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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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 4/1/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 8/17/21}
I just made pineapple upside down mini cakes. They turned out fantastic. Will definitely use this recipe again very soon. Thanks
I tried making this last night and it turned out pretty dense. Not fluffy at all and I'm wondering if the problem may be that I truly only beat until combined (I still saw some tiny clumps of flour)? Should this actually be mixed longer? I really wanted this cake to work out for my son's birthday today but have had to locate another recipe to make something else for his party.
I'm so sorry to hear that it didn't turn out perfectly for you. I'm guessing that it might not have been fully combined. The eggs and butter should have been super creamy before adding the flours and then you want the flour to be fully incorporated.
Hopefully it will turn out perfectly next time!
Beautiful cake! I need to make a gluten-free cake for an event I'm having and this one seems great! I found tapioca flour at our local grocery store; can I use this instead of the tapioca starch? And also, is there anything I could replace the xanthan gum with? Thanks so much!
Tapioca flour and tapioca starch are the same thing to the best of my knowledge, at least my package is always labeled both ways. Unfortunately, this is not a recipe that will work without the xanthan gum. Trust me on that, because I have tried it countless times and it does not give you the same result. There are several cake recipes here on the blog that do not require xanthan, but this particular cake depends on the xanthan to help stabilize the fluffy layers. I hope that helps!
I'm an experienced baker but new to the world of GF, & this cake has turned out amazing several times (including the time I forgot to add half the flour until 10 min into baking time!) — only ONCE the look and texture was perfect, but it had a slightly 'grainy' taste & guests could tell it was gluten-free. Could it have been a tad undercooked, not mixed well enough, etc? I don't think I'm familiar enough with GF baking to troubleshoot for consistent results.
I'm glad you love the cake! I'm guessing that the grainier texture might have been the result of adding the flour a little later or not mixing it well enough. Either way, it sounds like you're doing great with GF baking!
Do you use a certain brand of rice flour? I've heard that makes a difference.
I use Bob's Red Mill almost exclusively for my flours. I hope that helps!
Thanks so much! I ended up using Arrow Mill brand as Bob's wasn't available. This cake turned our Wonderful!! Even my picky kids didn't notice it was gluten free but I didn't tell them till after they cleaned their plates. I used this for the base of a pineapple upside down cake. I was a bit worried because the batter was very grainy even after mixing well. I did let it sit on the counter for 10 min to let the flours absorb the liquid and it seemed to work. Also, my cake was not white, it was a yellow cake but that didn't matter to me at all. Great recipe! Tender, moist and nice vanilla flavor. Thanks again for sharing!
What's the best substitute for butter–non-dairy spread, coconut oil, or something else? Thanks, Sharon
Posted last night but don't see my comment…how many cups of batter are produced by one recipe? I want to make a sheet cake.
I've made this cake in both a half size sheet pan (jelly roll pan) and in a 9×13 pan. I hope that helps. I've never measured the batter by cups.
I must have done something wrong although I was extremely careful about following the recipe. We were disappointed. The cake was dry and is definitely NOT a white cake, but a yellow cake. I have done a lot of baking – exclusively gluten free – for almost 20 years now so I'm not inexperienced. I was hoping to find a recipe something similar to the now unavailable white cake mix I used to buy from The Really Great Food Company.
Without being in your kitchen, it's hard to guess what might have gone wrong. I've made this countless times now without any dry results. Extra vanilla can turn the cake color darker, but it shouldn't make it yellow. It sounds like it may have overbaked a bit in order to result in a dry cake. I'm sorry to hear it wasn't perfect for you!
I only used the amount of vanilla called for in the recipe. I'm certain it was the egg yolks that made it yellow. I took the cakes out 2 minutes before the minimum amount called for in your recipe. I probably should have taken them out 2-3 minutes before that. The flavor was nice, but I think I'm thinking of a white cake with egg whites only.
Sheryl if you are using store bought eggs the cake comes out pretty white like the picture. I have chickens and made this cake with my chicken eggs and I have to say it was golden yellow. It really is a great cake and I would not leave out the egg yolks because I think it would change the texture but that might be the problem. My husband dislikes the taste of egg yolks in white cakes especially when they are our chickens because they free range, but store bought eggs he can never tell the yolks are in a white cake. Thanks for the recipe Mary its great! I have to say so glad you can use Bob red mill flour for this its the only one available at my store and I hate to have to order superfine online its so pricey. Again I have to say itsa GREAT recipe!
