supermarket brand is just fine.
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.
Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Egg whites. This recipe uses 9 egg whites. You can use fresh egg whites by all means and then just keep 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.
Raspberries. You can use frozen or fresh. If you are using frozen then make sure to source them from a somewhere like British Frozen Fruits or use raspberries you have frozen yourself. Supermarket fresh raspberries are mostly tasteless and very watery.
Raspberry Crush Filling
Raspberries. As above. Fresh or frozen are fine.
Raspberry jam. You can use very good quality store bought like Bonne Maman or homemade raspberry jam.
Lemon juice. This just brightens up the raspberry filling, just a small squeeze is all that is needed.
How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Raspberry Cake
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Melt the chocolate in a bain marie or a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Wet ingredients. Mix the eggs with the sugars.
Whisk in the buttermilk, olive oil and vanilla.
Dry ingredients. Whisk the flours together with cocoa powder, espresso powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Beat together until smooth.
Chocolate. Finally add the melted chocolate into the rest of the cake batter and mix until completely incorporated.
Bake. Pour the batter into three cake tins and bake for 20 minutes.
Chocolate Cake Tips
Use room temperature ingredients, even the eggs.
Make sure the melted chocolate has cooled for at least 10 minutes before adding to the cake batter, which should be fine if you do that job first.
Break eggs into a separate bowl before adding.
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.
How To Make Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
For the raspberry puree, blend the raspberries together in a mixing bowl. Press through a sieve.
Heat the puree and reduce by 50-60% so it becomes thick and jammy. Allow to cool.
To make the buttercream, heat egg whites and caster sugar in a double boiler, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved the temperature has reached 71°C (160°F).
Remove from the heat and pour into a stand mixer. Whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks and the temperature has lowered to about 32°C (room temperature).
Then on a low speed beat the butter in one cube at a time until it's totally incorporated. The mixture can look curdled after all the butter has been added but it will come together and stabilise after a few minutes. This part requires trust and patience. Add the vanilla extract and the salt.
Add the raspberry puree, to the buttercream. Mix until thoroughly combined and the buttercream re-stabilises.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Tips & Troubleshooting
SMB is incredibly forgiving and if you are worried that it has broken at any stage it can always be rescued (about 95% of the time).
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 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 to chill 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.
Add the raspberry puree in two halves, whipping one half into the buttercream then the next half which helps the buttercream to keep its stability.
If you would like the buttercream to be more raspberry pink than blush pink then add a touch of food colouring. See below for an example of how I have styled this cake in the past, without raspberries on the top and instead I coloured the buttercream and piped roses all over the top. It was perfect for Valentines Day.
Alternative Decoration: Piped Buttercream Roses
The piped roses on the top of the cake are a cinch. All you need is a Open Star Piping Tip 1M, a piping bag and five extra minutes.
Hold your piping bag straight up above the cake without angling it at all then squeeze the buttercream out in a circular motion starting from the centre. You want the swirls to be slightly on top of each other so they are nice and tight. However, they don’t have to be neat or perfect buttercream roses by any stretch as once they are all piped onto the cake then the effect is lovely no matter what your piping skills are like.
If one rose goes wrong, just pipe another on top to cover it or use a palette knife to carefully lift it off the top of the cake and start again. Actually this is a much quicker cake to decorate than covering the whole affair in a smooth buttercream icing as you’re not faffing for ages getting the corners perfect.
How To Make Raspberry Crush Filling
In a medium bowl, crush the raspberries into the jam so the raspberries still have a chunky body. Squeeze in the lemon juice and mix to combine.
How To Assemble The Cake
Place the first chocolate sponge layer on a cake board or plate. Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake layer and spread a thin layer of buttercream in the centre of the cake. Spoon the raspberry filling into the centre of the cake and spread evenly up to the buttercream dam.
Place the second chocolate sponge layer directly on top and repeat the process with the buttercream and raspberry filling.
Place the final chocolate sponge layer on top. Apply a thin buttercream layer all over the cake which is called a crumb coat then chill the cake for 30 minutes to set.
Finish the cake with a thick layer of buttercream around and on top of the cake then arrange fresh raspberries over the top.
Making Ahead
You can make the sponge cakes up to 2 days before assembling with the raspberry filling and buttercream. Store the sponge cakes in an airtight container and keep in a cool dark place. Or freeze using the instructions below.
