The Best Gluten Free White Cake is tender and moist, while dense enough not to crumble at the touch of a fork, this is exactly what I want in a white cake.
Topped with creamy fresh strawberry frosting, or a classic buttercream, this cake has received more thumbs up over the past ten years than anything else I’ve baked. The flavor combination is absolutely perfect with both almond and vanilla flavors.
Gluten Free Cake Recipes
Several years ago, my best friend asked if I would make her a gluten-free white cake. In my relative newness to gluten-free baking, I assured her that I could do that. Ha.
It took me 6, maybe 7-8, different recipe attempts, (I stopping counting after I dumped the third mess into the trash.) The taste and/or texture was never quite right.
If you are familiar with gluten-free baking, then you likely already know that recipes for traditional chocolate desserts are fairly simple to convert to gluten-free most of the time.
This is evidenced by The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, no one ever believes that one is gluten-free. Unfortunately, this is not true for all gluten free baking recipes.
Chocolate provides so much flavor that without it, the more “unique” flavors of the gluten free flour alternatives will often show through. This made it much harder to achieve a classic white cake flavor.
Gluten Free White Cake
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m rather picky about my gluten-free baking. (It has caused many an eye roll from my husband as I decide something just isn’t quite right, while he and my kids are happily devouring it. ha)
Because I am not restricted from eating the traditional versions myself, I often make both items side by side to taste the both versions and see if the gluten free recipe measures up. “Good enough for gluten free” isn’t something I ever want to share with you.
I’m thrilled to tell you that this is THE CAKE. This cake absolutely positively measures up. Over the past few years, I’ve made this cake with the exact recipe below countless times now and I’ve served it to over a dozen people.
It received rave reviews from every single person and they all questioned me more than once regarding whether or not it was really gluten free. (That, my friends, is a sign of gluten free recipe success!)
Gluten Free White Cake Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (2) 8″ round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each pan with a greased parchment circle.
- Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Beat the eggs and the sugar together until creamy.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and beat again.
- Add the buttermilk, butter, vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat just until combined.
- Divide the batter between the greased cake pans.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove and let cool at least 30 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Frost as desired.
Once you’ve fallen in love with this cake the way that we have, you can use this recipe to make a Strawberry Poke Cake, a Pineapple Crush Jello Cake, or this Strawberry Mousse Cake.
The Gluten-Free White Cake recipe works great as cupcakes for a gluten-free birthday cake. My middle son loves this cake with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting. The possibilities with this cake recipe are endless.
Check out all of the Gluten Free Dessert Recipes on this website!
Kitchen Tip: I use this sheet pan, this cake pan, or this cupcake pan to make this recipe.
The Best Gluten Free White Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups brown rice flour
- ⅔ cup potato starch
- ⅓ cup tapioca starch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup butter melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (2) 8" round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each pan with a greased parchment circle.
- Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside. Beat the eggs and the sugar together until creamy. Add half of the dry ingredients and beat again.
- Add the buttermilk, butter, vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat just until combined.
- Divide the batter between the greased cake pans. Bake in the center of the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove and let cool at least 30 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
{originally published 4/1/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 8/17/21}
Melanie says
This tastes delicious—and like white cake. But mine is not white. But that’s ok—it tastes great!
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you like it, Melanie!
Kay says
Could you replace the butter with coconut oil?
Mary Younkin says
I’m not sure how that would work for this recipe, Kay. It’s probably worth reading through the comments to see how that has worked for some other readers.
KMH says
Can I use all tapioca starch for the starches? Hypothyroid people cannot have potatoes and gluten. Hoping this will work. Thanks for the recipe!
Mary Younkin says
Unfortunately, that will not work for this recipe.
Cherie says
Im going to use egg whites only. Will it call for 4 eggs still? Will I need a mixer or can I do without?
Thanks!
Mary Younkin says
I haven’t tried this myself with egg whites only, so I can’t speak to how that will work. Yes, you’ll need to use an electric mixer.
Cherie says
One more thing…if I bake in (2) 4″ rounds how long shall I bake?
Best!
Mary Younkin says
I haven’t tested that size pan myself. Are you reducing the size of the recipe? This will make a good bit more than you need for (2) 4-inch pans. I’d keep an eye on the cakes and test for doneness as they turn golden brown. I can’t guess how long that will take.
Sue says
Could you substitute gluten free all purpose flour? If so, how much? 2 1/2 cups instead of the rice flour and starches and omit the xanthan gum?
Mary Younkin says
I have no idea how that might work for you, Sue. I tested numerous combinations of flours for this recipe and I love this recipe exactly as written.
Misty says
I would just like to say…THANK YOU!!! This cake is amazing! Do to some serious health issues I had to cut gluten out 9 months ago. My sister got married last week and I was pretty bummed leading up to the day that I would not get to eat wedding cake. So I started experimenting with gluten free cakes to bake and bring to the wedding. I tried some and did not really like them. Then I found this recipe the day before the wedding. I figured why not, I need a cake and this is my last day. I am allergic to almond so I added a little more vanilla extract with just a few drops of coconut extract for a little additional flavoring and made a vanilla buttercream icing. I did not even taste test the cake, just took it to the wedding and hoped it would be OK. When it came time to cut the wedding cake, I served me up a little slice and asked my dad if he wanted to try some. He is a very picky eater and he is also very blunt. He LOVED it, he said it was better than the actual wedding cake and he did not even know it was gluten free until I told him! He ate another piece after the wedding, and another piece the next morning! Everyone that tried a bite said it was really good, and they all said it was better than the wedding cake! I was blown away by the taste. It is so moist and and not crumbly like all the other gluten free cakes I tried. This is the perfect gluten free cake recipe and I will definitely keep using it! Thank you so much for this!
