There are days that I think I can live off chocolate and peanut butter! Anyone else feeling the same way? I mean I know that it probably wouldn't be the healthiest diet, so I most likely wouldn't do it. But often I do feel very tempted. The combo of the two in a cake makes this gluten-free chocolate peanut butter cake a cake from my dreams!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Recipe.
This cake is perfectly sweetened, moist, soft, super chocolaty, peanut butter infused, rich, flavorful and so delicious! It can easily be turned into cupcakes if that's what you prefer! This is a dream cake for any chocolate and peanut butter lover!
How to make this gluten-free chocolate and peanut butter cake?
To make this cake you need to make 3 things. The chocolate, the peanut butter frosting, and the chocolate ganache. In the end, assemble everything together and decorate as desired.
To make the chocolate cake you will only need 7 simple ingredients and 40min of your time! You start by creaming together the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until you get light, double in size creamy mixture. Then add the light cooking oil and mix shortly one more time. In the end add the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder and mix shortly on low speed just to combine everything.
The peanut butter frosting requires 10min to make and 5 simple ingredients. The recipe is adapted from the classic buttercream frosting with a twist of adding peanut butter.
And for the chocolate ganache, you will only need 2 ingredients.
To decorate and make the chocolate drip is actually not hard at all. Even though, if you have never made chocolate drip cake, you might be thinking it's the most difficult thing in the world. So here are some videos I've watched on youtube before I made my first chocolate drip cake to learn a few tricks and tips.
How To Drip the Perfect Drip-Cake - Full Icing Recipe & Technique!
To find the exact ingredients step-by-step instructions, scroll at the end of this page.
what flour to use to make this cake?
I like to use my universal homemade gluten-free flour blend. Which is a mix of the following flours :
3. Sweet Rice Flour (Glutinous Rice aka Sticky Rice)
4. Tapioca Flour (tapioca starch is the same as tapioca flour)
5. Xanthan Gum
If you can’t make that one, you can try with any gluten-free flour mix (just make sure it contains xanthan gum because that helps in binding the dough). The final result using different flour mix might vary slightly, depending on what flours your mix contains.
To find the recipe for my gluten-free flour mix click, HERE.
*FODMAP Tip:
*To make sure that your flour mix is fodmap friendly I recommend that you make your own gluten-free flour mix, I always make this one. Or always read the ingredients of the store-bought gluten-free flour mixes. Make sure your mix doesn’t contain soy flour, chickpea/besan/gram/garbanzo bean flour, lentil flour, coconut flour, amaranth flour, or lupin flour.
*As a general rule always read the labels of the ingredients that you use as there can be sneaky FODMAP’s in any product. To educate yourself of which foods are high in FODMAP’s I’d strongly recommend downloading Monash Unversity FODMAP Diet App
*gluten-free tip:
If you are celiac or highly sensitive to gluten, buy certified gluten-free baking soda. Baking soda is naturally gluten-free, however, depending on the manufacturing place and process it could be cross-contaminated.
Recipe
Gluten-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 4 eggs
- 170 g white sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 120 ml light cooking oil (like sunflower oil)
- 170 g gluten-free flour
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 10 g baking powder
For the Peanut Butter Frosting
- 210 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 600 g smooth peanut butter
- 330 g confectioners sugar
- 240 ml lactose-free heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Ganache
- 200 g quality dark chocolate
- 8 tablespoon lactose-free cream
Topping
- 100 g salted peanuts
Instructions
To make the chocolate cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F (175C ) degrees and line up 4 (6-inch or 15cm) cake tins with parchment paper.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until you get light, double in size creamy mixture. Then add the light cooking oil and mix shortly one more time. In the end add the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder and mix shortly on low speed just to combine everything.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans. Smooth the batter evenly into each pan with the back of a spoon.
- Bake the cakes on 350F (175C ) for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with only a few crumbs attached.
- Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
To make the peanut butter frosting
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment beat the softened butter on medium speed for 2 minutes until completely smooth and creamy. Add the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 4 minutes. Add up to ¼ cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick.
Assemble the cake
- Place one cake layer on your cake stand. Spread a generous, about ¾ cup, frosting over top of the first layer, then sprinkle a little bit crushed salted peanuts. Put the next sponge on top and repeat the same step. Then put the last sponge on top and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and the sides of the cake.
To Make the Chocolate Ganache
- Put the dark chocolate in a bowl and heat the cream in a small pan until just steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate and leave to melt for 5-10 mins. Stir to make a glossy ganache, then set aside to firm up a little – you want the ganache to be pourable but not too runny, to make drizzly droplets down the side of the cake.
- When the ganache is the correct consistency, remove the cake from the fridge and spoon the ganache over the top edge of the cake. Fill in the middle of the top of the cake with chocolate too.
To Decorate
- Optionally, make pipes on top of the cake with the remaining peanut butter frosting and decorate with the remaining salted peanuts.
- The cake is best served within 2-3 hrs of assembling, but will still taste delicious for up to 3 days. Store leftovers in the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature before serving.
Brianna says
The directions were pretty easy to follow and well worth the work!! This cake is amazing and it is truly hard to believe that it is gluten free! I made it for a surprise anniversary party for dear friends. Out of the 14 in attendance, I am the only one with Celiac. They were all surprised when they saw me eating it because they assumed it wasn’t GF due to how delicious it was and how wonderful the texture was. I did not have time to make the Italian buttercream, so I used equal parts of store bought buttercream and cream cheese frosting and added a splash of salted Carmel syrup. This cake is to die for!!
Gluten Free Stories says
Hi Brianna, I'm so happy to hear that!????????
Keisha says
I would recommend putting the size of the cake pans and how many pans you used, on the recipe as its not listed.
Keisha says
ignore that comment! I am blind!
Amelia says
I'm confused, why do you specify lactose free cream? I'm baking this for my fiance's birthday this weekend, he loves peanut butter/chocolate combo and I'll be topping it with my homemade peanut butter cups! Can I use regular cream instead?