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.
This is the best GF vanilla cake I have made and I have baked a lot desserts. I made it in a 9 x 13 pan with 1/2 the frosting recipe. Everyone loved it – it wasn’t heavy, it didn’t fall and best of all it was yummy!
Hi Cathy, thank you for taking the time to share such positive feedback with us! We’re pleased to hear the cake recipe was such hit. Happy baking!
Hello and thank you for this recipe; it’s in the oven, now! I hoped you might be able to tell me how to know when the eggs, sugar, and oil are “fluffy”. I looked online but didn’t find information for this exact combo. A general time would be amazing! I used my KitchenAid and can only hope I did it correctly. The batter remained grainy but did increase in volume. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Heidi
Hi Heidi, the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla just need to be beaten until fully combined into one cohesive mixture. The recipe was updated in June 2024 and no longer requires beating the sugar and eggs until fluffy before adding the oil. We hope the cake turned out well and you enjoyed the recipe! Happy baking!
Hello, would I be able to use olive oil?
Hi Christina, yes you can swap out the vegetable oil for olive oil. We hope you enjoy the cake recipe!
Hello…..followed the recipe except for the sugar. I added 3/4 cup maple syrup and 3/4 cup honey instead of the 2 cups sugar. It came out a rubbery texture, however, the flavor was great! Any suggestions for next time?
Hi Holley, we’re sorry you had that experience. The sugar is important for both the flavor and texture. Replacing the dry sugar with liquid swaps would cause this texture change. We don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes to confidently offer alternatives for this recipe. The sugar produces the best results with this cake. Happy baking!
Hello Christie , Beautyful cake recipe and method !
I plan to make this as a 12 inch cake.. would you recommend doubling or tripling the recipe and for how long please ?
Hi Reena, we’re so pleased you like the recipe! If you want to make a two-layer cake with 12-inch cake pans, you’ll need to double the recipe. If only making one layer, the recipe as-is should be enough. When switching to different size pans, using the toothpick test in the center of the cake will be the best way to judge baking time and doneness. Happy baking!
Would this recipe be suitable for a Bundt cake!? Thank you!
Hi Gina, we haven’t tried it, but that should work. You’ll need to adjust the baking time and definitely grease the Bundt pan well. We hope you enjoy the cake!
Do you think I can make 2/3 of the recipe and bake it in an 8 inch cake pan to make a tall-ish cake? 🙂
Hi Maria, the recipe as-is is enough for two 8-inch pans so only cutting it by 1/3 may be too much batter. Making 2/3 the recipe and baking it in one 8-inch pan may cause it to overflow or bake unevenly. You’d want to reduce the baking temperature and increase the baking time to try to get a more even bake. Ideally, we’d recommend only filling the pan 2/3 full to be safe. We hope these ideas help!
Could I add sweet cherries to this recipe? I have a recipe for a sweet cherry cake and would prefer to use this GF recipe.
Hi Penny, we haven’t tried turning this vanilla cake into a cherry one before. It may be possible, but you’d want to make sure you don’t overload the batter with too many cherries or too much liquid. They’d need to be dried well and tossed in flour before being folded in. The baking time may also be impacted. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Hi Terry, we’re so glad you enjoyed the flavor! We’re sorry you had that experience with the texture however. What brand of flour did you use? We recommend Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour for best results (the liquid/dry ratio should be just right then). Overmixing, underbaking, oven temperature running too cold, and other factors can also add to this issue. We hope your next bake goes much better!
Can you use this recipe instead of your linked one for cupcakes?
Hi Julie, yes you can use this recipe for cupcakes, instead of the gf vanilla cupcake recipe. They’ll probably need about 18-20 minutes in the oven with this recipe. Happy baking!
Hi! I was wondering if this could be made into peanut butter cake? Have you tried that and if so, how much peanut butter and any other changes?
Hi Sherry, thank you for your question! We’ve never tried to turn this into a peanut butter cake before. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
There is an error in the ingredients list- it shows 1/2 cup sour cream / 120 g of sour cream. 1/2 cup of sour cream is approximately 80 grams. 120 g is approximately 1 1/2 cups. Which amount is correct?
Hello! The measurement is correct. 1/2 cup of sour cream equals 120g. This is a standardized measurement and using either 1/2 cup or 120g will produce the correct results with this cake. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Can I use oat milk or almond milk instead of dairy? I can’t have dairy. For sour cream, I have violife plant based sour cream.
Hi Miranda, yes you can use oat or almond milk, along with the violife sour cream, to make this dairy-free. We just recommend using a dairy-free milk that has fewer ingredients. Added gums and stabilizers in dairy-free milks will effect the texture of the cake so the simpler the ingredient list on the DF milk, the better. We hope you enjoy the cake!
