Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: Soft and fluffy with a pillowy crumb (not at all dense or gummy like other gluten-free cakes!)
Taste: Just the right amount of sweetness and vanilla
Ease: Very easy to make!
Top Tips: Skip the butter and use a combination of oil/sour cream! Oil has a lower melting point than butter and is a liquid at room temperature, so it more evenly coats the dry ingredients. This give the cake that wedding cake consistency! The sour cream gives the cake richness and flavor.
Recommended GF Flour: I have tested this recipe MANY times with different flour blends and it always turns out best using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour. For best results use this flour.
Would I make these again? Definitely! This is my go-to gluten-free cake recipe.It’s a great base recipe to use with many frostings/toppings. (Try turning it into strawberry shortcake with whipped cream and strawberries!)
Since publishing this gluten-free vanilla cake back in 2021, it’s received rave reviews. Some of you have even used it for wedding cakes which is such an honor!
June 2024: I’ve updated the method for mixing together the cake batter. I’ve found it turns out more reliably delicious using this new method! Also be sure your eggs and milk are at room temperature.
I also highly recommend using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour, 2% milk and vegetable oil for best results.
Featured Comment
From Elizabeth: “I have been gluten free for years, and have made many many delicious gluten free baked goods. I made this cake for my birthday and I honestly just kept saying, I think this is the best cake I’ve ever made. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!!”
Table of Contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on the key ingredients to make this gluten-free vanilla cake. You can find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour: I use and recommend Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour for this cake. I use King Arthur Flour for many of my recipes, but I really like the consistency I get from the Bob’s flour for this cake! You can also use it in these gluten-free vanilla cupcakes.
- Sour Cream: Skip the butter and use a combination of oil/sour cream! Oil has a lower melting point than butter and is a liquid at room temperature, so it more evenly coats the dry ingredients. This lends to the perfect crumb! The sour cream gives the cake richness and flavor. I also use this trick with my gluten-free blueberry muffins.
- Oil: I have tried making this cake with several neutral oils like grapeseed oil and avocdao oil, but think it turns out best made with vegetable oil. I recommend vegetable oil for best results!
- Milk: I recommend making this cake with 2% milk.
- Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best results and that real vanilla flavor.
You also might like this full collection of gluten-free cake recipes.
How to Make Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
Here’s an overview of how to make this cake. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
- Dry ingredients: Whisk them all together.
- Beat the sugar/eggs/oil/vanilla: You can mix these ingredients together using a hand or stand mixer. Then mix in the sour cream. Note that you’ll add the milk later with the dry ingredients!
- Add dry ingredients: You’ll do this alternately with the milk, mixing inbetween to give the gluten-free flour time to hydrate. I usually like to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure I’ve gotten everything mixed in.
Recommended Cake Pans
Once your batter is ready, pour it into your pan of choice and bake. I recommend making two 8-inch round cakes or one 9×13-inch cake with this gluten-free recipe.
These are my favorite 8-inch round cake pans. They are great quality for the price! For a 9×13-inch gluten-free cake I recommend this glass pan. Bake and then turn out onto a cooling rack.
Gluten-Free Cake + Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Once the gluten-free cake layers are cooled on a wire rack, you can make the frosting. I’ve included my favorite recipe for vanilla buttercream frosting in the recipe card.
The combination of the soft, tender crumb of the gluten-free vanilla cake and the whipped vanilla buttercream frosting is simply dreamy!
The main tricks to amazing vanilla buttercream are to whip the frosting throughly and add a pinch of salt to even out the sweetness of the powdered sugar. I add a pinch of salt to any frosting I make now!
You might also like serving this cake with 7-minute frosting.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
- To Store: This gluten-free vanilla cake will stay moist and soft for up to 2 days. To store simply cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature. This cake keeps much longer than other gluten-free cakes, which is another reason I love this recipe!
- To Freeze: To freeze two cake rounds, wrap each round tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Place the wrapped rounds in a resealable freezer bag, label with the date, and store them flat in the freezer for up to three months.
How do you make a gluten-free cake more moist?
The trick to making moist gluten-free cake is to use a combination of sour cream and oil for richness. Sour cream and oil work better than butter as butterfat causes gluten-free flour to clump up and make a denser crumb.
Can I make this gluten-free cake dairy-free?
You can make this cake dairy-free by using dairy-free sour cream and dairy-free milk. Opt for a dairy-free milk that has fewer ingredients like Elmhurst Cashew Milk for best results. Added gums and stabilizers in dairy-free milks will effect the texture of the cake.
Which gluten-free flour is best for cakes?
Gluten-free cake turns out best when you use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Look for a blend that contains xanthan gum so the cake has the structure it needs. My personal favorite flour blend for gluten-free cakes is Bob’s Red Mill.
