Oh look, cake!
Ok if you’ve been following along, you shouldn’t be surprised. I promised gluten free cake recipes, and I generally follow through. Unless I’m tired and having a bad week. In which case you just have to wait a little longer. Anyway, cake. This cake. Gluten free white chocolate mud cake. Short sentences much?
I used to be a chocolate girl. Usually the darker and richer the better. But in the last few years I have discovered a new-found respect for the lighter flavours of white chocolate and vanilla. This mud cake is a delicious combination of the two, smooth white chocolate flavour with a hint of vanilla in a moist and dense cake.
The recipe is based on the popular Citrus Mud Cake recipe from Taste.com.au. When I started decorating cakes and baking mud cakes, it took me a while to settle on a white chocolate mud cake I was happy with. There are several popular recipes floating around the cake world, but this is the one that worked best for me, so it made sense to adapt this one to make it work gluten free. And boy, does it work…
The key to this cake is to use a good quality white chocolate. One that actually contains cocoa butter, rather than a compound chocolate that uses oil instead of cocoa butter. ‘Cause white chocolate is already walking a fine line to be classed as chocolate, and compound chocolate is really just vanilla flavoured sugary fat. Have I convinced you?
Just like the dark chocolate mud cake this is an easy melt-and-mix cake. The milk, butter, white chocolate and sugar get melted…
And then the vanilla, dry ingredients and eggs get mixed in.
Easy. I didn’t adjust the batter amount at all, so this makes a very tall (approx 4” high) seven inch round cake. The reason I didn’t want to make a shorter cake is that white chocolate mud cakes get a rather brown crust. Even with baking strips, (and I used baking strips with twice the usual thickness of wet paper towels), you can see that the crust is still a lot darker than the rest of the cake.
Because I’m all about cake looking and tasting equally good, I like to trim off both the top and bottom crusts of the cake. So I kept the full sized recipe to make sure I had the height to compensate for my compulsive trimming habit. If you’re not like me, then you can scale down the recipe (or use an 8″ tin instead).
To make the slices look prettier, and to give enough room for ganache on the sides of the cake, I trim off the darker edges of the cake as well. To make it easier I’ve made these templates from thin plastic cutting boards- I just trace around a cake board and then cut out the circle approx. 1cm/ ½” inside the line. Then I just place the template on each cake layer and use a small serrated knife to trim them.
I made this a plain white chocolate cake obviously, but you can totally add back in the citrus zest from the original recipe for a lovely zesty cake. You can either use all three zests (lemon, lime and orange) or pick one for a single fruity flavour cake.
White chocolate ganache is the perfect filling for this cake, and once again it’s important to use a quality chocolate. Kiwi readers will be able to tell I love Whittaker’s chocolate in all shapes and forms. And I also like it in moustache tea cups, but that’s kinda beside the point.
Good quality chocolate buttons are also a good choice, because really, who actually enjoys chopping up all that chocolate (my girly hands sure don’t!)
This cake is not quite as dense as the dark chocolate version, but it is still suitable for most decorating uses, including a bit of light carving. I wouldn’t go making a life-sized cake version of your pet alpaca out of it, but with some chilling and the use of ganache you could make most shapes out of it.
You can use the CakeOmeter or the CakeOmeter app for iPhone/iPad to adjust the recipe for the tin size you want. As always, if you’re new to gluten-free baking, check out my gluten-free cakes for decorating post for tips, tricks and some more recipes.
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Gluten Free White Chocolate Mud Cake
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Yield: Makes one 7 inch round, approximately 4 inch high cake.
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Pin RecipeDescription
A moist, dense cake with delicate white chocolate and vanilla flavours. Suitable for covering in fondant, tiered cakes, lightly carved cakes, and decorating using the three day timeline.
Ingredients
- 420g gluten free flour*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (check that it is gluten free)
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan gum
- 350ml milk
- 350g butter, cut into cubes
- 180g white chocolate, chopped
- 400g caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
Instructions
Preheat oven to 160° Celsius. Line the base and sides of a 7” round (at least 3” high) cake pan and make a baking strip and foil lid. If your oven gets quite hot from the bottom element, place a heavy baking sheet on the rack below the one the cake will go on.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and xanthan gum. Whisk to combine well.
In a large, heavy based saucepan, heat the milk and butter over a medium low heat, stirring occasionally with a wire whisk until the butter melts. Add in the white chocolate, and stir until the chocolate has melted. Add in the sugar and whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved (this could take several minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
The liquid mixture now needs to cool until you can comfortably hold your finger in it. You can either transfer the mixture to a large heatproof bowl to cool it faster, or you can leave it in the pot and wait a bit longer for it to cool.
