Gluten and lactose free cake!

It sounds odd, doesn’t it? I mean, how can a cake without butter, milk and flour taste any good? But just trust me, I mean, I have high standards in most aspects of life, and baked goods are no exception. So if I say it’s a good cake, there’s almost no way that it’s sub-par – it’s going to be a good cake! And besides, if there’s such a thing as a good vegan cake, I’m sure we can manage a good gluten and lactose free cake!

And besides, having a gluten and lactose free cake recipe is incredibly helpful! Baking for intolerances doesn’t have to be difficult, and here’s the perfect recipe to prove it! And the best part: you don’t even have to buy expensive ingredients! I mean, you can if you want to (see xanthan gum below)…

 

Gluten and Lactose Free Chocolate Cake

Makes one two-layer 20cm cake | allow 45 minutes

 

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour*

1/2 cup almond meal*

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum* (optional!)

2 cups caster sugar

¾ cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder*

1½ teaspoons bi-carb soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

1 cup lactose-free milk*

½ cup vegetable or canola oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

1 cup boiling water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced. Line the base of two 20cm cake tins with baking paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bi-carb soda, salt and coffee powder in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk or beat on low speed until everything is well combined.
3. Add the milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla, and beat with whisk or on low speed until fully combined – no lumps!
4. Slowly add the boiling water, stirring slowly and carefully. Once combined, beat quickly for about a minute just to finish it off.
5. Pour the cake batter into the two prepared tins and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Don’t worry if the cake is a bit under-done – this adds a nice moistness to the cake!
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Then carefully remove from the tins and leave to cool completely – you may need to run a butter knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen them before removing from the tins.
7. Frost with dairy free chocolate frosting* or just serve with (lactose free) cream and berries!

 

Happy Baking!

 

 

Notes:

• Gluten free flour is available from most supermarkets. It can be a bit gritty, so it’s worth adding the almond meal to soften everything up. Almond meal can be found in the nuts and dried fruit section of the supermarket.
• For the record, most baking powder is gluten free – I know that MacKenzie’s is, and I’m sure other brands are too, just check the label.
• Lactose free milk is also widely available from supermarkets – most types will work, whether lactose-free, almond or oat milk.
• For dairy free chocolate frosting, use a standard chocolate frosting recipe but substitute any butter with lactose-free spread like Nuttelex, and replace any milk with water or lactose-free milk as above.
• Adding xanthan gum does improve the texture of the cake a bit, but is entirely optional. It’s available from major supermarkets, generally in the health food aisle.