Chocolate Raspberry Cake (gluten free + vegan)
Ultimate gluten free, dairy free, + egg free chocolate raspberry cake is so amazingly delicious! Rich chocolate sponge with raspberry frosting. Easy to make and enjoy.
This delicious chocolate raspberry cake is the best! A rich chocolate cake made with raspberry jam right in the batter with a light and creamy raspberry frosting. All made from scratch but it is so simple to make. Plus, it is gluten free and vegan!
Free from: Wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn (optional), sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, nightshades, tomatoes, and more
This cake is the perfect marriage between chocolate and raspberry. It’s a simple layer cake with a cool raspberry filling between the chocolate cake layers and topped in a sweet raspberry buttercream frosting.
This easy chocolate raspberry cake recipe is totally delicious and perfect for holidays like Valentine’s Day, birthday celebrations, anniversaries, and more!
The cake drew inspiration from one of my favorite cake recipes, my ultimate chocolate cake. I then took my vegan vanilla buttercream and jazzed it up with more raspberry sauce. Topped with fresh raspberries it is one of my family’s favorites!
Why You’ll Love this Cake
- Rich and delicious. I wish you could smell this cake, it is soooo good!
- Perfect size! This double layer 6-inch cake is perfect for small gatherings.
- Super easy recipe made in one bowl for the cake and one bowl for the frosting.
- Yummy Raspberry not just in the frosting but in the cake as well for more raspberries
- Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, top 9 free friendly!
Ingredients
This rich cake uses just simple ingredients to come together for something special.
- Raspberry Jam: Seedless is awesome if you can find it since this jam is going in the filling, the frosting, and the cake itself! My favorite store-bought raspberry jam is Crofter’s, but any good raspberry jam works.
- Cocoa powder: You can use natural cocoa powder or Dutch processed for this cake.
- Flour: A good quality gluten free flour blend is essential for this cake. I made mine with King Arthur Measure for Measure. My own nightshade free gluten free flour blend also works really well in this cake.
- Sugar: You need white sugar for the cake and powdered sugar for the frosting.
- Espresso Powder: Totally optional but really adds a depth of flavor to the chocolate cake.
- Oil: Any neutral flavored oil.
- Vanilla extract: Similar to the espresso powder, vanilla brings a depth of flavor even to chocolate flavored things.
- Ground Flaxseeds: This is our egg replacer for the cake but you can neither see nor taste them in the final result.
- You’ll also need: Baking soda, baking powder, salt
For the raspberry frosting you will also need:
- Vegan butter
- Powdered sugar
- Dairy free Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Food Coloring: This is an optional ingredient but is really helpful for getting a darker color. I used an all natural food coloring for this cake to get this pretty pink.
Allergy Variations
If you are avoiding flax seeds, you can use an equal amount of chia seeds in place of the flax. No other changes are required.
If you are avoiding corn, make sure that your powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and baking powder are corn free. Some brands of gluten free flour contain cornstarch so double check. For my favorite corn free baking items, please see my shop page.
Instructions
Full instructions complete with recipe measurements can be found in the recipe card below. You can also use the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page.
First up, you need to prep the pans. Spray with a neutral oil and line with parchment paper two 6-inch round cakes. See the FAQs for how to transform this cake to different sizes.
Start with making the cake!
You can make this in a stand or electric mixer, however, I just use a large mixing bowl to make the cake.
- Mix up a flaxseed egg
- Bloom the chocolate cocoa powder in hot dairy free milk.
- Sift together the dry ingredients.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Mix them all together, pour into the prepared pans, and bake for 35 minutes.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes and then cool them on a wire rack until totally cool.
Next up is making the frosting!
- Whip together the dairy free butter with powdered sugar for a good 5 minutes to get it light and fluffy. Use a large bowl and a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment to get it really fluffy.
- Add the raspberry jam and vanilla extract along with a few tablespoons of non-dairy milk.
- Tint it with food coloring if you want a darker pink.
Finally, it’s time to assemble.
- Place one cake layer down on your plate or cake stand.
- Frost the top of the cake with some frosting. Using a spoon or palette knife, make a little dam of frosting so that the jam doesn’t escape.
- Place the second cake layer on top.
- Fill in any holes in the middle frosting layer and smooth it all out. You can do a light crumb coat at this time, but I often don’t.
- Pop it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Use the rest of the frosting to decorate the entire cake any way you like. Top with more fresh berries and enjoy!
Tip! You’ll want to let this cake chill in the fridge for a good hour after frosting. This allows the vegan butter to firm up in the frosting and will make for easier slicing.
FAQs
Yes, however you will need to adjust the recipe to increase by 50%.