When cool, add the dry ingredients in three additions. Mix with the whisk, but use a folding rather than whipping motion to avoid air bubbles.
Whisk the eggs together with a fork and add to the batter, mixing again with the whisk. Leave the batter to sit for a minute to allow bubbles to come to the surface.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bang it on the bench to remove any large air bubbles. Place the foil lid over the top and bake for 2.5 – 3 hours. To test if the cake is done, use a thin skewer. When the skewer comes out clean, insert a thin bladed knife into the middle of the cake. When that comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached, the cake is done. If you have an instant read probe thermometer, the centre of the cake should be at least 99°C.
Remove the foil lid and allow the cake to cool in the cake pan for half an hour or so, then cover the top with foil (either unfold the edges of the foil lid and use that, or use a fresh piece of foil), securing around the edge of the pan. Leave the cake overnight to cool completely before removing from the pan.
Notes
*I used 200g tapioca flour, 170g brown rice flour and 50g potato starch. Remember that if you use different flours than I have, your results may vary from mine. Check out my gluten free cake post for more information. If using a boxed gluten free flour blend that contains a gum ingredient, omit the Xanthan gum from the recipe.
To fill and cover a cake this size with white chocolate ganache (four layers of cake/three layers of ganache filling) you will need 1.6kgs of ganache (1.2kg white chocolate to 400g cream.)
Recipe adapted from Taste
Enjoy 🙂
~Natalie
xx
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Melanie says
Made this today for my birthday! It was fantastic!
Natalie says
Oh yay, I’m so glad to hear that! 🙂 Happy birthday!
Kodie says
Hi. I’m just making this and my tin is 8″ and 2.5″ inch high. Is this going to work or should I do 2 tins?
Natalie says
Hi Kodie. This is a pretty tall cake once baked, so I would suggest baking in two tins if your tins are shorter. The cake rises between 1/2″ to 1″ above the edge of my 3″ high pan, so even with a collar of baking paper it might not work so well with a shorter tin. If you did want to try it, you could line with a double thickness of baking paper, just to give the cake some extra support as it rises. Hope that helps 🙂
Chanelle says
Hi Natalie,
I was just wondering the bake time for cupcakes, please? Do you keep the temperature the same?
Thank you,
Chanelle x
Natalie says
Hi Chanelle, they tend to take about 30 minutes as cupcakes, but you can turn the temperature down slightly and bake them for a bit longer if you want to avoid them browning too much. You should be able to tell by looking at them when they’re nearly done, the tops will be very slightly rounded all over, and the surface shouldn’t be very shiny in the middle (you’ll see the batter is quite shiny, and once they’re baked they won’t be shiny on the top). Once they look like that you can give them a poke with a skewer to check them, and if they look cooked then I also suggest stabbing one with a thin-bladed knife to double-check they’re done. Sometimes a skewer will come out clean but a knife won’t, so they’ll need a few more minutes. Hope that helps 🙂
mylittlemod says
Do you double your flour ratio and then use what’s required for the cake? The ingredient list says 420 g but your blend is 330 g. Thank you! Looking forward to trying this out.
Natalie says
Oh goodness, no that’s a typo! My apologies. That’s what I get for twiddling with a recipe and having too many sets of notes, I copied the individual flour amounts from the wrong notes. I have fixed it now 🙂
Thanks so much for letting me know! I’m usually very meticulous at checking my recipes.
PS: I saw the butter cake you posted on your Facebook page the other day, looked delish! xx
mylittlemod says
Ooh thanks for the update – baking this tomorrow!!!
Shani says
Hey, this cake looks amazing but I was wondering if it’s ok to freeze it? would it ruin it for shaping?
Thanks for positing such comprehensive recipes btw, certainly makes things easier!
Cheers
Shani
Natalie says
Hi Shani, you can definitely freeze it. Let it cool in the tin as it says in the recipe, then wrap it really well in plastic wrap, pop it in an airtight container and freeze it. When you want to use it, make sure you leave it to thaw at room temperature, still in the container and the plastic wrap, until it has come back to room temperature. This way it won’t get soggy from the condensation as it thaws 🙂
Shani says
Awesome, thanks very much 😀 Definitely gonna give this one a go!
Beck.. says
I need to make an egg free white choc gluten free cake.. what would you use in replace of eggs?
