Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Brown Sugar Icing & Almonds

This easy Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Brown Sugar Icing & Almonds may be the only chocolate cake you ever need! It’s also grain free, and absolutely delicious!

Hi Everyone! I just returned from 1 glorious week whitewater rafting down the Salmon and Snake rivers in Idaho. If you’re into adventure travel, definitely check out my recap and photos: My River Rafting Adventure – this was truly one of my all time favorite family trips!

Although the food on the trip was delicious, I came home craving something rich and chocolaty. Naturally my mind turned to this gluten free chocolate cake. Oh, my goodness, yum!

The recipe comes from my mom’s friend who follows a gluten-free diet. She got the recipe from Wheat-Free Recipes and Menus by Carol Fenster, PhD.  

I made a few adaptions to the original version and took the decadence level up a notch by topping it with the yummiest ever brown sugar icing, plus lots of slivered almonds.

This gluten free chocolate cake is easy to make, and so moist, light, and delicious!

You’ll need almond flour, brown sugar (you could also try making it with Swerve sweetener for a lower calorie/carb/sugar version), coconut oil, cocoa, eggs, salt, and almond extract.

To make it extra fluffy, you’ll add the egg yolks separately, then whip up the whites and fold them into the batter.

About that brown sugar icing….

I highly recommend you make this gluten free chocolate cake with the brown sugar icing on top, but if you want a wee bit healthier version, top if off with fresh berries instead.

I hope you love this gluten free chocolate cake as much as I do!

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Brown Sugar Icing

This delicious gluten free, grain free chocolate cake will wow your guests! It's moist, chocolaty, and delicious!

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Resting Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 10 slices

Ingredients

CAKE

• 2 cups fine almond flour
• 1 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil liquid
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs separated

BROWN SUGAR ICING

• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil solid (chill in refrigerator if needed)
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon almond milk
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds

Instructions

MAKE THE CAKE

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 8- or 9-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, brown sugar, coconut oil, cocoa, almond extract, salt, and egg yolks.  Mix thoroughly.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg whites using an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.  Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, adding one-fourth of the mixture at a time. (The batter will be very thick) Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
• Run the tip of a thin knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan.  Invert the pan on to a serving plate and remove the paper.  Serve plain with fresh berries, or top with brown sugar icing

MAKE THE BROWN SUGAR ICING

• Combine all ingredients except almonds in a bowl and mix with an electric blender until smooth. 
• Frost the top of the cake with icing, and top with sliced almonds.

Nutrition

Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 159mg | Potassium: 162mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 2.1mg

EA Stewart, RD | Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Course baking, Dessert

Cuisine American, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Vegetarian

Keyword almond flour cake

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Let’s Chat!

What’s your all-time favorite cake? Have you been river rafting before???

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EA Stewart

Hi There! I’m EA, an integrative registered dietitian nutritionist in sunny San Diego. I create easy, DELICIOUS gluten free recipes & low FODMAP recipes for a wide variety of diets: anti-inflammatory, low carb, Mediterranean, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, & more. My nutrition specialties include wellness nutrition, digestive health (celiac disease, IBS, IBD, SIBO), autoimmune disease, & healthy aging. Learn more about my nutrition philosophy and my nutrition coaching services, or get in touch~I’d love to connect with you!

Thanks so much for sharing!