Triple Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free!)

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You’ll want to make this gluten-free triple chocolate cake for any special occasion! It’s healthy AND delicious – the best chocolate cake! No sacrificing here. Perfect for holidays, birthdays, or a lazy Sunday afternoon baking adventure. We’re using a combination of natural cocoa powder, baking chocolate, and dark chocolate to bring delicious deep chocolate flavors all throughout this chocolate lover chocolate cake. A simple chocolate frosting made with cream cheese, maple syrup, and cocoa powder gives this cake an extra special touch.

Triple chocolate cake

When I first took a bite of this cake 10+ years ago, my mind was blown!

First, I couldn’t believe that I made a cake this good.

Second, I couldn’t believe that it was gluten-free and still fluffy goodness.

Third, I couldn’t wait to share it with others! Friends and family got to enjoy it, and now you can too!

It’s great to share with others or to serve at a celebration.

The chocolate chips that you secretly find sprinkled through the cake batter offer a fun crunch throughout the soft texture of this cake.

The touch of frosting, or chocolate glaze, makes it extra sweet and takes the chocolate flavor to another level.

If you are a chocolate fan, this cake is for YOU!

Can you tell that it’s a healthy gluten-free cake?

If you didn’t tell anyone this cake was gluten-free, they would never know. I promise you that. 

It’s fluffy and flavorful. Sweet and delicious. As chocolaty as it gets!

We’re swapping out white flour or cake flour for a combination of oat flour, brown rice flour, and coconut flour.

We also swap vegetable oil for avocado oil + applesauce.

And another healthy swap is simply using much less sugar than a traditional cake recipe calls for.

Don’t worry, you sure can’t tell!

What you need for triple chocolate cake

• eggs
• unsweetened applesauce
• almond milk
• avocado oil
• vanilla extract
• oat flour
• brown rice flour
• coconut flour
• cocoa powder
• natural cane sugar
• baking powder
• sea salt
• dark chocolate chips
• unsweetened baking chocolate

Frosting Ingredients

• cream cheese
• maple syrup
• cocoa powder

How to make this triple chocolate layer cake

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line the base of two 6 inch cake pans with parchment paper, and oil the sides.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, applesauce, oil, milk, and vanilla extract until the wet ingredients are fully combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients – oat flour, brown rice flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and sea salt. Whisk to combine. Do not over stir. It will look slightly lumpy. If you use an electric mixer mix on a low speed, but again, don’t overmix!
4. Mix in the chocolate chips and grated chocolate.
5. Pour the batter evenly between your prepared pans.
6. Bake for 30-34 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness. You want a slightly moist toothpick. Not gooey but not bone dry. It will spring back when you press it lightly and leave you with moist crumbs.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire wrack.
8. Once the cake is cooling, whisk together the cream cheese, maple syrup, and cocoa powder to make the frosting. When you have a cooled cake to the touch, spread the frosting on the first cake layer, top with the second cake layer, and then thinly spread the frosting using an offset spatula on the entire cake and the sides. Add chocolate shavings to the top of the cake for a special touch!
9. Store your triple chocolate cake on a serving plate covered in the fridge.

Watch how to make this recipe!

Watch the how-to video below, or over on the Fit Mama Real Food YouTube channel.

Substitutions

Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this easy chocolate cake recipe. 

If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!

Oat flour – Whole wheat flour works as a substitute for oat flour.

Brown rice flour – Almond flour works as a substitute for brown rice flour.

Coconut flour – Don’t have coconut flour? Sub in equal amounts of brown rice flour + 2 additional tablespoons. Coconut flour absorbs a lot more liquid than any other flour, so you’ll need to add extra flour to offset that.

Cocoa powder – Cacao powder works just as well! Carob powder (which contains no chocolate) will also give a chocolate-like flavor to this cake.

Natural cane sugar – Coconut sugar is a great alternative to cane sugar in this recipe. Regular white sugar will work too!

Unsweetened applesauce – Try canned pumpkin instead!

Unsweetened almond milk – Use regular milk, or your favorite milk alternative to replace almond milk. For a more intense chocolate flavor, swap half of the milk out for cooled hot coffee, or a touch of espresso powder.

Dark chocolate chips – Semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips work as well.

Maple syrup – Honey works as an alternative. Watch your baking time because honey tends to brown a bit quicker in baked goods.

Cream cheese – To get that bit of tang, you can substitute the cream cheese for plain greek yogurt or sour cream. If you need this dairy-free use dairy-free cream cheese or a dairy-free alternative to those substitutions that were listed.

Note – Want to try a different frosting recipe? Make my dairy free 3 ingredient chocolate frosting!

Helpful tools when making triple chocolate cake

Here’s what you’ll need to simplify making this cake:

• two 6″ round cake pans (you can also use one 9” round cake pan)
• parchment paper
• zester
• silicone basting brush
• cooling rack

Can you bake a different size?

Instead of using 2 small round baking pans, bake this in one 9″x13″ baking dish. Oil the dish and line with parchment paper, and increase the bake time to 40-45 minutes. Once cooled, add the easy chocolate frosting.

You can also turn this chocolate cake into cupcakes!

Use muffin liners, or silicone muffin liners so that they don’t stick. Fill ⅔ of the way full. Reduce the bake time to closer to 20 minutes, and use a toothpick to check for doneness.

Cool on a wire rack and top with the frosting and add a pinch of salt to really level these chocolate cupcakes up!

How to store leftover cake

With the cream cheese in the frosting, you’ll want to store the leftover cake in the fridge. You can cover the decadent cake with plastic wrap and store in the fridge that way.

You can also cut the cake into pieces, and store individual slices of chocolate cake in an airtight container. Then when you want the ultimate treat, simply pull a piece out and enjoy!

I find storing this cake in the fridge helps it not dry out and leaves you with moist cake even days later.

More recipes you’ll love

• Black bean chocolate cake
• Triple chocolate beet muffins
• Gluten free blueberry crumb cake
• Vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
• Healthy no sugar smash cake
• Low sugar carrot cake recipe with greek yogurt cream cheese frosting

If you try this triple chocolate cake recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!

XO

Heather

Originally published March 2012. Updated August 2022.