Cake recipes are one of my loves. I’ve been baking cakes for twenty years and getting a cake recipe just right really does warm my heart. I recently pulled out my copy of Joy of Cooking and looked for a cake recipe that would be fun to convert to gluten free. I decided on Marble Cake. Half chocolate, half vanilla. It’s the perfect imagery for a celebration of the kind of love the draws two people into on.
Instructions
- 1 8″-10″ fluted cake pan or a 10″ loaf pan
- 4.5 oz. (1 cup) brown rice flour
- 3.5 oz. (3/4 cup) tapioca starch
- 3.5 oz. (3/4 cup) sorghum flour
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- 2.5 tsp. baking powder
- 10.5 oz. (1 1/2 cups) sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 8 oz. (1 cup) water
- 8 oz. (1 cup) oil*
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 6 oz. eggs, separated (3 large chicken)
- 1 1/2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. baking soda
I tested this with canola oil, but coconut oil will work too.
- Mix the flours, xanthan gum and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the flour with fork for 1 minute to spread the xanthan gum and baking powder evenly.
- In a separate large bowl begin mixing your liquids by pouring 6 oz. of heated water over the sugar. Stir until dissolved. Then stir in the oil, vanilla extract and salt.
- Add one third of the flour mixture to the liquids and beat at low speed until incorporated. Repeat 2 additional times so that all the flour is incorporated. Total mixing time for this step should be at least 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 2 oz. of water and the egg yolks to the cake batter and mix for an additional minute.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Separate the batter into two equal portions. To one half add the melted baking chocolate, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir these ingredients in well. Then whip the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Stir 1/2 of the egg whites into the chocolate batter, and one half into the vanilla batter.
- Grease and flour your cake pan. Scoop portions of the dough into the cake pan alternating between the two batters to achieve the marbled effect. Bake the cake at 350 degrees until it reaches an internal temperature of 209F, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The baking time will vary depending on the pan that use.
- Remove the cake from the pan a few minutes after you take it out of the oven and let it cool on the counter. Once it has cooled completely you may ice it with your choice of icing. The following is the one that I used.
Chocolate Buttercream Icing:
- 3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1/4 c. brewed coffee
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 c. GF confectioner’s sugar
Melt the baking chocolate and butter in a saucepan over very low heat. Pour this into a mixing bowl and then stir in the coffee and vanilla. Gradually whisk in the confectioner’s sugar until it is fully incorporated. Let the icing sit at room temperature until it has thickened enough to ice the cake.
hmmm…..there is no print button, takes forever to write out a recipe by hand.
Darla J P » You can just copy and paste the text that you want to save into a text file or Word document and then print it =)
I can’t do sugar (although can do agave, honey, xylitol…). How would I switch out for other sweeteners, and what’s a good alternative for sorghum flour. Thanks.
I assume you want the whipped egg whites to be split between the chocolate and non-chocolate batters and not between the chocolate and chocolate batters. A little typo there?
Wow – this was really, really good. I used a 9×13 pan and it rose better than any “regular” cake I’ve ever made (and I used to make cakes for a living). The cake was moist and it actually stayed moist for a few days which often GF products don’t do. I’m guessing you could convert this to all vanilla or all chocolate (I think I might add a bit more sugar to the all chocolate version).
Someone on Rose Levy Beranbaum’s cake site was looking for a GF white cake so I gave them a link to your recipe – I hope that was ok.
As usual, you have the best GF baking recipes on the web! Thanks. – Molly
there is a discrepancy regarding the dry measurements 4.5 oz doesn’t equal 1 cup, nor does 3.5 oz = 3/4 cup. So I’m too chicken now to try the recipe, also you mention 1 cup of oil|!?? Seems like a lot, but then if the measurements for cups are correct then 2 1/2 cups of flour is probably accurate for the amt of oil?
Can you comment on this, much appreciated as are your recipes and suggestions.
Hi Sheila, are you thinking that 1 cup should weigh 8 oz? That’s correct for water, but 1 cup of other ingredients has a different weight due to different flour densities.
I now create all of my re pies by weight, but I Include the cup measurements for those who aren’t yet convinced that weighing ingredients is the way to go =)
What would happen if you put the sugar into the egg whites as you would meringue and then incorporate it into the batter? Egg whites get a finer texture that way and I wonder if it would make a fine texture in the cake? I’m not a baking expert so I ask you.
I thank you so much for the work you share with us. It amazes me that people have criticisms before they think it through. Most of us appreciate you.
I was wondering if you’ve ever subbed white rice flour for the brown rice? I don’t like the taste of brown rice flour. That said….we made these the other day and my entire family loved them. I have tried tons of cake recipes and this by far has the best texture and moisture!, they stayed moist for days……and we’re even better the second day! Thanks for sharing!
Valerie » Yes, white rice flour and brown rice flour are essentially equal as far as how they work in recipes, so substitute way. So glad you liked the cake!