Natalie says
Hi Beck, some of my readers have had good results using egg replacer which is available from some supermarkets and specialty shops. Just follow the instructions on the packet for the amount needed to replace each egg 🙂
Kim says
Wow, I’m surprised this requires 2.5-3 hours to bake! I have baked many gluten free cakes, in two or three pans (to make 2 or 3 layer cakes) for the typical hour and they are done.
This recipe sounds amazing though! So, I took the time to convert all of your measurements to US cups, and if I were to make mini cupcakes of this recipe I believe I should half? everything for 40 mini cupcakes.
Thanks!
Natalie says
Hi Kim! It’s not the fact that this is a gluten free cake that means it takes a long time to bake. All Australian-style mud cakes that are typically used for cake decorating are baked for a long time at a low temperature. This ensures that they are baked right through to the middle before the outside dries out, and makes sure they stay lovely and moist. This recipe also makes a much higher cake than many traditional recipes. But you can certainly bake it in several smaller pans and it will take less time. I sometimes split it into two pans, but I prefer to do it in one, it is more moist and I only have to cut off and discard (or eat!) one top crust when I level it. Then I split it into four layers before filling it.
I’m afraid I’m not sure how many cupcakes it would make, but I suspect half the recipe should be enough for 40 mini cupcakes. I’d love to know how you get on 🙂
Trudi Verrico says
Hi just wondering if you use pre-mix/store bought flour can you leave out the gum? This cake looks awesome. Thainks
Natalie says
Hi Trudi, yep if the mix already has a gum ingredient added, then you can leave it out of the recipe 🙂
Trudi Verrico says
thanks. Will have a go at it soon.
Shannon Astill says
I was wondering if this is an extremely moist white choc mud? Also it doesnt seem to have alot of white choc as opposed to the other ingredients??
Natalie says
It’s moist but not sticky, if that makes sense? Like any cake though it is variable, depending on how long it’s cooked for, at what temperature, etc. The white chocolate is just enough to give it the white chocolate taste (providing you use good quality white chocolate rather than compound choc) but not so much that it makes the cake taste sickly sweet, or to make the texture too firm and hard once it cools. You can definitely up the white chocolate if you want, but it will make the cake crumb harder. I prefer to layer in the white chocolate flavour by using white chocolate ganache. Hope that helps 🙂
Shannon Astill says
Thank you so much for replying so quickly! Brilliant!Can you taste the difference with it being gluten free?
Natalie says
It does really depend on the gluten free flours that you use, but if you use good quality flours (or a flour blend) that are very finely ground, then most people who try it without knowing it was gluten free have no idea. I won’t lie, if you did a blind taste test on me I would most likely be able to tell the difference, but that is more because I am pretty picky, and because I’ve been working on gluten free recipes for so long I’ve kinda trained myself to notice the subtle differences. But probably 99% of people who have tried it tell me they can’t tell (or can’t believe!) it’s gluten free 🙂
mylittlemod says
I have got another one baking in the oven right now! It’s a fantastic cake. After a few years gluten free I certainly could not tell you the difference nor does anyone I give it to GF or otherwise. They all love it and have no idea it’s any ‘different’ … until I tell them!! 😉
Natalie says
I love that you love it so much, Julie! Best advertising ever 😉 xx
Belinda says
Gluten free flour Is it plain or s . R flour
Natalie says
In this recipe it’s gluten free plain flour. If you don’t need it to be gluten free then you can substitute it with regular plain wheat flour.
Rachel says
My cake is in the oven so fingers crossed it turns out as good as yours. I couldn’t see the step for adding the vanilla in the directions and nearly forgot it. Am I blind or is it missing? Thanks for such a helpful and dedicated website 🙂
Natalie says
Hi Rachel, yes it seems I forgot to mention when to add the vanilla! You can pretty much add it any time, but I usually stir it in when the liquid ingredients come off the heat. I’ve updated the recipe now, thanks for bringing it to my attention. Hope your cake goes well 🙂
Nicole says
Hi, Just wondering what the crumb should look like. Will it be more pudding like and sticky then a normal crumb? I’m not sure if I’ve not cooked it long enough as the crumb is very dense and after a few days it’s very wet looking. As I want to use it for a wedding cake it needs to be perfect and last a week crumb wise. Thanks!
