Cake of the Day: Chocolate Fudge Cake from ‘Gloriously Gluten-Free’

Every day, Yahoo Food features delectable cakes. They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, Susanna Booth shares a recipe for a decadent chocolate cake that’s deliciously gluten-free from her cookbook Gloriously Gluten-Free.

Chocolate Fudge Cake that’s deliciously gluten-free. (Photo: Haarala Hamilton)

Chocolate Fudge Cake
Serves 8–12

This rich chocolate cake is decadence on a plate — dense (but not heavy), moist, and smothered in a thick, glossy chocolate fudge frosting. It is not at all crumbly so it makes the perfect party cake: you can slice it as thin as you like, confident each piece will look perfect. The cake keeps well for a couple of days.

3? tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
6 eggs, separated
? cup granulated sugar
? cup gluten-free plain white flour blend (see recipe below)
? cup ground almonds
Pinch of salt

Frosting
3? ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup condensed milk
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease 2 x 8-inch sandwich pans with butter.

Place the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over very low heat and heat until the chocolate is almost completely melted, then stir the mixture and remove the pan from the heat. Set aside.

Whisk the egg whites in a thoroughly clean bowl until stiff. Using the same whisk, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a separate large bowl until pale and thick.

Fold in the flour blend, ground almonds, and salt. Carefully pour the chocolate mixture down the side of the bowl and fold in, then fold in the egg whites until combined.

Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared pans, then tip the pans from side to side to level the batter. Bake for 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centers comes out clean (the cakes won’t rise much). Let cool in the pans for a few minutes, then loosen the edges with a palette knife and turn out onto a wire rack. Let cool.

To make the frosting, place all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the mixture is dark and glossy. While still warm, spread a thick layer of frosting over 1 cake.

Place the second cake on top, upside down. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides. You can make decorative designs in the frosting with a fork, if you wish.

Let set for 1 hour before serving.

Gluten-Free Plain White Flour Blend
Makes about 15 ounces

Most grocery stores or health-food stores sell gluten-free plain white flour blends (also known as gluten-free all-purpose flour blends) that are specially formulated to replace white wheat flour. These are usually very good, but if you can’t find any or if you would rather make your own, here is my version, which I used for all the applicable recipes in this book. I often make a double batch if I’m doing a lot of baking. I store the flour in a clip-top jar.

2 cups brown rice flour
? cup tapioca flour
? cup potato flour
? cup cornstarch

Place all the flours together in a bowl and stir well.

Sift the flours into a funnel placed in the neck of a storage jar. (This not only minimizes clumps, but also blends the mixture more fully.)

Store the flour blend for up to 1 month, or no longer than the earliest “best before date” of the flours used.

Reprinted with permission from Gloriously Gluten Free by Susanna Booth (Hamlyn).

More glorious gluten free desserts:

Black Currant Polenta Cake from ‘Mug Cakes’

Lavender Honey Cake

Magic Cookie Cake