My Gluten-Free Chocolate Sour Cream Cake will be one of the easiest cakes that you ever make. The texture is rich, moist and luxurious, in no way revealing how easy it is to make. It is a delicious cake that is certain to become a household favourite. Enjoy it with tea or coffee or dress it up with whipped cream and berries for special occasions.
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Why we love this recipe:
This recipe is proof that a delicious cake can be made with no more effort than is required with a packet cake mix.
It is made with simple ingredients, many of which you may already have on hand, and all readily available in any supermarket.
You will have the satisfaction of knowing you made it yourself and being in control of the quality of all the ingredients. I prefer to make recipes from scratch, so I know exactly what I’m eating, thereby avoiding any unwanted additives.
It involves just one bowl so there is less washing up and that’s always a plus.
This Chocolate Sour Cream Cake is gluten-free which means that people with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance can also enjoy it.
Some gluten-free baked goods are best eaten on the day they are made as they tend to become dry fairly quickly. Not so with this one so you can confidently make it a day in advance if you wish.
Ingredients in this recipe:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
Caster/superfine sugar – as the name implies, this is sugar which is finer than regular granulated sugar but not as fine as icing/confectioners’ sugar. I use it in baking as it dissolves easily. You can use regular granulated sugar if you wish.
Gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour - I have used a commercial gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour which is made from a blend of naturally occurring gluten-free flours. However, you can substitute regular plain/all-purpose flour if you don’t need the cake to be gluten-free. Our gluten-free flour blends contain either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes.
Sea salt – a small amount of salt boosts the flavour in baked goods.
Dutch Process cocoa powder - I use unsweetened cocoa powder. It gives a lovely rich, chocolatey colour and deep flavour to the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake.
Baking soda – also known as bicarbonate of soda and not to be confused with baking powder. The baking soda in this cake neutralizes the acidity of the sour cream, improving the flavour of the cake and assisting with the leavening.
Vanilla extract/essence – known by different names in different countries, I like to use vanilla which has been naturally extracted not one which is synthetically flavoured.
Egg – I use a large egg, preferably free range.
Sour Cream – for the best flavour, I use full-fat sour cream. The inclusion of sour cream means that the cake will stay deliciously moist for several days – although it’s unlikely to last that long.
Step by step instructions:
To begin, preheat your oven to 180 Degrees C (355 F), and prepare your baking tin.
- Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer or place them in a bowl and use a hand-held electric mixer.
- Mix them all together until the batter is smooth.
- Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Place the tin on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the side of the cake tin, cool a further 10 minutes before carefully removing the cake to the rack to further cool. Dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar and serve as is or with whipped cream and berries.
Tips for success and FAQs:
As baking is a science, the best results are obtained by weighing ingredients. This is more accurate than volume measurements.
Always use good quality ingredients; you can taste the difference. For a deep, rich flavour, use a good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder.
Yes, you can. Put the cake on a serving plate and cover with cling wrap until ready to enjoy it. If you are going to top it with cream, do that just before serving.
More delicious recipes for you to try:
Here are some more of our favourite gluten-free cakes:
- Pear and Raspberry Cake
- Belgian Lemon Tea Cake
- Blueberry Cake
- Almond Cake
- Carrot Cake
- Four Ingredient Fruit Cake
- Banana Cake
- Or, if you're after some more delicious chocolate recipes, you can find a fabulous collection of them here.
I’m all in favour of quick, easy recipes; after all, most of us are time-poor these days. However, I don’t want any saving of time to produce a disappointing result. I guess you could say I want to have my cake and eat it too!
This easy chocolate cake will not disappoint; you will love the rich flavour and moist texture. Serve it simply, with just a dusting of icing sugar but if you wish to dress it up a little to serve as dessert, serve with whipped cream, mascarpone or crème fraiche and some berries.
Please let me know if you try it!
Alex xx
This post was originally published in August 2018. It has been updated with new photos and more information. The recipe remains the same.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (220 g) caster/superfine sugar
- 1 cup (150 g) gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour See Note 1
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon Dutch Process cocoa powder See Notes 2 and 3
- 1 teaspoon baking soda/bicarbonate of soda See Note 4
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract See Note 5
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup (240 g) full fat sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 Degrees C (355 F).
