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Gluten-free Easter cake
Serves: 12
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Myles New
Gluten-free Easter cake
Nothing beats a big ol’ slice of pure chocolate indulgence! This super-moist chocolate sponge cake is adorned with a decadent,
fluffy chocolate buttercream and finished with chocolate fingers and a pile of colourful mini eggs – try roughly crushing some of them up for extra texture
Serves: 12
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time:
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
584Kcal
Fat
39gr
Saturates
24gr
Carbs
52gr
Sugars
39gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
6gr
Salt
1gr
Becky Excell
After being diagnosed with IBS and told to avoid gluten, Becky started experimenting with gluten-free versions of her favourite foods and sharing her recipes online. Fast forward nine years, and Becky is now a successful food writer and bestselling author of several gluten-free cookbooks
See more of Becky Excell’s recipes
Becky Excell
After being diagnosed with IBS and told to avoid gluten, Becky started experimenting with gluten-free versions of her favourite foods and sharing her recipes online. Fast forward nine years, and Becky is now a successful food writer and bestselling author of several gluten-free cookbooks
See more of Becky Excell’s recipes
Ingredients
- 225g very soft butter, plus extra to grease
- 225g caster sugar
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 185g gluten-free self-raising flour
- 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- 40g cocoa powder
For the icing
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 250g butter, softened
- 185g icing sugar, sifted
- 55g cocoa powder, sifted
- dash of milk, if needed
To decorate (optional)
- chocolate mini eggs*
- about 225g gluten-free chocolate fingers (we used Schar)
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4 and grease and line two 20cm round cake tins. Put the butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, self- raising flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and beat for at least 1-2 minutes with an electric whisk.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Leave in the tins for 5-10 minutes then turn out to a wire rack to cool.
- For the icing, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, or in the microwave, then leave to cool.
- Beat the butter using the electric hand mixer or a stand mixer until it’s paler in colour and very soft – this will take about 5 minutes.
- Mix in the icing sugar and cocoa powder in two stages, starting on low speed. Pour in the cooled chocolate and give one final mix. If your icing is a bit thick, add a dash of milk to thin it out.
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To assemble, sandwich the sponges with icing and spread more on top. Spread the remainder around the sides; they don’t have to be tidy, it’s just to stick the chocolate fingers on. To decorate, press the chocolate fingers against the sides of the cake and top with a pile of mini eggs.
*Check your mini eggs are vegetarian and/or gluten-free if required.To storeThe sponge layers can be frozen for up to 2 months. The decorated cake keeps for up to 5 days in an airtight container.