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.
Can I leave the eggs out?
Hi Sarah! We don’t typically bake egg-free and haven’t tested any substitutes 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!
Could you make this into cupcakes?
Hi Lori! For cupcakes, we recommend this gluten-free vanilla cupcake recipe. To make this cake recipe into cupcakes, they’d probably need about 18-20 minutes in the oven. Happy baking!
My god was this cake absurdly good. Thank you! This will be my go-to recipe from now on. I subbed Greek yogurt bc I didn’t have sour cream. Perfection.
Yay! We’re happy to hear you loved the cake so much, Shelly! Glad to hear the Greek yogurt worked well too. Thank you for sharing with us!
Made this for my neice for her birthday. She is dairy free so used soy yogurt and coconut milk, and used avocado oil. It was so easy to make and it turned out so good I will never buy boxed cake mix again!
We’re so pleased to hear how much you loved the cake and that those dairy-free subs worked well! Thank you for taking the time to share with us, Lou!
Sounds delicious! I want to make half a recipe. Would I use 2 eggs?
Thank you
Hi Peggy! Unfortunately eggs make dividing recipes like this tricky. Using 2 eggs would throw off the balance of ingredients. For best results with the half recipe, crack 2 eggs into a bowl, whisk, and then use 3/4 of the egg mixture. Happy baking!
What is the fat content of the sour cream you use? I live in the UK and am not sure if it’s the same
Hi Hannah! In the US sour cream contains 18-20% milkfat (5-6g per 2 Tbsp). We hope this helps! Happy baking!
Hi! I’m thinking of using this recipe for my wedding cake. For freezing it, what are your recommendations on the thawing process? How long, and just at room temp or in a fridge first?
Hi Katrina! We’d thaw it overnight in the fridge first, then let it sit out for an hour or two before unwrapping and frosting. We hope it’s a success and you have a wonderful wedding!
Hi Erin, my birthday is coming up and I wanted to make this cake for my family. However here in Sweden sour cream only has a 12% fat content… Should I use half cream fraiche 34% or a couple of tbsp of butter? I hope you can offer some advice!
Hi Aasa, thank you for your question! We haven’t tried those adjustments ourselves, but we’d go with the half cream fraiche, half sour cream. If you decide to try it out, we’d love to hear how it goes!
This cake is absolutely phenomenal. Not only it is the best gluten-free cake I’ve ever had; it’s the best vanilla cake I’ve ever had. My friends and family who aren’t gluten-free had no idea and they absolutely loved it. The texture is so luxurious and moist. This is a dangerous cake lol. I am definitely keeping this recipe. Thank you so much.
Aww, we’re so glad it was such a hit with everyone! Thank you for such positive feedback, Adrienne. Happy baking!
Could I add liquid raspberry jello to this cake and make this a poke cake?
Hi Emily, we haven’t tried to make a poke cake with this recipe before. It sounds so fun! If you decide to experiment with this recipe and the jello, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Oh my gosh this was so good! I was shocked. I did replace the milk with almond milk and the sour cream with almond milk yogurt. But I’m truly amazed at how well this would pass for typical cake. Thank you so much!! I felt like I’ve been missing my sweets!
We love to hear this, Jamie! Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us. It’s great to hear the dairy-free options worked well for you!
Hi, Can I substitute coconut oil for vegetable oil & greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Thanks for the recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Hi Elaine! We haven’t tried Greek yogurt or coconut oil with this recipe ourselves, but other readers have shared that they’ve successfully used coconut oil. The fat content from the sour cream is important in this recipe so we’re not sure how much Greek yogurt may change the results. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Going to make this cake for my partner and I’s anniversary! But I plan on making a layered, mini heart-shaped cake using 4″ wide and 1″ deep tins. I will keep a close eye on the cake while it’s in the oven so it doesn’t burn/overcook, but is there anything I should do differently in this recipe besides adjusting the bake time? Thank you!!
Hi Josie, that sounds fun! Make sure you only fill the tins about 1/2 – 2/3 full so the batter doesn’t spill over. There isn’t as much wiggle room with thin layers as they can easily overbake and dry out fast so just make sure you pull them from the oven as soon as the toothpick comes out clean. We’d love to hear how it goes!
Do you have a recommendation for a vegetable oil substitute? I was hoping to make it soy free.
Hi Mary! Any neutral oil will work, such as avocado. We hope you love the cake!
Any suggestion on how to make a dairy free version? I’m needing a great recipe for a friend with GF and dairy allergies.
Hi Anthea, yes you can use DF sour cream and milk. We recommend DF milk that has fewer ingredients (no stabilizers or gums) for best texture. Elmhurst cashew milk is one option! We hope this helps!