- Line the base of a 9” (23cm) round spring-form tin with baking paper, and grease the sides.
- Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer or place them in a bowl and use a hand held electric mixer. Mix them all together until the batter is smooth, but do not over beat.
- Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. A few crumbs are okay but there should not be any batter.
- Place the tin on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the side of the cake tin. Cool a further 10 minutes before carefully removing the cake to the rack to further cool.
- Dust with icing sugar/confectioners’ sugar and serve as is or with whipped cream, mascarpone or crème fraiche and berries.
Video
Notes
- Our gluten-free flour blends contain either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes. If your flour blend already contains either of these gums, there is no need to add more. If you don’t need to make these gluten-free, you can use regular plain/all-purpose flour.
- Use a good quality, unsweetened cocoa. I use Plaistowe Dutch Processed Cocoa, available in supermarkets. It gives the cake a lovely, rich, chocolatey colour.
- The Australian tablespoon is 20 ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries, the tablespoon is 15 ml or 3 teaspoons. You may have to adjust your measurements accordingly.
- This is not the same as baking powder. Be sure to use baking soda.
- For the best flavour, use vanilla extract/essence which has been naturally extracted from the vanilla bean and not one which is synthetically flavoured.
- Please note, the nutritional information is based on the cake being sliced into 8 pieces. It does not include what the cake is served with. The nutritional information is an estimate only.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
AK says
This cake gets 5 stars for simplicity and moistness and lovely taste.
I do feel it would be nicer if it was a tad choclatier 🥰.
I baked it in a well greased bundt tin.
Next time I will do the same but ice it with a chocolate ganache 😍
Alexandra Cook says
Hello AK,
Thank you for your comment and feedback 🙂
I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe! I sometimes ice it too - a chocolate ganache sounds perfect - yum! 🙂
Alex xo
Rebecca says
Absolutely love this cake. It’s so yummy! Not only does it taste good but you can’t get any simpler than throwing all the ingredients into a bowl and mixing it. I usually ice it because chocolate frosting is delicious. I use your chocolate frosting from one of your other recipes.
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback on this cake - chocolate frosting is such a delicious addition to it. I will have to give that a try next time too! 🙂
Alex xo
Anne W says
Unfortunately it remained wobbly in the centre even cooking it for longer and has sunk in the middle on cooling. I followed the recipe exactly. What have I done wrong?
Alexandra Cook says
Hello Anne,
Thanks for your question.
It sounds as though the cake was definitely underbaked. If a cake sinks once cooled, it's almost always that it was underbaked, or that the oven door was opened too much during the cooking, causing the oven to lose too much heat.
If it was taking longer to cook, it may be that your oven doesn't run as hot as mine. Do you happen to have a separate oven thermometer so you can check that your oven is reaching the correct temperature?
Also, did you weigh your ingredients for the best accuracy?
Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Kind regards, Alex
Jennieanne says
Brilliant recipe it’s really a lovely texture and so tasty, could easily make two and sandwich together with favourite filling for a special occasion. I might try making it replacing cocoa powder with custard powder (UK).
Alexandra Cook says
Hello Jennieanne,
Thank you so much for your comment and review.
I am so pleased you enjoyed the recipe. Please let me know if you end up trying it with custard powder - I'd be very curious how you get on! 🙂
Alex xo
JULIA WILLIAMSON says
excellent best ever made and tasted
Alexandra Cook says
Thank you so much, Julia!
Alex xo
Susan Roemer-Schmitt says
I’m making your cake right now. Is this OK to freeze?
Thank you,
Susan
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Susan,
That should be fine - just allow it to cool completely before wrapping slices individually in clingfilm. I would then place the wrapped slices in a ziplock bag. This will help avoid freezer burn and stop the cake from drying out.
Thanks! Alex xo
Susan Roemer-Schmitt says
Thank you. Unfortunately, I received your reply after I put it in the freezer. However, it worked out great. I froze the whole cake with saran wrap and then foil. It’s absolutely delicious. I want to make it again this weekend.
