Gluten-Free Recipes

Gluten Free Vanilla Cake

This easy recipe for gluten free vanilla cake is moist and fluffy! This simple dessert is made from scratch and is perfect for a gluten free birthday cake. I used my pink vanilla buttercream frosting on this cake for a lovely color.

For the cake you see in these photos I made three 8-inch cakes by using the recipe below for two of the cakes and then cutting the recipe in half for a third cake. For the filling I mixed strawberry jam with some of the pink vanilla buttercream frosting to give a nice strawberry flavor between each layer.

If you are looking for more gluten free layer cake recipes try my Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, my Gluten Free Million Dollar Cake, my Gluten Free Pina Colada Cake or my Gluten Free Coconut Cake.

You can find all of my cake recipes here: Gluten Free Cake Recipes

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Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch with butter or coconut oil and set aside.

In a mixing bowl sift together the gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer beat together the room temperature butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the egg whites, vanilla extract, almond extract, milk and sour cream. Blend the ingredients together. The mixture will be a bit lumpy.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat together until mostly smooth. You may still have a few small butter lumps in the batter and that is fine.

Pour the cake batter into your greased pans evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. The cakes will be browned, pulled away from the edge of the cake pan and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when they are done.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then flip them onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting. I like to let the cakes cool overnight.

Frost with my Pink Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Gluten Free Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting?

Supplies

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make my gluten free cakes more moist?

Gluten free baking tends to require more moisture or oil than when you are using regular wheat flour. For this gluten free vanilla cake the sour cream makes it moist and delicious.

If you are using a cake recipe that isn't turning out moist I would suggest adding a bit more oil or butter. You can also add mashed banana or applesauce to help your baked goods have more moisture.

Do gluten free cakes take longer to bake?

Yes, gluten free baking in general takes a little bit longer to bake than a cake made with regular wheat flour. However, gluten free baked goods tend to brown faster. So you will want to test the cake with a tooth pick in the center to make sure it's actually done even if it looks browned.

Your cake should be a nice golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the center of the cake should come out clean. You may need to bake your cake up to 5-8 minutes more. If your cake is already very brown, but not done in the center you will need to lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees and cook a bit longer.

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Gluten Free Vanilla Cake

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Author: Elaine VanVleck
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Ingredients

Scale

2 cups Gluten Free Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Sea Salt
½ cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar
4 Egg Whites, at room temperature
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
½ tsp Almond Extract
⅔ cup Milk
⅔ cup Sour Cream

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch with butter or coconut oil and set aside.

In a mixing bowl sift together the gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat together until mostly smooth. You may still have a few small butter lumps in the batter and that is fine.

Pour the cake batter into your greased pans evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. The cakes will be browned, pulled away from the edge of the cake pan and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when they are done.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then flip them onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting. I like to let the cakes cool overnight.

Frost with my Pink Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Gluten Free Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Category: Cake
Method: Baking
Cuisine: Gluten Free

a white plate with a slice of gluten free vanilla cake with pink buttercream frosting next to fresh strawberries.

Pink Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This easy recipe for pink vanilla buttercream frosting uses beet powder for a natural pink color. You can't taste the beet powder at all! It's a great all natural solution for a dye free color!

I use the leftover beet powder in my smoothies for added nutrients. I love getting the nutritional value of eating beets without having to actually prepare the beets. Using beet powder for coloring is a great way to avoid dyes!

If you are looking for more frosting recipes try my White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, my Gluten Free Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, my Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting or my Gluten Free Chocolate Glaze.

You can find all of my cake recipes here: Gluten Free Cake Recipes

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Ingredients

Instructions

I like to leave my butter out overnight so it's at room temperature. If you don't have time for that you can microwave the butter in 10 second increments until it's soft, but not melted.

In the bowl of your stand mixer beat the butter, heavy whipping cream and vanilla until blended together and soft. Then, add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until it is all mixed in and the frosting is fluffy.

Sift the beet powder and add that last. Beat the buttercream frosting until the beet powder is mixed in. If you want darker frosting you can add another ½ teaspoon sifted beet powder.

I like to use the frosting immediately. If you are going to wait to use the frosting you may need to add a bit more heavy whipping cream or milk and beat again before frosting your cake.

Supplies

Frequently Asked Questions

Does buttercream frosting need to be refrigerated?

Yes, if you are going to store the frosting for more than a day or two. I like to make my frosting the same day I'm going to use it because I think it's easier to work with on the same day.

Once I use the frosting if the cake or cupcakes don't get eaten that day I store them in the refrigerator. I personally like the stiffer, cold frosting but most people take it out and bring the frosting back up to room temperature before serving the dessert.

How do you make pink vanilla buttercream frosting from scratch?

It is so simple! The most important part is that your ingredients are at room temperature. I lay my butter out the night before and then heat the milk in the microwave for 10 seconds.You don't want your ingredients to be hot, just at room temperature.

Then I blend the butter, milk and vanilla in a stand mixer. I add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time. It is key to sift your powdered sugar so you don't get lumps in your frosting. You can use a sifter or a fine wire mesh strainer to press the powders through.

Once I'm happy with the consistency of the frosting I either spread it on or bag it to pipe onto the cake. I like a thicker consistency for piping than I do for just spreading the frosting onto the cake.

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