Ultimate Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

This recipe is another one originally from 2005, but it has been revised to include a little xanthan gum to make the sponge even softer. If you don't have any xanthan gum the recipe is still great without it, but it does make a difference!

Preparation time - under 30 minutes
Cooking time - 35 minutes (slightly less for a fan oven)
Makes / Serves - serves ~10
Child friendly - 4/5
Difficulty rating - 1/5

Ingredients:

165 g gluten-free self-raising flour alternative
125 g butter (or good quality 'spreadable')
110 g caster sugar
40 g icing sugar
45 g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (not always gluten-free so check the label!)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
250 ml milk (slightly warmed)

Method:

1. Heat your oven to 180 C / 355 F / Gas mark 4.
2. If not using a silicone mould then line your cake tin with greaseproof paper.
3. In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter, caster sugar and icing sugar until light and creamy.
4. Add the vanilla extract and then gradually add the lightly beaten egg, beating well after each addition.
5. Add the flour, cocoa, xanthan gum and bicarbonate of soda and start to fold them into the mixture using a spoon.
6. Once the dry ingredients have been mostly incorporated into the mixture add the warm milk and beat until the mixture is smooth.
7. Pour the mixture into your mould / tin and bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
8. Leave the cake in the mould / tin for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips:

1. Silicone cake moulds are far better that traditional tins, especially when it comes to gluten-free baking as you can peel them away from the cake more carefully.
2. Using an electric hand mixer (on a medium speed setting) rather than beating by hand can easily halve the preparation time and often gives a better final result!
3. If you want to cut the cake into brownies, like we often do, then I'd recommend using a 20-25 cm square mould / tin.
4. You can stir in some chocolate chips or fudge pieces just before pouring into the mould  to make it even tastier!