Recipe: Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

According to this website, February 27, 2010 was National Chocolate Cake Day. Sounds good to me. Give me a reason to make chocolate cake & I will jump on it! Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting – moist cake with a super creamy fudge frosting…sounds like heaven to me!

One chocolate cake that really stands out in my mind is the the Pamela’s Chocolate Cake Mix. I always follow the directions on the side of the package that use sour cream in the mix. This cake turns out so moist. It is awesome as a 2-layer cake with extra fudge frosting in the middle. Pamela’s Products can be found on Amazon.com or in most grocery stores.

Betty Crocker’s Gluten-free Devil’s Food Cake is another great chocolate cake mix. This mix only makes 1 layer unless you pour less into 2 small, 8-inch pans. This still makes a nice cake. You can see a recipe here for Chocolate Oreo Cake using this mix. You can find Betty Crocker’s gluten-free mixes in most grocery stores or on Amazon.com.

There is a wonderful recipe for Everyday Chocolate Cake on Ginger Lemon Girl’s blog. Carrie has some great recipes on her blog. This cake came out wonderfully. I frosted it with the Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

Hershey’s Chocolate Frosting

**From the Hershey’s Cocoa Can

• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), melted
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk (I used 1%)

And, last, but not least, my newest favorite – Glazed Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake. This cake was originally found on Eatingwell.com. I modified this to be gluten-free and the results were nothing short of spectacular.

Glazed Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Makes 16 servings

• 1 3/4 cup gluten-free flour mix*
• 1 3/4 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, (not Dutch-process) *I used Hershey’s Special Dark
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I used 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 3/8 tsp nutmeg & 3/8 tsp of all spice)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg white, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup (I used Agave Nectar)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

GLAZE & GARNISH

• 1/2 cup packed confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips, or toasted chopped nuts

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray your bundt pan with Pam or other cooking spray.
2. Whisk together all the dry ingredients, except the brown sugar; set aside.
3. Mix 1 cup buttermilk, pumpkin puree and brown sugar in a large bowl with an mixer on low speed. Beat in egg and egg white. Stir in oil and agave nectar. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mixing just until combined. Pour into the bundt pan.
4. Bake in the oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
5. Let cool on wire rack for about 15 minutes and then remove from the pan and let cool for another 1 -2 hours. I put the plate that I wanted the cake on upside down over the pan and then turned upside down to limit the chance of any breakage.
6. Stir together the ingredients for the glaze & drizzle over the cake. Add the chocolate chips and/or nuts before the glaze hardens.
7. Enjoy!

How did you celebrate National Chocolate Cake Day?