Thank you, Mary, for your research on behalf of those of us who must eat gf! I've tried creating gf alchemy with I am Bakers fabulous white cake, but this beats my efforts hands-down. Love this recipe – a million thanks!
Does it really take a Tablespoon of baking powder?
Yes, that is correct.
This is an amazing gluten free cake! I used it for my daughter's wedding cake. One recipe makes one 9" round and one 6" round. I also used 1 tablespoon of lemon rind instead of the almond extract to make a delicately lemon flavored cake. Thank you so much, Mary, for sharing this recipe.
This turned out beautifully! Very delicious! I made one cake and the rest cupcakes to test out the recipe in advance. Do you have a chocolate version of this recipe? I need to make vanilla and chocolate cupcakes for my stepdaughter's wedding. Thanks!
This is my absolute favorite GF chocolate cake recipe: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/2013/03/the-best-gluten-free-rich-chocolate-cake-recipe.html It works well in cupcakes and in sheet cakes. I've made it as a layered cake as well, however, it is a lighter cake and the crumb is more delicate than this white cake recipe, so it isn't exactly a "chocolate version of this cake recipe" as you described. So, definitely test it and make sure it meets your needs.
If you are looking for a sturdier cake recipe, this chocolate cake is also really great and it holds up to everything from bundt pans to multiple layers: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/2014/04/hersheys-chocolate-cake-gluten-free-recipe.html
I hope that helps!
Great recipe! I want to convert to two 9 inch layers for my daughters bday. Your help is appreciated.
You can make this in (2) 9-inch layers, they will simply be a little bit shorter. I hope that helps!
Excited to try this! Do u think I could add food coloring?
It should still work fine with food coloring.
I made this cake and frosting for my father-in-law's birthday today. Everyone loved it! It was DELICIOUS. SOOO moist. I made my version dairy free as well by substituting 1 cup of almond milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon for the buttermilk. You just let the lemon set in the almond milk for about 5 minutes. I also replaced the butter with my vegan butter. I use Earth Balance.
I tried to post a pic of it but I couldn't figure out how to do it.
This was definitely the most amazing gluten-free cake I have ever tasted. Because of my grandsons diary allergy I did sub almond milk and coconut oil. Also in the to-die-for frosting I used palm shortening. Thanks for the addition to my recipe file, fabulous!!
When folks say "coconut oil", is that the same as the sort of hardened/formed stuff in the jars? I've used that for a body rub! ALSO, did you add lemon to the almond milk to make "buttermilk?"??????
Thanks, Kate
Made this cake for our son's 5th birthday (turned it into a Minion-cake). We don't need to eat GF, but one of our nephews has been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity. And he hasn't been able to eat a birthday cake since. So I wanted to make a cake he could eat too. OMG, this turned out so delicious! Moist, fluffy, full of flavor. I liked it so much, that I decided to make the rest of the cakes GF as well. I used the same basic recipe, baked in a springform. Into one cake, I folded apple dices with cinnamon, in the other, I baked halved peaches (canned ones). Worked very well! Everyone loved the cakes and on one suspected they were GF. I even reserved the cut off parts of the birthday cake (just plain) and ate them even 4 days later. Still moist and fluffy. So good, I will definitely use this recipe loads of times 🙂
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Mary
I have a question, I wonder if I replace butter oil, the recipe will work well.
and I wonder if the tires 8 "are high or are low, Please let me know soon thank you very much
Wow, what a great recipe! I have a question though. This is the first gluten free cake I've ever made, I'm used to getting thick cake layers, but these came up to only about an inch and a half high, lol. I'm wondering if I can put the whole recipe in one 8 inch pan and therefore get a taller layer? If not I'll have to make six gluten free cakes to equal one regular cake. I'm so excited to make this for my friend! Thank you for your help! Peggy
You could try making it in one pan (although in an 8-inch round pan, it might overflow – perhaps a 9-10 inch would work?), and then double the recipe for a couple of much thicker layers. Just watch your times and add a few minutes until the cake is done. I've made this cake in a 9×13 pan and it worked great, so it's quite adaptable.
Thanks Mary! I'm off to get supplies right now, so you're quick reply is helpful! We are going to attempt to layer this and make it into a Noah's ark cake!