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7 of The Best Gluten-Free Cake Baking Tips

by Elyse the Gluten-Free Foodee

Baking is always fun, and we tend to do more baking as the weather gets colder. We want to enjoy delicious fall treats like loaf cakes, bundt cakes, and birthday cakes are top of mind. That’s why today we are sharing the best gluten-free cake baking tips.

Previously we shared 5 of the best gluten-free baking tips and basic gluten-free baking pantry staples to help you bake any gluten-free recipe to perfection. We are going one step further and sharing our gluten-free cake baking tips.

Achieving a great gluten-free cake can be difficult, as gluten-free cakes can be crumbly, dry, and sometimes have an unpleasant aftertaste. Armed with these tips, your cakes will be light, fluffy, and have a beautiful crumb/texture.

7 of The Best Gluten-Free Cake Baking Tips

1) Pick The Right Flour:

The easiest type of flour to use when gluten-free baking is cup-for-cup style substitute flour. My personal favourites are Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 flour and Cup 4 Cup flour. An honourable mention goes to Kinnikinnick’s all-purpose gluten-free flour, which is also very good. These “cup for cup flours” have xanthan gum in them, so you don’t need to add any to your mixture. I have found that these flours work well in many different recipes and act like traditional all-purpose flour. Xantham gum is not just a stabilizer, but it absorbs liquids. Gluten-free flour does not absorb liquids the same way as traditional flour does, and that’s why you must use xanthan gum. When using a homemade flour blend, you should include xantham gum in it. Not to mention that these flours taste great, have no aftertaste, and give you great texture.

2) Always Let Your Batter Rest:


No matter if it is a cake, muffin, cupcake, cookie dough, or even pancake batter- let your batter rest. By allowing the batter to rest for 15 to 30 minutes (you can cover it in plastic wrap if you like) you are allowing the liquids to have time to absorb. Even with the addition of xantham gum, extra time is necessary to achieve the best textures.

3) Make Your Own Gluten-Free Cake Flour:


Remove 2 tbs of gluten-free all-purpose flour per cup and replace it with 2 tbs of corn starch. This makes for a lighter and more cake flour-like blend, which is better for baking fluffy gluten-free cakes. Cake flour will always give you a better cake, with a lighter crumb, plus, it’s is so easy to make. Do this even if your recipe has corn starch in it already.

4) Freeze Cakes To Seal In Moisture:

You can bake your cake 1 to 3 days in advance, cool them, and put it in the freezer. Before placing them in the freezer, I wrap them in parchment paper, then cover them in plastic wrap, then double bag each individual cake in plastic bags, and lay them flat in the freezer. If you store gluten-free cakes in the fridge, they will dry out. Putting the cakes in the freezer will seal in the moisture. I find it easier to not have to bake the cake the same day I’m decorating them. So to make things easier on yourself, bake the cake ahead of time, and ensure you’re going to get the moistest cake possible

5) Make Simple Syrup And Brush Your Cakes With It:

This is a baking trick that most professional bakers use. Simple syrup is made with equal parts of water and sugar, and then it is left to reduce on the stove. I like to use this as an opportunity to get a little extra flavouring in my cakes as well as moisture. I add some vanilla, melt in some jam, or add in another gluten-free extract– no more than about half a teaspoon to a teaspoon of flavouring. It really depends on the strength of the flavouring, that you are using. Once your simple syrup has thickened, allow it to cool slightly and then brush the top and sides of all the cakes. This will add moisture to your cake, which helps with the dryness of gluten-free cakes. Also, brushing the sides, and the top of the cake helps hold crumbs in so that fewer crumbs mix into your crumb coat of buttercream.

6) Cool For 10 Minutes In The Pan:

When cakes first come out of the oven, allow them to cool for a minimum of 10 minutes in the pan, before removing the cakes. Gluten-free cakes tend to be more delicate than regular cakes, so you want them to partially cool in the pan before removing them. This should stop the cake from cracking or crumbling when flipping the cake out of the tin.

7) Divide Batter Into Smaller Amounts Rather Than Cutting Layers:

I like to divide my cake batter into three, rather than baking two taller cakes and trying to cut them in half. Again, a gluten-free cake tends to be slightly more delicate than a regular cake. I prefer to just bake smaller cakes and adjust the cooking time rather than having to cut them into layers.

Armed with these helpful gluten-free cake baking tips, you should be able to bake any gluten-free bundt cake, loaf cake, birthday cake etc…

Do you have any gluten-free cake baking tips we should know about?
Or have you tried any of these tips? Leave us a comment below and let us know. By sharing our knowledge, we are all about to live our best gluten-free lives.

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4 comments

Nathan April 6, 2023 - 4:16 pm

Should I brush the cakes with simple syrup after defrosting them or before wrapping them and freezing?

Reply
Elyse the Gluten-Free Foodee April 10, 2023 - 4:15 pm

Hi Nathan,
After defrosting them.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Elyse

Reply
Kelly March 25, 2024 - 12:11 pm

Can I make the batter one day refrigerate it over night and bake it the next day?

Reply
Elyse the Gluten-Free Foodee March 28, 2024 - 12:44 pm

Tha sounds like a great idea. I bake the day a few sometimes and wrap and freeze the cakes if it helps me with day of prep.
Cheers,
Elyse

Reply

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