More Gluten-Free Cake Recipes
Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2½ cups (375g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour (I recommend Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Other
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream at room temperature
- 1¼ cups (300ml) 2% milk at room temperature
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (226g) salted butter at room temperature
- 4-5 cups (480-600g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream or milk of choice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- June 2024: I've updated the method for mixing together the cake batter. I've found it turns out more reliably delicious using this new method! Also be sure your eggs and milk are at room temperature.I also highly recommend using Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour, 2% milk and vegetable oil for best results.
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 8-inch round pans with cooking spray, line with parchment paper rounds, then spray the parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, beat together the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract until fully combined, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the sour cream and beat until well-combined.
- With the mixer running on low, add ½ of the dry ingredients, followed by ½ of the milk. Mix to combine. Add the remaining ½ dry ingredients and ½ milk, then mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool in their pans for 15 minutes. Remove each cake from its pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 4 cups powdered sugar along with the cream/milk, vanilla and salt. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and whip for a full 2 minutes.
- If the frosting is too thick, add a little more cream/milk. If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar to get a spreadable consistency. Frost the cake as desired.
Notes
- To Store: This gluten-free vanilla cake will stay moist and soft for up to 2 days. To store simply cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature. This cake keeps much longer than other gluten-free cakes, which is another reason I love this recipe!
- To Freeze: To freeze two cake rounds, wrap each round tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Place the wrapped rounds in a resealable freezer bag, label with the date, and store them flat in the freezer for up to three months.
I used this recipe as a replacement recipe for the doctored cake recipe in “Cake Confidence” and worked like a dream!! I was so impressed and so was everyone who ate the cake. They couldn’t believe it was gluten free! Such a good recipe.
Hi, Erin! I’m excited to try your recipe! Would using full fat sour cream rather than lite make for a richer tasting cake, or just ruin the results?
Full fat sour cream will work fine too! I just slightly prefer the texture with light sour cream. But both will work!
Erin, I think vickie was asking how much xanthum gum she should add to her gf flour if it isnt already included. I too would like to know how much xanthum gum to add to my gf flour.
Thanks so much. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe.
Judian
For this recipe I would add 3/4-1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. I hope this helps! Let me know if you try it 🙂
Because the frosting has milk does it need to be refrigerated ?
The cake should be ok sitting at room temperature for a day or so. Refrigerating it can cause the cake to stale faster.
question, how can I make this in 9″ cake pans or can I make 3 8″ layers? I just need a bit more
cake. I would rather make 9″ is it possble to adjust the recipe for 2 9″ that are normal size?
You can make 2 9-inch rounds with this recipe no problem. Just decrease the baking time by 3-5 minutes. The layers will be thinner but the cake will still be delicious!
So moist and delicious!! It was such a hit with the family (who aren’t even gluten free) I’m so excited to have found this recipe! Thankyou x
I’m so glad it turned out for you! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Can’t wait to try this! I want to make a 3 tiered 9 inch cake. Should I 1.5 the recipe or double it? Also, do I bake it a little longer for the 9 inch pans?
Yes! I would 1.5 the recipe for 3 9-inch rounds. I hope this helps! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
This sound delicious! Just curious, I typically use coconut oil in my recipes that call for vegetable oil, do you think it would work in this recipe?
Yes! Coconut oil works great in this recipe. You can definitely use that!
Erin, this cake is incredible! It is delicious and moist for days. Do you have an estimated bake time for cupcakes? I’ll be using this recipe for my son’s birthday.
My 6yr old daughter is now gluten free and every birthday prior I would make her a rainbow cake where I use a basic vanilla cake recipe ( with gluten) and just divide the batter into smaller portions and color, then carefully add each color to the pan and bake…she loves it and has requested the cake for the past 2 yrs. Needless to say her birthday is approaching and I need to find a gf vanilla cake recipe to make her favorite cake…we have made several of your recipes and LOVED them all. Will this recipe work for her “new gf” birthday rainbow cake?
I think this will work great with the addition of food coloring! Just watch the bake time (decrease it) if you’re making it in smaller pans. I hope it works for you! 🙂
Finally an easy fool proof GF vanilla cake recipe! The cake was moist and had the perfect amount of sweetness to it. Simply a delicious cake that I can’t wait to make again. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so happy you liked the cake recipe! Thanks for the comment!
Hi, if I’m using flour without xanthan gum can I add it and how much per cup of flour?
Thanks
Unfortunately xanthan gum is very important for the structure of this cake. This recipe won’t work well without it!
the directions on packages of xanthan gum recommend 1/2 t per cup of GF flour
Hi, just curious if this recipe would work in a 3D bear shaped cake pan? Silly question, but I am clueless and it’s for a special occasion.
Thanks in advance.
Ps I love your recipes and blog
Ha! I love this question. I think that would work great as long as you grease the pan really well. Let me know how it turns out!
Oh my goodness you are not kidding when you say this is the best gluten-free vanilla cake! The crumb is perfect and it stays moist for days!
Can you substitute something non-dairy for the sour cream?
I think non-dairy sour cream like from the brand Kite Hill will work!