This gluten free vanilla raspberry cake is so moist, you’ll never know it’s gluten and dairy free! It’s loaded with fresh raspberries and topped off with the creamiest chocolate frosting. This cake can be made completely refined sugar free and the icing contains a secret ingredient to get the silkiest texture without being sickeningly sweet.
I made this cake for my 33rd birthday and all my friends who tried it were shocked at how moist and flavorful it was. When you think of gluten free cakes, most people think of them as being dry, but this cake is the opposite. A combination of buttermilk and yogurt (vegan options provided!), keep this cake the perfect texture, even after a few days.
The icing is what truly makes this gluten free cake. I normally am not a frosting girl because I find it so sickeningly sweet and heavy on the palette with the amount of fat and dairy it contains. This frosting is perfection and it’s completely dairy free. It has just the right amount of chocolate and it’s so smooth, plus you get a nutrient boost and can feel good about eating it!
My favorite way to make frosting is with sweet potato. Don’t click away! I know it might sound crazy, but it provides the creamiest, dreamiest base for icing without all the fat. Plus, sweet potato provides some sweetness, so you don’t need to use as much sweetener. A healthier cake that tastes like a complete indulgence? Count me in!
So, what’s in this cake?
Cake batter: the cake batter is made up of a couple of gluten free flours, vegan butter, oil, eggs, vegan buttermilk, and vegan yogurt. You can certainly use the dairy-full alternatives, but there are plenty of dairy free options these days to keep this cake more allergy friendly.
- Vegan butter: my favorite brand of vegan butter is Miyoko’s. There is no palm oil and it provides plenty of flavor.
- Vegan buttermilk: homemade buttermilk is easy to make. You just mix 1 cup of milk with 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar. To keep it vegan, just use your favorite plant based milk!
- Vegan yogurt: any yogurt should work in this recipe, but I like using the Forager brand since it’s thicker.
Frosting: The chocolate frosting is extremely easy to make as you’re just going to blend together baked sweet potato, melted chocolate, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt.
Gluten Free Vanilla Raspberry Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 2.5 cups 1:1 gluten free flour
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter I used Miyoko's vegan butter
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar or more coconut sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup dairy free milk
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp yogurt I used a vegan yogurt, but Greek yogurt works too
- 1.5 cups fresh raspberries, lightly torn apart plus more for decorating (2-3 pints total)
Frosting
- 3 cups cooked and mashed orange sweet potato
- 1 cup chocolate chips I like using dark chocolate
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1-1.5 cups maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Grease two cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix together the milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside.
- Sift together the flour, starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Beat together 3/4 cup of coconut sugar with the butter on medium speed until fluffy. Add in the remaining sugar and oil and beat to combine.
- Add the eggs two at a time and beat to combine after each addition.
- Add the vanilla extract, milk mixture, and yogurt and mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
- Toss the raspberries with 2 Tbsp of flour to coat then gently fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula.
- Divide the batter between the cake pans and firmly tap the pans against the counter to break up large air bubbles. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. If at sea level, I suggest checking the cakes at 30 minutes.
- Once done baking, let cakes cool in their pans before flipping them out of their pans.
Frosting
- Make sure your sweet potato is baked, mashed, and cooled slightly, but not cooler than room temperature.
- Melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil together until you have a smooth chocolate.
- In a high speed blender or food processor, combine all icing ingredients starting with less maple syrup and adding based on desired taste.
- Once icing is smooth, let sit in the fridge until set.
Assembly
- I highly suggest doing your best to evenly slice the domes off the cakes so you have a flat surface. Spread a thick layer of chocolate frosting over the first cake, then gently add the second cake on top.
- Frost and decorate the rest of your cake as desired, using the remaining raspberries.
- Celebrate and enjoy!
