Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Recipes

THE VERY BEST GLUTEN FREE VANILLA CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease 2 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with a round of parchment paper (trace the perimeter of the cake pan on the parchment, then cut out the circle). Set the pans aside.
• Into a medium-size bowl, sift (yes, you have to sift!) the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum, and cornstarch. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Set the dry ingredients aside.
• In a large measuring cup or medium-size bowl, place the egg whites and egg, buttermilk, and vanilla. Whisk to combine very well. Set the wet ingredients aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for at least 3 minutes, stopping at least once to scrape the entire mixture off the sides and bottom of the bowl, or until very light and fluffy.
• To the large bowl with the butter and sugar mixture, add the dry ingredients in 4 equal portions, alternating with the buttermilk and egg mixture in 3 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing to combine in between additions.
• The batter will sometimes look a bit curdled. That's normal and not a problem at all.
• Once all the ingredients have been added, beat for another minute on medium speed to ensure that everything is combined, then turn over the batter a few times by hand.
• The batter should be fluffy and relatively smooth, although a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix the batter in an attempt to make it perfectly smooth. It will be relatively thick.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared baking pans and smooth each into an even layer with an offset spatula. Bang the bottoms of the pans flat on the counter a few times to break any large air bubbles.
• Place the baking pans in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pans, and continue to bake until the cakes are lightly golden brown all over, have begun to pull away from the sides of the pan and do not jiggle in the center at all (about another 10 minutes). These tests for doneness are more useful than the toothpick test. Do not overbake.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack (and removing the parchment paper liners) to cool completely before frosting and serving.

1-BOWL VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and lightly grease two standard 8-inch round cake pans, one 9x13-inch, or three 6-inch round pans* (with vegan butter or coconut oil) and dust with gluten-free flour. Shake out excess and set aside.
• In a liquid measuring cup, measure out dairy-free milk and add vinegar. Let set a few minutes. Then add applesauce and vanilla. Whisk/stir to combine.
• Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Then add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated and no large lumps remain. The batter should be thick but pourable (see video). Add more almond flour if too wet or dairy-free milk if too thick.
• Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans and bake on a center rack for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges and surface appear golden brown.
• Let cool 15 minutes in the cake pans. To remove from pans, run a dull knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the cakes. Then place a plate or cooling rack on top and quickly invert. Let cool completely (preferably overnight or at least 6 hours on a wire rack) before frosting.
• Frost with coconut whipped cream and berries for a lighter application (see inspiration here), or frost generously with my 3-ingredient Vegan Buttercream Frosting (see below).
• Store cake covered at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freeze up to 1 month.
• FROSTING*: Add softened butter to a large mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute. Then add vanilla and mix once more. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until a thick, spreadable frosting is formed. I found about 3 1/2 cups to be the appropriate amount per 1 full cake recipe.
• If too thick, the frosting will be too hard to spread (add 1/2 tsp almond milk at a time if too thick). If too thin, the frosting will slide off the cake. If too thin, continue adding powdered sugar until you get the right texture.
• Use immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Let come to room temperature before frosting.

GLUTEN FREE VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Begin by preheating oven to 350°F/175°C and grease and line three 6" inch or 2 8-inch cake pans.
• Add 2 2/3 cup gluten free flour, 2 cups sugar, 1 Tbsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl and gently combine with a whisk.
• Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add 1 cup of water, 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, and 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Gently whisk the wet ingredients together until they start to combine. Then slowly begin to mix them into the dry ingredients.
• Mix the batter for a couple minutes to help give the batter structure. You don't have to worry about over-mixing because there's no gluten in this batter!
• Cover and let the batter sit for about 30 minutes to give the gluten free flour time to absorb more of the liquid in the batter. This helps prevent the cake from having a gritty texture.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-38 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. I like to rotate my pans halfway through to help them bake more evenly.
• Let the cake layers cool in their pans for 10 minutes before flipping them onto wire racks to finish cooling.
• While the cake layers bake and cool, make the buttercream frosting.
• Beat 2 cups of butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a whisk or paddle attachment until smooth.
• Mix in 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt on a low speed.
• Gradually mix in 7 cups powdered sugar and 3 Tbsp of heavy cream on a low speed.
• Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached. If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tablespoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time).
• Stack and frost the cake layers, then decorate as desired.