Natalie says
Hi Nicole, no it shouldn’t be wet looking or pudding like. If you have a look at the photo with the slice of cake, it’s quite a firm-but-moist crumb. Sounds like it could be a bit undercooked, which can be common with mud cakes (I’ve done it many times!) as it’s often really hard to tell if it’s cooked. If you give it another go, try using the tips from this post which shows a few different ways to check that a cake is cooked. I usually use all three on a mud cake, just because often a skewer will come out pretty clean but the cake may not actually be cooked (been there, done that, got thoroughly frustrated!). If you’ve baked it in one tin, then you could also try splitting it between two tins to help it cook faster and more evenly. Hope it works out for you next time 🙂
Danielle says
Just wondering about the foil cover on top. Do you take it off at all during baking? I ask because you say to let cool for 30 mins then put a foil cover on.
Natalie says
Hi Danielle. I leave the foil on for the whole baking time. I usually take it off while the cake cools for a bit, then either unfold the edges of the foil lid and use that to cover the cake (scrunching it around the top edge of the cake pan) or use a fresh piece of foil to do that if I want to re-use the foil lid for another cake. I’ll update the recipe to make it more clear 🙂
Lezel says
This looks great! I was wondering if I could add champagne to it for a twist? Should I omit some of the milk?
Natalie says
Hi Lezel. Yep, you can just replace some of the milk with champagne. You may need to experiment with the amount you replace, to get the amount of flavour you want. If you find the champagne doesn’t give enough flavour, you may need to simmer the champagne first to reduce it down to intensify the flavour. You can replace as little or as much of the milk as you want, as long as the total amount of liquid remains the same 🙂
sal says
Hello, I ended up making this yesterday. I’m not sure what went wrong, I used the same flours and baked it for 3 hours with baking strips, it looked perfect on the outside. I cut it this morning and its definitely not cooked. The sad part is the edges taste phenomenal. Just not sure why it didn’t cook through, it sort of looks gummy and all the way through, not more gooey in the middle just like a gummy cake. I might try again when we move to a house with a better oven (ours is pretty old). I think this might be a recipe for confident cooks. Thank you anyway its a pleasure to see how beautiful your cakes are.
Natalie says
Hi Sal, my apologies for my delayed reply, I’ve been on holiday and had no internet access. I’m sorry to hear your cake didn’t cook through properly. It could definitely be an issue with your oven, when our oven was having thermostat issues my mud cakes were coming out with gummy bits. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong until I bought an oven thermometer and realised that the oven was heating to the right temperature, but after half an hour or so it would suddenly drop the temperature quite dramatically (by 50 degrees or more) and that’s why the cakes weren’t cooking. Once we got a new thermostat they started coking just fine again, although I still don’t trust it and always use an oven thermometer when I bake. If you can get your hands on one that might help. Also, have a look at my post on checking that a cake is cooked all the way through as mud cakes can be notoriously hard to check for doneness. They seem cooked, and then when you cut into them you get a nasty surprise. I’m pretty sure that’s happened at least once to everyone who has baked a lot of mud cakes. It’s certainly happened to me many times 😉 I’d definitely try the oven thermometer though, if you can rule out the oven temperature as the issue, we can troubleshoot some more.
Emz says
Hey,
I would like to try this recipe as I have a cake order for a gluten free white choc mud cake.
I have bought the white wings gluten free plain flour. It contains tapioca, rice flour and thickener (464). I was wondering if I would need to add the potato flour and the xantham gum to it?
Natalie says
Hi Emz. I suggest you just use the white wings flour and leave out the xanthan gum. I haven’t used the flour before (it’s not sold in NZ) but I chatted to another reader a while back who had made my dark choc mud cake using that flour and they also added the xanthan gum and their cake turned out quite gummy.
You could also still use the potato flour if you wanted to – it is really good for helping to keep the cake moist. But the white wings flour is marketed as a direct replacement for wheat flour, so hopefully it will work that way!
Shaylee says
First, I would like to say that this cake is AMAZING. This is now my fourth time making it. My sister and 3 friends all have Celiac and all of them love this cake, so they all ask for it for special occasions! So a huge thank you of sharing this recipe 🙂
My question.. I made too much batter, and would like to maybe try to make another 6″ round tomorrow after my other 6″ rounds cool overnight. Is it okay to put this in the fridge overnight and bake tomorrow? Does it keep well? I know it is best to use it right away, but would love to make a taller cake if it can wait until tomorrow.
Thanks!
