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.
Jump to:
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
Recipe Measurements:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results.
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.
Christine
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
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
Hi
Could I replace the sour cream with Greek yoghurt? Full fat probably better?
Alexandra Cook
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
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
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
I made this delicious cake today. Thank you very much to the creator Alexander
Alexandra
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
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
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
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
Lovely to hear, Fleur! Thanks so much xo