When I made it last week. I forgot that there was parchment paper on the bottom of it so it was a little difficult to cut but not bad. This time I’d like to take that off but I’m afraid if I take it off the whole cake is going to fall apart even after it cools. Any suggestions? This cake is DELICIOUS.
Alexandra Cook says
Hi again Susan 🙂
Thank you for getting back to me, and I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
I think we might have a bit of a time difference, hence me taking a few hours to reply. I am in Australia 🙂
Yes, for the parchment paper, once the cake has cooled on a cooling rack completely, you can place a plate on the cake, and then support that with your left hand, while you lift up the cooling rack with your right. Flip the cake top side down onto the plate, and then you can peel the paper off before flipping it back the right side up.
Enjoy! Alex xo
Kevis says
Hi from California,
I tried your lovely cake on the weekend - everything turned out perfectly! It's delicious, perfect for my next gathering, and so easy.
Kevis
Alexandra Cook says
Hello Kevis!
Thank you so much - this is great to hear 🙂
Alex xo
Christine says
This chocolate cake came out perfect and moist. I was a little worried because I’m at 7000 feet, but didn’t want to mess around with the recipe before even trying it. I will make this again!
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Christine,
Thank you for your lovely feedback on the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. I am delighted that you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know. 🙂
Trish says
Hi
Could I replace the sour cream with Greek yoghurt? Full fat probably better?
Alexandra Cook says
Hello Trish,
That's not something I have tried before so I couldn't say for sure.
If you do give it a try, let us know how you get on. Thanks! Alex
Lilliane says
So simple to make and absolutely delicious! I did forget the salt, but we all still loved it. I baked it in my air fryer.
Alexandra says
Hi Lilliane, I am delighted that you enjoyed the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake which you cooked in your air fryer, and appreciate that you took the time to let me know. 🙂
Maureen Hamilton says
I made this delicious cake today. Thank you very much to the creator Alexander
Alexandra says
Hi Maureen, I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. 🙂
Syeda says
I swapped out the white sugar for honey and coconut sugar, and reduced the liquid slightly. I used regular whipping cream instead of sour cream because that is all I had. Even with these tweaks, it was absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing such a lovely recipe!
Alexandra says
Hi Syeda, thank you for your comments on the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. I am delighted that the substitutions worked and that you enjoyed the cake. 🙂
Fleur Woodhouse says
Hi Alex,
I made this cake for an afternoon tea. Everyone enjoyed it. Then I gave the rest to my family and they also loved it as it was very easy to make and I had most ingredients in my pantry.
Alexandra Cook says
Lovely to hear, Fleur! Thanks so much xo
Patricia says
How could I make the sour cream chocolate egg free?
Alexandra says
Hi Patricia, we haven't tried making this cake egg-free. It may work with a chia or flax egg substitute, but having not tried that, I couldn't guarantee success. If you do try it, I'd be interested to know how it goes. We do have a Vegan Chocolate Cake (linked) which is delicious and may be suitable. Best wishes, Alex 🙂
Cassie says
Loved this cake. Made it for my Nan's birthday this year and everyone enjoyed. Was great the next day too. Can't report on any other days because it was absolutely demolished by then. Thanks for the yummy and very easy recipe!
Alexandra says
Hi Cassie, thank you for your fantastic feedback on the Chocolate Sour Cream cake. I am delighted that you all enjoyed it and it was a success for your Nan's birthday. 🙂
Bonnie Dietrich says
Is it okay to use chocolate chips if you do not have cocoa powder
Alexandra says
Hi Bonnie, unfortunately, swapping the cocoa powder with chocolate chips won't be successful. The cocoa plays an important role in the success of the cake as it contributes to the rising of the cake and the texture. I hope this helps. 🙂
Kathryn says
Hi Alexandra,
is this cake ok to be sliced up & frozen ?
I have a Coeliac friend & like to have something on hand when she pops over ...
thank you
Kathryn
Alexandra says
Hello Kathryn,
That should be fine - just ensure each slice is wrapped well so it doesn't suffer freezer burn or dry out.
Kind regards, Alex