Natalie says
Hi Shaylee, I’m so glad you all love this cake 🙂 I haven’t left batter overnight before, but my best guess is that since mud cake is dense anyway, it should be ok. Since there is a bit of baking powder in it, and some of the reaction will have happened overnight (if it’s double acting baking powder, which most are, then half the reaction happens immediately and the rest happens once the cake goes in the oven) you can try whisking in an extra pinch of baking powder to the batter before you put it in the oven. The texture may not be exactly the same, it may be more dense than the other cakes, but it can’t hurt to try! Good luck 🙂
Shaylee says
Thank you for your speedy reply and all your help!
Jo-Anne says
I would love to make this cake for my daughter’s 18th birthday, however, she wants a square cake. If I stick to your recipe, what size square cake tin would you recommend. Note that I probably wouldn’t make a layer cake, but just one cake. Also, what icing would you recommend? Buttercream, ganache or fondant?
Your cake looks amazing, by the way.
Thanks for the recipe.
Natalie says
Hi Jo-Anne. You can use this same amount of cake batter to make a 6″ square cake, which will be about 3.5 – 4″ high. To make a 7″ square, you can multiply the recipe by 1.5, and to make an 8″ square you can use double the recipe. I would definitely recommend using baking strips when baking a square mud cake, as the corners can dry out a lot before the centre of the cake is done. The baking strips will protect it and help it cook more evenly.
You can use pretty much any icing you like with this cake as the white chocolate flavour goes well with most things, but I am partial to the pairing of white choc mud cake with white chocolate ganache. A white chocolate buttercream or even a raspberry buttercream would be delicious as well. You can add either raspberry jam or freeze-dried raspberry powder (if you can get your hands on some) to any buttercream recipe. And if you do want to use fondant, then the cake will hold up beautifully under it. I hope the cake goes well for you, and let me now if you have any other questions 🙂
Nomkita says
Hello Natalie. Will this cake work well as a sheet cake? I’m looking for a recipe for my son’s graduation cake. Also, can I use egg replacer? My son also has an egg allergy.
Natalie says
Hi Nomkita. Yep you can bake this as a sheet cake. I would definitely suggest making a foil lid for the pan, as otherwise you may end up with a dome in the middle of the cake. You’ll want to make sure that you make enough batter to fill the pan most of the way to the top (the CakeOmeter is very useful for working out how much batter you’ll need) so that you can trim the top if it does rise too much in the middle. I haven’t personally made it with an egg replacer, but some of my readers have used it in my recipes and had good results. Hope that helps 🙂
Emz says
Hi,
I have made this cake on several occasions and people love it.
I just wanted to know I need to make this cake for a 10″ tin I’m thinking of making two separate batches then mixing it togethor.
Is this cake suitable to be made in a bigger size?
Natalie says
Hi Emz, yep, doubling the recipe should give you the exact right amount for a 10″ tin. It will take a long time to cook, so if you happen to have two 10″ tins and can fit them both in the oven, then I would suggest splitting the batter between the two tins, or making separate batches of batter and cooking them at separate times. Otherwise just be prepared to have the oven on for quite a while 😉 Glad you love the recipe! 🙂
Lou says
Excellent recipe, thank you! Mine just came out of the oven, looks perfect! Very even in colour and texture.
Looking forward to tasting once it cools down.
Natalie says
Hi Lou, that’s great! I hope you love it as much as I do 🙂
v says
Hi, I am going to give this recipe a go next week for a friends 2 tier birthday cake and really looking forward to seeing the results! When I make standard vanilla sponges I make them on the Monday, cover them on the Tuesday and then decorate ready for Saturday. would this be OK for this recipe too? thanks x
Natalie says
Hi V, yep you can absolutely do that. They’ll last just as long (actually probably even longer) than a sponge cake 🙂
Susan Wallace says
Hi, this cake looks amazing and I want to make it for much loved colleague. I want to bake it in 3 6″ pans. Any suggestions for baking time? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Susan ?
Susan Parker - Wallace says
Hi, this cake looks amazing and I want to make it for much loved colleague. I want to bake it in 3 6″ pans. Any suggestions for baking time? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also what temp reach on a candy thermometer to indicate it is cooked!
Thank you
Natalie says
Hi Susan. Sorry about my delayed reply, I’ve been away for a few days. Depending on how deep the batter ends up in the 6″ tins, I would check the cakes after 45 minutes to an hour. If you’re making extra batter to make deeper cakes, then they’ll need a bit longer. The good thing is that they tend not to sink if you check them too soon, so as long as you just check them quickly, even if they’re not done yet you can just shut the oven door again and they should be fine. When they’re cooked they should be at least 99℃ (roughly 210℉) 🙂
Mandy says
I made this cake for my daughter’s 21st birthday and it was a huge hit! I do a little decorating for friends and family and they request this cake over a non glute-free cake.
