This 6” gluten free cappuccino cake is perfect for smaller gatherings or parties. It’s made with three layers of brown sugar espresso cake and covered with a vanilla espresso buttercream frosting.
Recipe updated slightly 7/2020
If you love coffee or espresso drinks, you will love this Gluten Free Cappuccino Cake!
I’m really not a coffee drinker anymore. I used to live on the stuff, but once I was diagnosed with Celiac I found I needed to cut out a lot of acidic foods and drinks as I was healing my gut (the acidity from coffee first thing in the morning was especially bothering me). So I switched to tea and have been drinking mostly that for the past few years.
I still love the flavor of coffee, though, and love to bake with it every now and then!
This cappuccino cake starts with a brown sugar espresso cake. It’s just perfectly moist and has a pretty strong espresso flavor. I layered it with an espresso buttercream for the ultimate coffee-lovers cake!
This recipe makes a three-layer 6” cake. I’ve been making a lot of 6” cakes lately… the cake pans seem really small compared to the standard 8” pan, but these small cakes really serve a lot when you stack them high! This recipe will still serve 10-12 people, so it’s perfect for family gatherings and birthday parties.
What Flour To Use For Gluten Free Cappuccino Cake
For all my cupcake and cake recipes, I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour. This is the flour that I have been using since my Celiac diagnosis and seems to work the best for me! Not all gluten free flour mixes absorb moisture the same way, and they all have different proportions of ingredients used, so keep in mind that this recipe was designed specifically for this flour mix.
I always measure my flour by weight to ensure I’m using the exact amount needed, as even just a little bit more or less could change the texture of the cake. It’s also nice because I don’t have to dirty as many measuring cups, so I just spoon my flour into a bowl on my kitchen scale to weigh. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can measure your flour by spooning it into your measuring cup and then leveling it off before adding it to your dry ingredient bowl. This helps to prevent you from using too much flour, which can happen when you scoop it out of the bag with your measuring cup.
I haven’t tested this recipe with other flours, so I can’t guarantee that your cake will turn out the same if using a different flour mixture. If using a different gluten free flour mixture, I recommend using a 1:1 mix that contains xanthan gum and measure by weight. I have seen some bakers make my recipes successfully with Pillsbury gluten free flour. If you made this successfully with a different flour, please let me know!
Can I Make Other Substitutions?
Gluten free baking is very finicky. I don’t recommend making a lot of substitutions as this it can really change the structure and texture of the cake. For example, if you swap out the brown sugar, you remove a lot of moisture in the recipe and your cake may turn out quite dry. Similarly, adding additional milk in place of yogurt also removes necessary added moisture.
However, there are a few that I have personally done that work well:
Dairy: For the yogurt, I usually use plain low-fat yogurt. You can use a dairy free yogurt or swap it for sour cream if you need to. I don’t recommend using greek yogurt as it’s had most of the liquid strained out and might make the cake a little dry or give it a different texture. For the milk, you can use regular cow milk or a non-dairy version. Canned coconut milk is too thick and has a different fat content and will not work well (I have tried it).
Oil: You can use any neutral oil you’d like in this gluten free cappuccino cake recipe. Melted or liquid coconut oil will also work, however depending on what type you use it may give the cake a coconut flavor.
Frosting: If you don’t want to use more espresso in the buttercream, you can simply leave it out and add additional vanilla extract for a vanilla frosting – or leave out the espresso powder and mix in ½ cup of caramel or dulce de leche for a caramel frosting (it’s delicious and tastes like a caramel latte cake). If your frosting is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add a little extra heavy cream. It should be smooth and fluffy and easy to spread.
How To Store Gluten Free Cakes
One thing I’ve found really helps with the texture of gluten free cakes is to refrigerate them before and after frosting. This cake is still great without refrigerating, but it’s even better when chilled as refrigerating helps to lock in the moisture and keep the cake from drying out.
Once the cakes have baked and cooled for about 10-15 minutes, carefully remove them from the pans and place on a wire cooling rack lined with parchment paper to cool completely.
After they have cooled completely, place the cakes on a large parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a piece of parchment (to help prevent the cake tops from sticking) and cover tightly with foil. Then, place the baking sheet into the refrigerator until they have chilled at least one hour. You could also do this step the night before and keep the cakes chilled overnight. This not only helps to keep the cakes very moist but also makes it much easier to stack and frost.
