Chocolate Sour Cream Cake – Gluten-Free

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:
• Ingredients in this recipe:
• Step by step instructions:
• Tips for success and FAQs:
• More delicious recipes for you to try:
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

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.

1. Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer or place them in a bowl and use a hand-held electric mixer.
2. Mix them all together until the batter is smooth.
3. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
4. 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.

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.