This is a mouthful of a title for a cake, but I did not have any other way to describe a cake whose integral qualities (gluten-free and dairy-free) are as important as the type (chocolate) itself.
I mentioned in a previous post that I often get requests for dairy-free or gluten-free cakes to bring to gatherings. In our church setting, this also has to be nut-free.
This cake is an adaptation of the simple Chocolate and Almond Cake I made for our recent family weekend away. It uses dairy-free ‘butter’ from Naturli (I am reliably informed that this tastes like real butter) and gluten-free flour from Freee. I used a very dark chocolate to balance the sweetness from the sugar.
To make the cake look more interesting I baked it in a Bundt pan. Here is a table for making it in various sizes.
| Bundt Pan | 12-cup | 10-cup | 6-cup |
| Dairy-free ‘butter’ | 330 g | 250 g | 165 g |
| Dark chocolate | 330 g | 250 g | 165 g |
| Sugar | 330 g | 250 g | 165 g |
| Eggs | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| Gluten-free flour | 330 g | 250 g | 165 g |
| Vanilla extract | 3 teaspoons | 2 teaspoons | 1 teaspoon |
| Salt | ½ teaspoon | large pinch | ¼ teaspoon |
| Cooking Time | 1 hour | 50 minutes | 40 minutes |
I used some chocolate extract in addition to the vanilla extract, but this is optional
The cake was baked in a 10-cup Brilliance Bundt pan from Nordic Ware and it will cut neatly into 24 pieces
For the Cake:
250 g Naturli block, cut into several large pieces
250 g dark chocolate, 90% cocoa content, broken into several large pieces
250 g gluten-free self-raising flour
250 g unrefined caster sugar
6 large eggs (350 g without shell)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon chocolate extract (optional)
Large pinch of fine sea salt
10 g each Naturli block and cocoa powder to line the bundt pan
If making for a party, then have some mixed berries and crème fraîche/ clotted cream/ vanilla ice cream for serving
You will also need a 10-cup Bundt pan
OR
a 9 inch / 25 cm cake tin with a removable base. Line the bottom with baking paper and grease the sides with butter.
How to Make:
Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 155°C fan.
Brush 10 g of softened Naturli block evenly over the entire inside of the Bundt pan, taking care to fill every corner.
Sift over 10 g of cocoa powder, moving the pan around to coat evenly. Remove the excess cocoa by turning the pan upside down and giving it a tap (do this over a sink). Set the pan aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the Naturli together with the chocolate over a very low heat, around 2.5 (out of level 9) if you have an induction hob.
(If you are worried about placing the saucepan directly over the heat source, then place the Naturli and chocolate in a metal or glass bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. The water must not touch the base of the bowl. Stir with a metal spoon until melted.)
Remove the saucepan (or bowl) from the heat, add the vanilla, and leave mixture to cool slightly.
Place the sugar and eggs in the bowl of a free standing electric mixer. Using the balloon whisk attachment, whisk until the mixture has thickened and has the consistency of custard.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and gently mix together using a silicon spatula.
Finally, fold in the flour and salt. The tip here is to use a large balloon whisk, as gluten-free flour is very fine and tends to clump when added to a wet mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes (add 5 minutes more if using a regular round pan), or until the cake bounces back slightly when touched. The bounce will not be very pronounced as there is no gluten in the cake. A metal skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Stages in making: lining the pan, and the cake before and after baking
Top tip: use a large balloon whisk to help fold in the flour and salt, as gluten-free flour is very fine and tends to clump when added to a wet mixture