Once you have filled and frosted the whole cake (the frosting for this cake recipe makes just enough to fill and lightly cover the 6” cake), you could either eat it immediately or store it in the fridge for later. My cake recipes all work well for making up to one full day ahead of time. Just cover the assembled and frosted cake either with a glass cake dome or in an airtight cake container/carrier, then place it back into the refrigerator – just bring it out at room temperature 15-20 minutes before you are ready to serve.
6” stacked cakes are usually anywhere between 6-8” tall (or taller depending on if/how you decorate the top of the cake), so make sure your cake dome is large enough. If you don’t have a cake dome or airtight cake storage container, you can also place the cake on a large plate and cover it with a large stockpot if it fits in your fridge! The cake just needs something over it to prevent air from getting in and drying out the cake, as gluten free cakes tend to dry out quickly.
Store any cake leftovers in the refrigerator under the cake dome, or you can pre-slice and store in airtight containers. The cake should stay fresh this way for 3-4 days before it starts to dry out.
I truly hope you enjoy this gluten free cappuccino cake as much as my family and friends did! If you make it, be sure to comment below, add a Pinterest review, or tag @zestandlemons on Instagram.
Gluten Free Cappuccino Cake
This 6” gluten free cappuccino cake is perfect for smaller gatherings or parties. It’s made with three layers of brown sugar espresso cake and covered with a vanilla espresso buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ¾ cup (250g) Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅔ cup oil
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup + 2 Tbsp yogurt
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ Tbsp instant espresso powder
Espresso Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered/confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ - 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
Instructions
Make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease and flour three 6” round cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. I like to whisk several times at a faster speed to aerate the flour a bit (this will help create a slightly lighter cake). Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, yogurt, milk, and vanilla until combined. Whisk in the espresso powder until dissolved.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, slowly mixing together until smooth and combined.
- Evenly divide the batter between the three cake pans and bake for 28-33 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over-bake.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes first before carefully turning out onto a parchment lined cooling rack to cool completely.
- Although not a necessary step, the cakes are more moist and stack easier if you refrigerate them after cooling. Please read the notes/blog post above about chilling the cake and how to store!
Make the Frosting:
- Add the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can also use a large bowl and a hand mixer), and beat on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times in between.
- With your mixer running on low speed, add in the powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the vanilla, 1 ½ Tbsp of heavy cream, and espresso powder to a small bowl and mix until the espresso has mostly dissolved. Add this to your mixer and increase the speed to medium-high. Beat for 1-2 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. If your frosting is too thick, beat in the additional heavy cream or more as needed. If too thin, add a little extra powdered sugar.
Assemble:
- Place the first layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with frosting and spread evenly. Repeat with remaining layers and apply the rest of the frosting all over the cake.
- Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator under a cake dome or airtight cake container until 15-20 minutes before you’re ready to serve.
Notes
Before Baking: I always line the bottom of my cake pans with a circle of parchment paper. If you’re having trouble getting the parchment to lay flat in the pan, crinkle it up into a ball with your hands first. When you open it back up, it should lay flatter.
Frosting: Make sure to use room temperature butter. This recipe makes just enough frosting to generously fill the cake, then lightly frost around the sides and top. The more heavy cream you add while beating, the lighter and fluffier it will be - giving you a bit more frosting to work with.
Flour: I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour for this recipe, which already contains xanthan gum, so I cannot guarantee that your cake will turn out the same if using a different flour mixture. Not all gluten free flour mixes absorb moisture the same way, and they all have different proportions of ingredients used. If using a gluten free all purpose flour mix, I recommend using a 1:1 mix that contains xanthan gum and measure by weight. Always spoon and level your flour into your measuring cups! Scooping out your flour with the measuring cup can lead to using too much.
Storing: Please read the blog post above regarding refrigerating the cakes before and after frosting. You can make this cake up to one full day ahead of time and store in in the refrigerator in an airtight cake container or under a cake dome. Refrigerate any leftovers under the cake dome, or pre-sliced in airtight containers. The cake should stay fresh for 3-4 days this way before drying out.
Oh Lauren! I made your gluten free cappuccino layer cake. Wow. Just wow. This is the best cake I’ve ever made. I was a huge success at my sisters birthday party. I used your icing between the layers and plain buttercream for the exterior. So happy.
Hi Gail! I’m so happy you loved the cake! Thank you so much for trying the recipe.
Hey can i make this into cupcake instead? How will it effect the baking time?
Hi Jennifer, I haven’t baked this recipe as cupcakes so I don’t know exactly how they will turn out or what the baking time will be. I would try baking at the same temperature for somewhere between 18-24 minutes.