Hi there, do you let the batter sit for 30 minutes to let the gluten develop? Also, do you add xanthan gum to the flour? Thank you
Hi Heather, this recipe is made with gluten-free flour so there isn’t any gluten to develop. Some gf recipes will use a resting or chilling time to allow the gf flour to hydrate better, but this recipe works well without that extra time. If using the recommended flour blend, it already contains xanthan gum. If using a different gf flour blend, you’ll need to check the ingredient list to see if it already includes xanthan gum or if you need to add it. We hope this helps and you enjoy the recipe!
I understand this is an annoying question, but just wanted to check – do you have any thoughts for adapting this to a chocolate cake? I have been asked to make a GF wedding cake with chocolate and vanilla layers, and I think it would be easier to have a base recipe that I only have to add to for the chocolate cake! Thanks in advance.
Not annoying at all, Baillie! Normally we would recommend our gf chocolate cake recipe (it’s delicious!), but totally understand wanting one base recipe for a project like that. We haven’t actually tested turning this one into a chocolate cake to have the exact measurement however. You’d need to add cocoa powder, but since that would add another dry ingredient to the batter, you would typically have to adjust the flour and/or liquids to make it work. We hope the wedding cake is a total success!
Hi. Do the layers have enough structure to split them horizontally for a tall layer cake? I’m an avid, experienced baker but I have no experience with gluten free cakes. I need to make a gluten free birthday cake for a 30th birthday. Your recipe seems like the most promising one out there and I’m going to give it a try.
Thank you for your question! This cake will be slightly softer than a typical gluten cake that would be cut horizontally, but structurally it should still be able to handle being split that way. We would just caution to cut and divide the cake with care. We hope you love the recipe!
Straightforward recipe, resulting in a beautiful cake, no one believed it was gluten free, thanks
Hi Susan, thank you for your kind feedback! We’re happy to hear the cake was such a hit!
Would doubling or tripling this recipe work with the current recipe measurements? Or would I need to make the recipe one at a time? (I’m baking many cakes for a party)
Hi Christa, good question! This recipe can be doubled or tripled, but there are more factors to consider. The main concerns to watch out for are: uneven mixing since the batter volume is much larger (easier to over- or undermix), uneven baking (don’t overcrowd the oven with too many pans at once or if using one larger pan adjust the temp/time accordingly to bake the center without overcooking the edges), and throwing off the leavening agent (the baking powder measurement can struggle if the pans are overfilled). We hope these ideas help!
I use this recipe all the time! The whole family loves it❤️ Can I use Buttermilk instead of 2%milk? I am trying to make a gluten free berry Chantilly cake. Thank you!
Hi Leila, we’re so happy to hear this recipe has become such a go-to! Thank you for the kind feedback. We haven’t tested the buttermilk, but it’s worth a try. We’d love to hear how it goes!
Hello! How can I make this exact recipe but vegan?
Hi Maria, we haven’t tried to make this one vegan before. For dairy-free, we recommend dairy-free sour cream and dairy-free milk of any kind (one with no added gums/stabilizers). As for egg-free, we don’t typically bake with egg replacers and haven’t tested any with this recipe. We would lean towards a substitute like Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Great recipe! Absolutely delicious. I made this for my birthday and family members did not suspect it was gluten free. Best gluten free cake I’ve ever had. I followed the recipe exactly.
One small thing, the written instructions do not mention beating the eggs and sugar until fluffy (like it shows in the video) before adding oil and vanilla extract. I don’t know if it makes a difference in the overall bake. I started over when I realized my “wet” ingredients looked a little too runny when I added them all together and then turned on my mixer.
I recommend this recipe to anyone! So good! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Xi, thank you for the kind feedback! We’re so pleased to hear how much you loved the recipe! The written instructions have been more recently updated than the video (and match the cookbook too). If beaten until fully combined, it should work just fine for this recipe, but if you prefer to whip the eggs and sugar before adding the oil and vanilla, of course please feel free to continue with that method! Happy baking!
This recipe was amazing! And so helpful. I made it for my mom’s birthday, and she loved it. All my other cakes that I have made in the past have been dense and hard but this on the other hand was perfect.
What I did with the cake recipe was doable the amount to be able to make it double decked then I made the top half chocolate and the bottom vanilla with a jam filling and a chocolate frosting. Every one said it was very good and they all loved it I will defiantly be making this again!!
Hi Adana, thank you for sharing your positive baking experience with us! We’re so happy to hear the cake was such a hit for your mom’s birthday. Happy baking!