The whole cake can be made, including completely decorated, up to 2 days before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Allow to come up to room temperature for about 1-2 hours before serving.
Freezing
If you do want to make the cake ahead and freeze then I recommend just freezing the sponge cakes and filling and covering with the raspberry filling and buttercream on the day of serving.
Sponge Cakes. You can freeze the sponge cakes successfully for up to 3 months before decorating. First wrap the cooled sponges tightly in cling film (plastic wrap) and then double wrap in aluminium foil. Don’t forget to label including the date. To enjoy, thaw at room temperature overnight, unwrap once thawed and fill and decorate with the raspberry filling and buttercream icing.
Individual Slices. You can also freeze leftover slices of the whole cake. It needs a little more care when freezing:
- Place the leftover cake slices on a tray and flash freeze for 6-8 hours, before wrapping each slice up individually in cling film (plastic wrap) and placing in an airtight container.
- To thaw, remove the cake slices individually, unwrap whilst frozen so not to disturb the glaze. They should take about 1-2 hour to fully thaw.
FAQs
You need a thick buttercream dam around the edges of the cake as otherwise the raspberry filling will leak out of the sides of the cake which will make the buttercream a bit sloppy and won't look great.
If your raspberry filling is a bit too runny then use more jam and less fresh raspberries.
A gluten-free cake can be too crumbly if the wrong flour is used. You need a flour blend with a good balance of wholegrain and starchy or protein packed flours. My gluten-free flour blend which I recommend using for this cake is perfectly balanced so will avoid a crumbly and dry cake.
You can use frozen raspberries to make the raspberry puree for the swiss meringue buttercream. You can also use thawed frozen raspberries to make the raspberry crush filling. If it's too runny then just use slightly fewer frozen raspberries and more jam. I only recommend using fresh raspberries to decorate the top of the cake.
More Gluten-Free Chocolate Cakes You'll Love
This Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake is a chocolate lover’s dream with espresso spiked chocolate sponge layers sandwiched together with silky salted caramel swiss meringue buttercream and drizzled with thick luscious homemade salted caramel.
This incredible Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake is rich with chocolate and will become your new go-to special occasion cake. It boasts moist and tender cake layers filled with a luxuriously silky chocolate buttercream frosting for the ultimate indulgence.
Christmas Chocolate Cake with Cranberries and Orange has two layers of moist chocolate orange sponge sandwiched with cranberry sauce and generously frosted with creamy chocolate orange buttercream, sugared fresh cranberries and candied orange slices.
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Gluten-Free Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
- 125 g dark chocolate
- 240 g homemade gluten-free flour blend - FTL Blend
- 90 g cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 400 g buttermilk
- 160 g caster sugar
- 160 g soft light brown sugar
- 170 g olive oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Raspberry Crush Filling
- 200 g raspberries
- 175 g very good raspberry jam
- Squeeze of lemon juice
Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 200 g raspberries
- 270 g egg whites - around 9
- 450 g caster sugar
- 540 g unsalted butter - at room temperature, cubed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g raspberries for decoration
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted / gas mark 4 / 350°F.
- Line and grease 3 x 20cm (8 inch) round cake tins.
- Melt the chocolate in a bain marie or a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sifted cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until well mixed.
- In a separate bowl mix together the eggs with the sugars.
- Pour in the buttermilk, olive oil, and vanilla then mix until the liquid ingredients are homogenous.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk until combined.
- Finally mix in the melted chocolate until completely incorporated.
- Divide the mixture between the three cake tins and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until an inserted skewer or cocktail stick comes out clean.
- Turn out the cakes and cool on wire racks before filling and covering with the raspberry crush filling and buttercream.
Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Make the raspberry puree by blending the raspberries together either using an immersion or stand blender.
- Press the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds. Pour the puree into a small saucepan and reduce the puree down by about 50-60% which will take about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to be left with about 60g of thick jammy raspberry puree. Then set aside to cool whilst you prepare the buttercream.
- Heat the egg whites and caster sugar in a bain marie, or a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the temperature has reached 71°C (160°F).
- Remove the egg whites and sugar from the heat and pour into a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk at low speed until meringue is glossy, forms peaks and has cooled to room temperature. About 68°F to 75°F (20°C to 24°C). This can take 10-15 minutes.
- Change the attachment to a paddle attachment. On a low speed add the butter slowly cube by cube. When you have added all the butter the mixture will look curdled. Do not fret – this is supposed to happen and you just need to carry on mixing the buttercream and waiting it out until it comes together and stabilises into a light creamy consistency. It can take about 10 minutes.
