Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake
Jun 19th, 2008 by Mary Frances
Dear Readers,
There are so many things that I should tell you about this gluten free Red Velvet Cake. I should tell you about how I baked it this morning while wearing a wrap dress, floral apron, high heels and pearls and looked like I had stepped right out of the 1950s. I should tell you how much my co-workers enjoyed this third cake that I could not bring myself to eat even though it is so delicious. (I am sugared out!). I should tell you how tender, moist and perfect this cake was and how no one could tell that it was gluten free. I should…but it’s 11:00 PM and it’s time for this gluten free cook to head to bed. Enjoy the recipe, especially those of you who are planning on making it for your birthdays!
Southern Red Velvet Cake
Cake Ingredients:
1 3/4 c. canola oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten (room temp)
1 c. brown rice flour
3/4 c. sorghum flour
3/4 c. tapioca starch
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk (or 1 Tbsp cider vinegar and 1 c. milk substitute)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 oz. red food coloring (this is one of the McCormick’s bottles)
1 Tbsp. cocoa
Frosting Ingredients:
1 box confectioner’s sugar
8 oz. cream cheese (can sub vegan cream cheese)
1 stick butter (room temp)
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
Cake Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Use a mixer to cream oil and sugar. With the mixer still going, add one egg at a time and beat until the eggs are thoroughly incorporated. (This step creates an emulsion that holds the batter together)
3. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Make sure they are well mixed, either by sifting the flours or whisking them.
4. Add the flour to the oil and sugar mixture in four parts. Alternate the flour with the buttermilk. You should begin and end with dry ingredients and each part should be mixed in completely before you add the next. (If you were to start with the liquids the emulsion would break.)
5. Make a paste of the cocoa, red food coloring, and vanilla and gently stir it into the batter.
6. Pour the batter into two greased and floured round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 25 minutes. (A toothpick stuck into the middle of the cake should come out clean when the cake is done)
7. When the cakes have completely cooled, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Frosting Instructions:
1. Cream the confectioner’s sugar, cream cheese, and butter.
2. Mix in the vanilla and chopped nuts.
3. Spread over cooled cake.
Thank you Mary Frances, for posting this! I think I may have slightly deafened my boyfriend with my squeal when I saw this post in my blog reader. I also sent copies of the link to 2 of my baking buddies
I can’t wait to try it out; hmm, I foresee a quick trip to the store this weekend.
What timing! Thank you! My husbands favorite birthday cake is Red Velvet Cake, and his birthday is on Wednesday next week. Are you a mind reader? Thank you thank you thank you!
I agree with Michelle. I’m at work and wanted to squeal with delight, but cannot as that is somehow inappropriate (though I admit distracting). I have a friend’s bday coming up and I would love to make this for her, including your delicious frosting! Yum, thanks for posting.
OH my WORD.
That looks FABULOUS!!
Oh- and I just tried baking your “really good sandwich bread” and I am soso happy. You ROCK.
Ms. Mary Frances-
Thank you for sharing the most wonderful GF cake recipe I have tried to date! Although I messed up the color, it was delish!
http://glutenfreeanna.blogspot.com/2008/06/orange-velvet-birthday-cake.html
You’re awesome!
WOW! I am new to your web-site Mary and to eating gluten free. I have been very impressed with the foods and recipes that you share. I have read a number of comments from other GF persons as myself and there comments and suggestions have been so helpful to me. I have been CRAVING homemade biscuits so U’m going to make your recipe and the bread machine loaf.
I appreciate your hard work because we all have to eat
From the “Evergreen State”
DC
I could find where to contact you directly, so I found this blog on cake so that my question would be at least semi-relevant. Since you host the “GF Cooking School” blog, I thought you could help me. I baked the Namaste chocolate cake mix tonight, and it ended up bubbling over all four edges of the pan and pouring all over the oven racks and floor (yes, I have quite a mess to clean up). I have had this problem one other time with a brownie recipe I make from scratch. Do you know what would cause this to overflow? It said it fit in a 9×13 pan, and that is what I baked it in. Have you had this sort of experience?
Thanks for your help,
Dorothy
Hi. I just noticed this recipe is not in the index, or under dessert recipes on your sidebar. Thought you’d want to know.
I remembered it from the feed, and we were looking for it for a special little girl’s birthday…
Amy B
Just wanted you to know that we made this recipe for my son’s birthday, and it was great! Both my dad and my husband said it was the best cake they had ever tasted! We only used a quarter ofthe called-for food coloring, and I added a bit of water to make the paste. It was beautiful. My son noticed that the icing is better on the second day!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Hi there, I just made this cake yesterday for a birthday party and it was crazy good! everyone loved it. I also wanted to let you know that it seems to be OK to substitute oat flour for the sorghum flour - I could not find any sorghum flour. it still came out quite tasty! Thanks a million!
@southwer: I’ll have to get some oat flour and try that. I’m finally back in a cake baking mood after 5 months! McCann’s Instant Oats are on sale this month at Amazon and I imagine that I could grind that in my food processor to make the flour.