Yes! I love making cupcakes from this batter. Simply pour the batter into a paper lined cupcake tray about ¾ of the way full and bake for 23 to 25 minutes. Use a teaspoon to remove a bit of cupcakes and fill with raspberry jam. Frost with the same frosting for a cute cupcake.
Yes! Any stone fruit flavor of jam would be amazing in this cake. I recommend strawberry, blackberry, or any other jam you would like.
They are similar but not quite the same. Jam is made with mashed fruit. Preserves have the whole fruit or large pieces of it in preserves. For raspberries, they are a soft berry so there is not much different between the two products.
How to Store
Countertop: Not recommended.
Fridge: Keep this cake covered in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container so that the cake doesn’t dry out. I find that after 3 days the cake really starts to dry out.
Freezer: Keep this cake unfrosted in the freezer wrapped up in plastic wrap and then in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Make the frosting fresh when wanting to assemble and serve. Allow the cake layers to thaw in the fridge overnight before serving after freezing.
Recommended Equipment
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Top Tips
- Don’t over bake the layers! This cake is extremely moist even when fully cooked. It only takes about 35 minutes in my oven. A toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Don’t let it go longer than 40 minutes in the oven.
- If you want to get your frosting very smooth, after mixing it together, switch to the paddle attachment for 2 minutes. This will smooth the frosting out so that it is fluffy without air bubbles.
- Use a piping bag to get the frosting onto the cake in the most efficient manner. Then use an off set spatula to smooth the frosting on the sides of the cake.
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Equipment
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- mixing bowls
- mixing spoons
- whisk
- Spatula
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- parchment paper
- Piping bag
- Offset spatula
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup dairy free milk coconut or soy or rice recommended
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup sugar white
- ½ cup oil
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoon raspberry jam
- 1 ⅓ gluten free flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons boiling water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Raspberry Frosting
- 1 cup vegan butter
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-3 tablespoons dairy free milk as needed
- 1 tablespoon raspberry jam
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Red food coloring optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C.
- Prep the pans. Grease and line with parchment paper two 6-inch baking pans. Cut two 2-inch strips of parchment paper and a round circle for the bottom. Set the strips across the bottom and rest the circle on top. This makes it easy to remove the cakes when finished. Set aside.
Chocolate Cake
- Flax egg. In a small bowl, combine the boiling water with the ground flaxseed. Mix and set aside for 5 minutes for the flax to gel.
- Bloom the cocoa. In a medium sized bowl, combine the cocoa powder with the milk that has been warmed. This will deepen the chocolate flavor. Set aside.
- Dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, sift or whisk together the gluten free flour, espresso powder (if using), baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and sugar. Add the vanilla extract and flax egg. Mix well. Add the raspberry jam and mix well. Now add the bloomed cocoa mixture as well as the apple cider vinegar. Whisk well.
- Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Switch to a spatula to make sure that all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans, trying to divide it as equally as possible between the two pans.
- Bake. Bake for 35 minutes. You’ll know the cakes are done when they have slightly pulled away from the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center pulls away clean. Let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes before allowing them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Raspberry Frosting
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer, cream the butter and powdered sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the non-dairy milk, raspberry jam, and vanilla extract. Mix again on high speed for a few minutes until smooth and creamy. Add any additional food coloring if you desire.
Assembly
- On a Cake stand or plate, set down one of the cake rounds. Spread a little frosting on top. Using a piping bag, create a ring around the outside and smooth out to create a little frosting dam. Fill with more raspberry jam. Layer the second cake layer on top. Fill in any holes with more frosting and smooth out. Place it in the fridge to chill for 30-60 minutes.
- After chilling, remove the cake and finish frosting with the leftover frosting. Decorate with raspberries on top. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Allergy Variations
- If you are avoiding flax seeds, you can use an equal amount of chia seeds in place of the flax. No other changes are required.
- If you are avoiding corn, make sure that your powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and baking powder are corn free. Some brands of gluten free flour contain cornstarch so double check. For my favorite corn free baking items, please see my shop page.
- How to Store
- Fridge: Keep this cake covered in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container so that the cake doesn’t dry out. I find that after 3 days the cake really starts to dry out.
- Freezer: Keep this cake unfrosted in the freezer wrapped up in plastic wrap and then in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Make the frosting fresh when wanting to assemble and serve. Allow the cake layers to thaw in the fridge overnight before serving after freezing.
- How to Make Cupcakes
- Simply pour the batter into a paper lined cupcake tray about ¾ of the way full and bake for 23 to 25 minutes. Use a teaspoon to remove a bit of cupcakes and fill with raspberry jam. Frost with the same frosting for a cute cupcake.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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