It is by fa the best mud cake I’ve eaten….
Thanks so much for making my gluten-free life!
Safa says
Hi! I want to try out this recipe for a family party in 2 days, my only issue is that i don’t have xantham gum or gluten free plain flour, would the recipe turn out okay if i just use plain flour and no xantham gum? Also i want to make the same amount of ganache but im thinking it might make the cake too sweet :/ was this the case when you made it?
Thanks!
Natalie says
Hi Safa. If you don’t need the cake to be gluten free, then yes you can substitute the gluten free flours for plain flour and leave out the xanthan gum. White chocolate mud cake and white chocolate ganache are both quite sweet. I don’t mind that, but if you want to make it less sweet you can always do thinner layers of ganache 🙂
Kylie says
Hi there, just wondering if the Rice Flour can be white rice flour instead of brown rice flour? I’ve just opened a box of McKenzies Rice Flour (made from white rice) and it feels slightly gritty compared to normal flour. And one other question… is potato starch the same as potato flour? Thanks so much!
Natalie says
Hi Kylie, yes you can use white rice flour instead of brown. Both of them are slightly more gritty than normal wheat flour, but if you sift it first then most of what passes through the sieve should be fine in the cake. The second question is slightly more difficult, basically potato starch and potato flour are two different things. Potato flour is made from whole potatoes (including the skin), the potatoes are cooked and then dried and ground into flour. Potato flour isn’t often used in baking as it has a strong potato smell and taste. Potato starch is made from just the starch in the potato and has no real potato smell or flavour. This is what I use in my recipes. BUT, unhelpfully enough, often potato starch is sold as “potato flour”, because it’s used more often in baking. In fact I rarely see actual potato flour in a shop, it’s generally starch marketed as flour. Generally, as long as you can see the product in the packet and it’s very white and looks quite similar to cornstarch (and if you can give it a sniff, it won’t smell like potato) then it is in fact potato starch. Potato flour is more of a cream colour and as I said, is very potato-y. Hope that helps! 🙂
indis says
Hi, Has anyone tried this doing an egg free version? I thought about giving flaxseed gell a go to sub for the eggs…thanks
Natalie says
Hi Indis, I haven’t had a chance to try this with any egg replacements, and I haven’t heard from any readers who have. However I’ve heard from a few who have used purchased egg replacer in my dark chocolate mud cake and they said it worked really well, so I can’t think of any reason why it wouldn’t work in white choc mud. The only thing I can think of with flaxseed gel is that you’d be able to see bits of the seeds in the cake. But if that doesn’t concern you then it could be worth giving it a go 🙂 Hope that helps.
Cate says
I love your website! Your tutorials on covering a cake in fondant and perfect vertical buttercream stripes are genius.
I’m celiac, so haven’t eaten gluten in 8 years. While I’m an avid baker, I only recently started to bake gluten free–I was overwhelmed by the many challenges.
I really want to bake a gluten free cake, but I find xanthan gum does not agree with me. And too, many in my circle are open to eating some gluten free, but cringe at some of the commonly used ingredients like xanthan gum.
For bread, I’ve used psyllium husk, chia seeds, flax seeds, egg whites as a replacer for xanthan gum. In pie crust, I’ve had success with cream cheese and pectin. But I’m stumped as to what might work as a xanthan gum replacer in cake. If you have any suggestions, I would be most appreciative.
Natalie says
Hi Cate. I have to say I haven’t really had to experiment with alternatives to xanthan gum as we can tolerate it. But I know it’s quite common for Coeliacs to react to it so I must have a play with some of my recipes. I would suggest trying a bit of flax seed gel (like people do to replace eggs) in dark-coloured cakes like chocolate cake. You probably wouldn’t want to use them in lighter coloured cakes as you’d be able to see the flecks of seed. But since they’re good for binding they should help hold the cake together a bit more. The other thing you can try is leaving out the x gum and freezing the cake overnight once it’s baked, then thawing and filling etc. Freezing helps firm up the crumb and it should help it hold together. I hope that helps somewhat 🙂
GILL MCMAHON says
I usually make family birthday cakes and other occasion cakes with “normal” flour but as I have recently been diagnosed with a wheat/gluten intolerance I don’t get to eat any of them. I have just done a “test run” on this using half the recipe in 2 x 8 inch sandwich tins, It rose beautifully and is absolutely delicious and, unfortunately, very moreish!! I will be making the full recipe in a full size 8 inch round cake tin for my granddaughter’s 1st birthday in a couple of weeks.