- Pour the raspberry puree into the buttercream along with the vanilla extract and salt and mix in. At first the buttercream will look curdled again but just mix until the buttercream returns to its smooth state. It’s ready for applying to your cake.
Raspberry Crush Filling
- In a medium bowl, crush the raspberries into the jam so the raspberries still have a chunky body.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice and mix to combine.
Assembly
- Place the first chocolate sponge layer on a cake board or plate.
- Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake layer which is to hold the raspberry crush filling in place. Spread a thin layer of buttercream in the centre of the cake
- Spoon the raspberry filling into the centre of the cake and spread evenly up to the buttercream dam.
- Place the second chocolate sponge layer directly on top and repeat the process with the buttercream and raspberry filling.
- Place the final chocolate sponge layer on top.
- Apply a thin buttercream layer all over the cake which is called a crumb coat so the chocolate crumbs don’t mix into the final buttercream layer. Chill the cake for 30 minutes to allow the crumb coat to set.
- Apply the final buttercream layer and smooth over the whole cake.
- Arrange the extra raspberries over the top of the cake to decorate.
- You can keep the cake in the fridge until needed but take out of the fridge at least 1 hour before serving so it’s served at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- Dark chocolate. You can use 70% (which is what I prefer for this recipe) or even 54-60%. I like to use Callebaut Dark Chocolate Chips.
- The eggs used in this recipe are medium size, 60g with shell and 50g without shell. If you can't get hold of medium eggs I suggest you weigh the amount.
- Gluten-Free Flour – FTL Blend: This recipe uses my Gluten-Free Homemade Flour Blend. and I don’t recommend substituting. It is a balanced mix of wholegrain and starchy flours, eliminating the need for xanthan gum. The blend includes sweet rice flour, sorghum flour, oat flour, and tapioca flour, providing structure and texture without extra binders. For substitution tips, check the original post for this flour mix.
- If you can't get hold of buttermilk then you can use whole milk + 1 ½ tablespoons vinegar stirred together and allowed to sit for 5 minutes. (lemon juice is also fine instead of the vinegar)
- Make sure the melted chocolate has cooled for at least 10 minutes before adding to the cake batter.
- Break eggs into a separate bowl before adding.
- Leave the sponges for 5 minutes to rest in their tins.
- 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.
- 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.
I made this back in October and posted a comment as it was truly the best cake ever. When I started to make it again yesterday I realized that I had used Glutinous rice flour the first time as opposed to the white rice flour in the recipe. So this time I used half glutinous and half white for the rice portion. Hard to compare as not side by side but think I preferred the all glutinous rice. Is there any problem caused by all glutinous??
No - the glutinous rice may make the cake slightly fudgier, but as you say - totally delicious but in a slightly different way.
This recipe was exceptional. I was looking for a gluten free chocolate cake and got the best chocolate cake I had ever made. The raspberry in the frosting was the perfect pairing. I had been reading about Swiss meringue butter cream and was keen to try it. Everything turned out well. Rich but not overly sweet. As my round pans were not 4 inches high I used an aluminum tube pan and cut the cake in half. The frosting was firm enough to maintain its height in the middle of the cake which my 7 minute boiled frosting cannot. Could do a thin slice which held its shape. I think a thicker slice (my usual) would be too much for one sitting. Thank you so much for the super directions. I did weigh the ingredients as recommended but also printed the other measurements just to give myself an idea of the quantity as I've yet to start thinking in grams.
I'm so happy you enjoyed the cake Penny - thank you for leaving your feedback!
Want to make this recipe…Chocolate Raspberry Cake, but need the measurements in US please. Thanks!
Done!
Sheer indulgence! Delicious sponge, a bit like a fudge cake (moist and dense) and great depth of flavour. I made a frosting with melted chocolate and mascarpone, with fresh raspberries in the middle and to decorate. It didn't last long!
This cake is amazing! even without the melted chocolate in the recipe, it is still great 🙂
I love it when people post recipes with actual gluten-free flour and not just write flour mix.
Thank you!
Thank you! I do think that gluten-free flour mixes have their place if used correctly but the problem is to rely on these mixes as the sole flour provider in recipes can be so variable due to all the different brands in the market. I love this cake too!!! I don't think the chocolate sponge can be bettered - gluten free or no.