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5 from 1 vote

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cherry Cake

This heavenly Gluten-Free Chocolate Cherry Cake is easy to whip up and elevates an everyday chocolate loaf cake into summer bliss by the addition of fresh luscious cherries. Drizzled with a thick chocolate glaze this cake keeps everyone coming back for more.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Cake
Cuisine: British
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 491kcal
Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

  • 100 g dark chocolate
  • 200 g greek yoghurt
  • 125 ml olive oil mild and light
  • 250 g light brown sugar
  • 3 eggs medium
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 180 g almond flour (ground almonds in UK)
  • 125 g teff flour
  • 60 g tapioca starch split into 40g + 20g
  • 40 g cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 250 g cherries pitted and halved

Chocolate Glaze

  • 100 g dark chocolate
  • 50 g unsalted butter cubed, at room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
Metric - US Customary

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4.
  • Line and grease a large 2lb loaf tin (27x15x8cm).
  • Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or a bain marie and set aside to cool slightly.
  • Beat together the yoghurt, olive oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
  • Stir in the melted chocolate.
  • Whisk together the ground almonds, teff flour, 40g of tapioca starch, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt in another large mixing bowl.
  • Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  • Pour the remaining 20g tapioca flour into the used dry ingredient mixing bowl and stir in the halved cherries until thoroughly coated.
  • Stir the cherries into the cake mixture until evenly dispersed.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin.
  • Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.
  • Remove from the oven and carefully insert the Chocolate Cherry Cake onto a rack to cool thoroughly before drizzling with the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

  • Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or a bain marie.
  • Stir in the butter and salt until melted and glossy.
  • Drizzle the glaze over the Cherry Chocolate Cake.
  • Allow for 30 minutes for the glaze to set before serving.

Video

Notes

Chocolate. This recipe was tested with 70% dark chocolate for the cake and 54% dark chocolate for the glaze. Using the sweeter percentage of dark chocolate in the glaze means it isn't such an intense flavour. You can use 70% or indeed 54% for both the cake or the glaze.
Eggs. 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.
Cake tin. This cake was tested in a large 2lb loaf tin which is sized at (27x15x8cm). You could also bake this cake in a 20 x 10cm (8 inch x 4 inch) round cake tin.
Flours
Teff flour. You can substitute for sorghum flour or buckwheat flour. The switches will affect the resulting flavour of the cake.
Almond flour (ground almonds). This recipe calls for almond flour which is blanched and ground whole almonds (without their skin). In the UK this kind of flour is sold in most major UK supermarkets labelled 'ground almonds' in the baking aisle. To make sure you know which almond flour you are choosing then check against this article The Difference Between The Almond Flours.
Tapioca flour. You can substitute for arrowroot powder.
Tips and Troubleshooting
  • Room temperature. All ingredients should be at room temperature in order for them to mix together properly.
  • Sift the brown sugar. As otherwise it has a tendency to clump
  • Sift the cocoa powder. To avoid clumping.
  • Coat the cherries in the tapioca flour and leave to rest for 5 minutes before adding to the cake mixture so the tapioca flour has a chance to absorb the cherry juices.
  • Check the cake at 50-55 minutes. Unless your oven is properly calibrated some ovens run a bit hotter than others. Just in case, do check your cake 5-10 minutes before the allowed baking time. An inserted skewer should be removed without any wet crumb.
  • Rest. Allow the cake to rest for 5 minutes in the tin before removing to give it a chance to relax away from the sides of the tin.
  • Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting or it will crumble.
Dairy-free version
  • The cake. You can substitute the greek yoghurt for a coconut yoghurt.
  • The glaze. Switch out the butter for a plant-based butter.
How to store
Store for up to 3 days in a cool dark place in an airtight cake tin.
How to freeze
Wait for the cake to cool completely then freeze without the chocolate drizzle. Double wrap in cling film and aluminium foil then store in the freezer for up to 2 months. To defrost, remove the cake from the freezer and allow to defrost thoroughly at room temperature before unwrapping.
US customary measurements
These US measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups 
Nutrition information
Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.
The nutrition serving is for 1 slice of cake, assuming the cake is cut into 12 servings. 

Nutrition

Calories: 491kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 272mg | Potassium: 295mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 193IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 4mg