Gluten-free chocolate mud cake
Just because you’re gluten-free doesn’t mean you should miss out on life’s most delicious treats. I just won’t have it! This amazing mudcake is fudgey, silky and gloriously rich (it uses a whole block of real chocolate – a very good start). It’s perfect eaten just as it is with a steaming cup of tea or coffee, or you could add a dollop of cream or Greek yoghurt. As a dessert option, serve warm with ice cream. You don’t have to be gluten intolerant to enjoy this cake, either.
ALLERGY NOTE: If you need a nut-free, dairy-free and egg-free chocolate cake (that can also be made gluten-free), click here.
Ingredients
250g butter, cubed
250g good quality dark chocolate (I used 62% cocoa )
5 free-range eggs
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
½ cup strong black coffee, cooled (or use milk)
1 tsp vanilla paste or essence
2 cups ground almonds (almond meal)
3/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (without raising agent) (or use coconut flour)
1/4 cup dark baking cocoa
2 1/2 tsp baking powder (gluten-free if needed)
1/2 tsp salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 160c conventional bake. Line the base and sides of a 23-25cm springform cake tin with baking paper. Set a rack just below the centre of the oven.
Add the chopped chocolate and butter to a large glass or ceramic mixing bowl, and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave again for another 30-60 seconds and stir again until smooth. (Or, add 2 inches of water to a medium saucepan and fit a heatproof bowl on top – not touching the water. Add the broken up chocolate and butter, bring the water to a simmer and stir until melted.) Set aside.
Add the ground almonds, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into another medium mixing bowl, and stir to combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Add the eggs, sugar, coffee and vanilla to a large bowl and whisk to combine evenly (or use an electric beater on a medium speed for 30 seconds or so). Add to the melted chocolate mixture, and whisk again to combine to a smooth batter. Add the almond/flour mixture and stir/fold gently until evenly combined with no lumps. Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out and cool on a cake rack. Dust with icing sugar before slicing and serving warm or cold.
Keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Hi Queen! Would this work in a 20cm cake tin as well? Or would it be best to separate into two 20cm’s?
You can use a 20cm. However, you could turn the temp down by 10 degrees and cook a little longer as it will have more depth to cook x
I made this cake with the coconut flour substitution and it fell apart when cut, so crumbly. I wouldn’t recommend using coconut flour.
It tastes great though.
Hi, do you think I could triple this recipe to create a layered cake with buttercream in between the layers to form a naked tower cake, or do you think it would be to heavy and collapse
Hi Chelsea, I’m thinking of making this for my niece’s birthday party – just wondering, would it come out alright if I split the mixture into 2 or 3 sandwich cake tins? (want to have 2 or 3 layers if possible)
Hi Chelsea, This is my go to cake at the moment. I tried it the other day and put less sugar in and substituted the dark cocoa to golden syrup and it made a Carmel flavoured cake. was so good. The thing I love about it is its so moist and last well without being dense and dried out like most other GF/DF cakes I have tried. great to make as cupcakes too and freeze.
Hi there
I accidentally got the wrong gf flour. It has the raising agents???? should i still add the baking powder or Flag it.
Hope to hear from you. Thank you
Don’t add but definitely go for without next time x
I need to make this 6 days before it is eaten. Is it best to freeze it, or will it keep in the fridge?
Best to wrap it really well in cling film, and defrost overnight still wrapped up to retain moisture x
Hi. Could this recipe be made in advance and frozen? It will be the first drip cake I made and I heard it will be easier to shape if frozen.
Hey Chelsea,
I was wondering if you’d tried this as cupcakes? It looks amazing!
Thanks
Hi Chelsea, have made this cake before for my grandsons birthday and it was a real hit. Going away this weekend to stay with friends and one of them is gluten free so would need to bake it on Thursday will it keep nice and moist for a few days.
Am planning to make this on Saturday, as wee bite-size cupcakes. Will doing this affect the consistency ie. should I add more liquid to keep them moist, as well as probably cut down the cooking time by 75%?
I read in the comments that someone was going to try it with less Almonds… I also don’t use much Almond meal due to the price, but i always keep a jar of whole almonds in the house. I just can’t see my go to GF cake having that many Almonds. I make my own gf blend as my extended family are all GF, so its good to have. I have loads of chocolate cake recipes but would prefer to use yours, i just wonder if i should add less eggs or more flour if i use flour in place of almond. Eeeeek…. Have you tried this? surprisingly i couldn’t find many cakes that use real chocolate and only a gf flour blend, i guess because they just vary so much its safer to use a nut meal. I make one of your ridiculous mac n cheese recipes. I’ve been making mac for years and man its a doosie!
Wow Chelsea! You are so incredibly patient…. The number of people who ask the same questions about the coffee and almonds when they could easily read what others have said. Great work on all the recipes. I’m keen to try this with a bit less sugar. Even though it is a treat, I like a little less sweetness. Thanks again.
I was going to post the same thing. I would have lost my * well before?
Your recipes are simply the best. Have used so many of them. Thanks.
I made this for my foodie celiac brother in law, absolutely fantastic response from the whole family, thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Could you swap the dark chocolate for white chocolate and milk for the coffee so it’s white?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, sorry!
I made this cake for a family birthday this weekend and it was delicious! I iced it with a dark chocolate ganache. It was so easy to make and everyone loved it, people couldnt believe it was gluten free. I will never use another chocolate cake recipe from now on! Thanks Chelsea, you always have the best recipes :)
Hi Chelsea, just wondering which book your gluten free chocolate cake recipe is in? I’ve looked through all 3 that I have but couldn’t see it in there. I was trying to avoid having to print it off so I can make it.
The chocolate mud cake that is ……
Sorry it’s not actually in any – I might have to put it in the next one :)
Great thnkniig! That really breaks the mold!
This is a wonderful cake recipe, Chelsea! I made it recently for a friend and she LOVED it. This week it’s on the plans for our little boy’s birthday party, with a little bit of deliberate crumbling and some diggers and construction vehicles added in…he’s going to love it ;)
It is worth noting that if using coconut flour, you use 1/4 of a cup only . Coconut flour absorbs 3 times the liquid that other flours do.