Natalie says
Hi Gill, thanks so much for your comment, I’m so happy that you love the recipe as much as I do! I hope your granddaughter has a fantastic 1st birthday 🙂 x
Lisa says
Hi Natalie,
I’m planning to bake this cake for my coeliac friend for her baby shower. I’ll be travelling (via long distance car trip) to the baby shower so would like to understand:
How many days in advance I could bake this without needing to freeze it? I was hoping to bake Thursday night for a Sunday morning party.
I’d prefer to use the ganache to decorate as a drip cake rather than a smooth finish as per the picture, would this work to do the edges and layers smooth with a drip down from the top?
Could I do the ganache the day before and it would be ok or does ganache need to be done on the day?
Thankyou, wish me luck! 🙂
Natalie says
Hi Lisa. This cake keeps really well, you can absolutely bake Thursday for a Sunday party. As long as the cake is stored well-wrapped and in an airtight container before ganaching, then once the ganache goes on it’s basically airtight so there’s no worry of it drying out.
Yes you can use the ganache around the edge and then do a drip. If you haven’t done a drip before then have a look at this post for some drip tips. The ganache can be done the day after the cake is baked, or any time after that. I’d suggest baking Thursday, ganaching Friday, and depending on what else you’re decorating it with it could be finished off on Friday or Saturday.
Hopefully that has answered everything, but if not let me know 🙂 Good luck!
Lisa says
Thank you so much for your reply. I won’t be able to ganache Friday but will aim for first thing Saturday. I’m excited to bake this cake!
Natalie says
Yay, I hope you have fun with it. If you want to share a picture when it’s done, feel free to email me or post on my Facebook page. I’d love to see it! Good luck 🙂
Traci says
What was baking time and temp for cupcakes?
Ive made this cake a few times added raspberry and lemon filling , its amazing!!
Natalie says
Hi Traci, that sounds really delicious!! I haven’t made this one as cupcakes yet, but I would keep the oven temp at 160°C and check the cupcakes after 30 minutes. I can’t be sure on that baking time though, so keep an eye on them and if they look like they’re browning then give them a poke and check. Hope that helps 🙂
Anne Molloy says
Hi Natalie. A friend has asked me to make her a white mud, gluten and dairy free. Could this cake be made with dairy free butter and milk?
Natalie says
Hi Anne, yes you can make it with a dairy free butter alternative and dairy free milk. I haven’t done it yet myself but some of my readers have and they said it turned out great. Just make sure whichever butter alternative you use is suitable for baking – it should say on the packaging 🙂
Amelia says
Hi Natalie,
Just wondering if this recipe works for cupcakes and how to change the procedure in doing so.
Thank you xx
Natalie says
Hi Amelia, I still haven’t had a chance to make this one as cupcakes yet, but I would keep the oven temp at 160°C and check the cupcakes after 30 minutes. If your oven tends to brown things quickly then drop the temp to 150°C. I can’t be 100% sure on that baking time though, so keep an eye on them and if they look like they’re browning too quickly before the middle is set you can drop the oven temperature to 150°C and leave them a bit longer. Hope that helps 🙂
azura says
if i halved the recipe, what is the cooking time. Should it be half the time too?
Natalie says
Hi Azura, it’s hard to say exactly but I would start checking it after 1.5 hours. You’ll start to know when it’s nearly done as you’ll be able to smell it 😉 Hope that helps 🙂
Tania says
Hi, I made this cake today and it’s delicious! I want to make it as a 10 inch cake so I know that I should double the recipe but how long should I bake it for?
Natalie says
Hi Tania, my apologies for the delayed reply, for some reason I didn’t get a notification of your comment. It’s hard to say exactly, but if you’re baking the doubled mix in one 10″ cake tin, it’ll probably take close to 4 hours to bake. If you split it between two 10″ tins then probably around 3 hours, maybe a little less. You should be able to smell it when it’s almost done, and after it’s been in the oven for a couple of hours you should be able to open the oven and check it without it sinking, just make sure you don’t leave it out too long. Hope that helps 🙂
Robyn says
Hi Natalie, do you think this recipe would work with egg replacer, DF white chocolate and DF butter substitue, for an egg and dairy free alternative? Or am I tweaking too much?