Mary Younkin says
I am absolutely THRILLED to hear that the cake was such a big hit! Thanks for the rave review, Misty.
Mia says
Hi! I was planning to make a jasmine tea flavored cake. I’ve found a recipe where you only have to prepare a milk tea and replace regular milk with that milk for making the batter. It was a recipe for a regular cake, not a gluten free one, but since I have celiac disease I have to make this one instead. The problem is that this recipe uses buttermilk instead of regular milk, and I was wondering if I could make buttermilk with the milk tea or it won’t work the same?
Mary Younkin says
Hi Mia! I have absolutley no idea. I’ve never made a milk tea, so I can’t speak to how that might affect the cake. It’s certainly worth trying though. Let me know how it works out for you!
Gillian says
Hi! I live at about 5,500 ft above sea level – so high altitude. Do you have any ideas how I could alter this recipe to accommodate for that altitude? Thanks!
Mary Younkin says
Unfortunately, that isn’t something I am familiar with, Gillian. My friend Kelley is super helpful with that though and has a great resource for converting the recipes. You can find it here: https://mountainmamacooks.com/high-altitude/
Fiona says
You have a link here that says it’s for classic buttercream, but it takes you to a page with rose cake on it and no ingredients or recipe for the buttercream.
I followed the link from the rose cake page for the step by step instructions and that was about piping the decorations.
Could you please link me to the classic buttercream recipe?
Mary Younkin says
Sorry about that, Fiona! I thought I had it linked above. I’ve corrected it, but here’s link as well: https://iambaker.net/the-perfect-crusting-buttercream
Martha says
I made this into cupcakes with the chocolate buttercream you recommended for a family dinner and OMG! They were absolutely fantastic! Didn’t even last 24 hours. Very moist and didn’t have a grainy or starchy texture, which I have a lot of problems with most gluten free recipes. Quick question, if you’re making this recipe a day in advance, will the cake develop a starchy texture over time?
Mary Younkin says
Hi Martha! I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying the cake. Admittedly, it never lasts more than a few days in my house, but I’ve never noticed any change in texture or taste.
Laura says
Do you think you could add more orange zest/juice to infuse an orange flavor without changing the texture? Never baked gluten free before and am a little intimidated to experiment with ingredients.
Mary Younkin says
You can absolutely add orange zest and a bit of orange extract to change up the flavor, Laura. I wouldn’t add juice though, as that will potentially add too much liquid to the cake.
Lacey says
I made this and it smelled and looked WONDERFUL right from the oven but shortly after it sunk. When we ate it the flavor was awesome but it was so dense and heavy! Not cake-like at all. I tested it with a toothpick and it was fine. I’m very new to the gluten free baking thing but bake a lot of glutinous things 😉 What do you think I did wrong?!
Mary Younkin says
It sounds like it was a bit underbaked, Lacey. That’s typically the issue when things fall as described. Did you test the center of the cake? or possibly closer to the sides of the pan?
Sarah Williams says
Can white rice flour be substituted for the brown rice flour with similar results?
Mary Younkin says
That will work, Sarah. The texture might be a tiny bit different, but it should still be great.
Carol Ann Turner says
I made this cake for my son’s 40th birthday and it was a huge hit. All the family at his party thought it was great!
Mary Younkin says
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the cake, Carol!
Bonnie says
The best gluten free white cake I have tasted. So easy to make. I needed a cake for my mother’s birthday dinner & the bakery I went to had gluten free white cakes that did not have any flavor. My mother is a baker & it is hard to please her when it comes to cakes. She loved it. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Mary Younkin says
I am so happy to hear that you love the cake, Bonnie!
Bonnie says
Have you ever tried making it dairy free. I need to switch at least the buttermilk, but not sure which non dairy milk to use.
Joe S says
Cashew milk works best, assuming no nut allergy. If there is a nut allergy use pea- protein milk. I have Celiac’s (autoimmune disorder) so I can’t have gluten. Also lactose intolerant. 😉 Also you can always add a teaspoon or two of vinegar to the milk, it helps to give it that baked buttermilk flavor.
Natalie Brooks says
So…… I made just 1 change because I want my family to rest a little healthier😘😘 I doubled the recipe and subbed 1/3rd of rice flour out for almond flour. I made 12 regular cupcakes.
24 mini cupcakes
And oodles of mini donuts.
THEY ARE AMAZING. Absolutely amazing. The are 4 celiacs in my family and I’m sure there will be tears of joy after school today.
THANK YOU
Mary Younkin says
I’m so happy that you like the cake, Natalie!
Natalie Brooks says
Oooops eat not REST
Angela says
Can this full recipe be made in a 9 x13 pan? If so, what would be the cooking time?
Jennifer Byars says
Hi Mary,
Do you think this recipe will stand up as a wedding cake?
Mary Younkin says
Hi Jennifer, if you scroll through some of the comments, you’ll see where many people have made this cake for weddings and other special events. It holds up nicely.