Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge Cake is extra rich and fudgy due a few surprise ingredients, such as potato flakes and Coca Cola! I wouldn’t steer you wrong—this is a delicious gluten free cake!
I bake with my whole heart. You can bet that if I bake something for you, I love ya more than cake. Or I love you at least as much as cake.
And I really, really love cake.
I’m also always on the look out for intriguing recipes that seem to defy all food science yet somehow work. Something about seeing unexpected ingredients draws me in. Couple that with the fact that seemingly more and more people are avoiding gluten lately, a gluten free recipe that seems to defy the laws of food science captured my interest to the point of distraction. I couldn’t stop thinking about how and why it would work.
I ran across this recipe in the strangest of places–the Idahoan mashed potato flakes website. When I read about making a gluten free cake with mashed potato flakes rather than alternative flours, I knew that I’d have to play with it. Actually, my first thought was, “No way is this going to work!” I mean, come on! Potato flakes? In a gluten free chocolate fudge cake?
The Science Behind Potatoes in Baking –
I can see using fresh potatoes because the starch molecules expand while baking and inhibits the gluten bonds from forming in gluten full recipes, which results in a softer crumb. Potato starch also absorbs more moisture than wheat starches, and therefore maintains a moist texture. Potato starch also keeps baked goods soft by keeping the wheat starches fresher longer. Will dry potato flakes yield similar results? But again, this is a gluten free recipe so wheat starches are non-existent. Do the same rules apply? In the absence of gluten, the only binder other than the potato starch is in the eggs.
The addition of cola causes a chemical reaction with the baking soda to aerate and lift the batter. Will that be enough along with the potato starch to create a cake like texture or would it merely be egg-y?
Obviously, with all of this intrigue, trying the recipe was a must. The batter was slightly grainy in appearance, so my skepticism was increasing as I put the cake in the oven. However, after baking, the resulting cake looks slightly taller with a similar texture to a mostly flourless chocolate cake. That is to say, it looks dense, short, and fairly underwhelming on it’s own. To make it more attractive, I spread on a good layer of frosting, then piled on miniature chocolate chips and strawberries. I’d say it looks like a proper cake. And it’s good!
Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge Cake rich and fudgy with a distinctive cake texture. My family fully endorses this cake and had no idea that it was gluten free. All they know is that this is one moist and fudgy cake with a deep chocolate flavor that everyone loves.
Give in to the intrigue and try the Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge Cake!
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Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic
Yields One 9-inch Single Layer Cake
Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge Cake is extra rich and fudgy due a few surprise ingredients, such as potato flakes and Coca Cola! I wouldn’t steer you wrong—this is a delicious gluten free cake!
25 minPrep Time
45 minCook Time
1 hr, 10 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- For the Cake:
- 2 cups Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes, dry (from the 13.75 oz or 26.2 oz box)
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 8 oz Coca-Cola®
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 2½ tsp baking soda
- For the Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup baking cocoa
- 1/4 cup milk
- 4 to 4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For Serving (Optional):
- 1 C. gluten free miniature semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Spray the sides and bottom of the pan (including the parchment) with cooking spray, or lightly grease with chocolate baking lube ; set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Pour in the cola. Whisk in the cocoa powder and granulated sugar until smooth. Transfer the butter mixture to a large glass bowl and cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs and vanilla until it thickens to an almost a batter-like consistency. Slowly pour this mixture into the slightly cooled butter mixture, whisking to combine. Scatter the dry mashed potato flakes and baking soda over the batter. Stir thoroughly to incorporate. The batter will appear to be slightly grainy in appearance. That’s okay!
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake the cake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the cake in the pan to a wire rack to cool. Once completely cool, gently loosen the sides of the springform pan to remove. The cake is very dark and dense, like most flourless chocolate cakes. The cake will be about an inch in height.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting by creaming the butter, cocoa powder and vanilla together until smooth. Alternately add the powdered sugar with the milk, mixing well in between additions, until smooth and creamy.
- Spread frosting over the cooled cake. Sprinkle miniature chocolate chips over the frosting. Pile sliced fresh strawberries over the cake just prior to serving.
- Store leftover Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge Cake tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to two days.
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