Natalie says
Hi Robyn. I know some of my readers have had a lot of success with this recipe using dairy free alternatives, and I have heard from a couple who used egg replacer successfully in it. I’m not sure if anyone has let me know they’ve done both though. I’ve been searching back through comments and messages because I thought someone had, but I can’t seem to find anything. I think it’s worth giving it a go though, as mud cakes are pretty forgiving recipes in general. If you do give it a try I would love to know how you get on!
Aymie says
Hello! I’ve been eyeing this recipe FOREVER and am finally ready to attempt after reading almost everything on your site 😉 I just want to confirm when you say “caster sugar” that it is powdered or confectioners sugar? Or just fine granulated sugar? Thank you so much for the help! Your site is SO informative…I love it!
Natalie says
Hi Aymie, I’m sorry for the delayed reply, I didn’t get a notification of your comment for some reason! Hopefully I’m not too late. Caster sugar is also known as superfine sugar, and yes it’s just fine granulated sugar. You can use regular granulated sugar if that’s all you have, it will just take a bit longer to dissolve, and sometimes it can leave a sugary layer on the top of the cake when it’s baked, but that’s not a huge deal as you can just trim the top of the cake off. Hope that helps 😃
Maria says
I have a wedding cake to make for a friend and would like to use this recipe, will it work three tiers, i am making a 10″ 8″ and a 6″ to stack with the ruffled butter icing and white choclate, ganache in the middle, just a little concerned it will be to heavy to stack all three tiers?
She wants all rainbow
Thanks
★★★★★
Natalie says
Hi Maria. Yes you can use this recipe for a tiered cake. Each cake will need to be on its own cake board, and you’ll need dowels in each of the bottom cakes. The dowels hold the weight of the cake above so it doesn’t get squashed. If you’re not familiar with dowelling cakes, Veena Azmanov has a good post on this https://veenaazmanov.com/doweling-cake/ 🙂
Mandy says
Hi!
Looooove this recipe – I’ve baked it several times and it’s always perfect, and a great base for decorating.
Can you tell me if I swap the white sugar for brown sugar it will make a Caramel Mud Cake?
I’ve been asked to make one and I know this recipe works so would love to use it again.
Thanks for your help
Mandy
★★★★★
Natalie says
Hi Mandy, yes you definitely can do that, and it works well. I would call it more of a butterscotch flavour than true caramel, but it is very delicious 🙂
Marisa says
This cake looks perfect for my GF daughter! I have read in other comments that it keeps well but I am unsure on how to “keep” the cake – if you know what I mean?! If I bake it on Wednesday for a Saturday party, how do I wrap it up? Should I trim and cut the cake into tiers before I wrap it? Should I ice the cake before I wrap it or should I do it on Saturday? The pressure of cooking a large birthday cake for a big family is real! Haha.
Thanks for your advice 🙂
Natalie says
Hi Marisa. Once the cake is baked and cooled, you can store it wrapped in plastic wrap and in an airtight container. You can store it whole, or split it into layers first if you want, either way is fine. Once you have filled and covered the cake with whichever icing you’re using, the cake will be sealed and stay fresh for days. This particular cake will keep for ages. If you haven’t already, check out my cake decorating timeline post as it might help you plan out your time and ease some of the pressure! Hope that helps 🙂
Jessica says
Hi, I’m planning to make this cake this week. We live at 5800 ft elevation. Should we make any changes to the recipe to accommodate for the high elevation? Thanks!
Natalie says
Hi Jessica. I’m sorry but I don’t have any experience at all with baking at high altitudes. I live right by the sea at the moment, so I’m about as far from high elevation as you can get! Looking at this article from All Recipes they suggest reducing the baking powder, this cake isn’t designed to rise a lot but it would probably be a good idea to reduce it. You can reduce the sugar as well as they suggest, and increase the amount of milk. In general, mud cakes are pretty forgiving so a bit of fluctuation in how much it rises etc. shouldn’t make too much difference. If you give it a go I would love to know how you get on! Good luck 🙂
Jessica says
Hi Natalie, thank you for the advice. It turned out great! I reduced the baking powder by 1/2t, added 4T of milk, and reduced the sugar by 2T. We also followed the instructions on how to make white chocolate ganache and it was pretty easy and tasted wonderful. I think we are going to try the devils food cake next time 😋
★★★★★
Natalie says
Yay, I’m so glad it worked out! Thanks for letting me know <3 If you try the devil's food cake I'd love to know how you get on. It's my favourite cake so I hope it works for you too!
Belinda says
Hi!
Just wondering if your oven temp is for a fan forced or convential oven?
Thanks 😊
Natalie says
Hi Belinda, I use non-fan forced for cakes 🙂