Even if you're avoiding gluten, you can still celebrate in a sweet way with our gluten-free birthday cake. Our Test Kitchen adapted this recipe from one of our readers' favorite recipes for yellow cake, minus the gluten but with all the good flavor. So gather your candles and prepare to enjoy a big slice of this delicious baked treat. We provide the details for making gluten-free flour and frosting for a genuinely homemade creation.
Customize Your Cake
Add color and fun by turning this into a confetti cake. Stir 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sprinkles into the cake batter before pouring into the pans. Bake as directed. Or make this a citrus yellow cake: Prepare as directed, except stir 2 tsp. orange zest into batter (get a vitamin C boost, too!).
Ingredients
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2 ½ cup Gluten-Free Flour Mix (see below)
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2 ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
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½ teaspoon salt
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¾ cup butter, softened
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1 ¾ cup sugar
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3 eggs, room temperature
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1 ½ teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
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1 ¼ cup milk
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1 recipe Buttercream Frosting
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Gluten-free sprinkles
Gluten-Free Flour Mix
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3 cup white rice flour
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3 cup potato starch
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2 cup sorghum flour
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4 teaspoon xanthan gum
Buttercream Frosting
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1 cup softened butter
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4 cup gluten-free powdered sugar
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3 tablespoon heavy cream
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1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla
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Dash salt
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1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
Directions
Gluten-Free Birthday Cake
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Prep Pans
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease two 9-inch or 8-inch round cake pans; use Gluten-Free Flour Mix to lightly flour pans. I
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Mix Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, stir together 2 1/2 cups flour mix, baking powder, and salt.
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Beat Mixture
In a large bowl, beat butter with a mixer on medium for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium until combined. Scrape bowl; beat 2 minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beating on low after each addition just until combined. Spread batter into prepared pans.
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Bake and Frost
Bake 20 to 25 minutes for 9-inch pans, 30 to 35 minutes for 8-inch pans, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans 10 minutes. Remove layers from pans; cool on wire racks. Frost with Buttercream Frosting and decorate with sprinkles. Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 1 day.
Gluten-Free Flour Mix
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In a large airtight container, whisk together rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, and xanthan gum. Cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 months.
Test Kitchen Tip: Double or triple this recipe to have our gluten-free flour mix on hand for future baking and cooking recipes.
Buttercream Frosting
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In a large bowl, beat 1 cup softened butter with a mixer on medium for 1 minute or until creamy. Beat in 1 cup gluten-free powdered sugar. Add 2 Tbsp. heavy cream, 1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla, and dash salt. Beat on low until combined. Gradually beat in 3 additional cups powdered sugar just until combined. Beat on medium 5 minutes or until fluffy, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 1 Tbsp. heavy cream, and if desired, 1 tsp. orange zest; beat on high 1 minute more.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 677 | Calories |
| 31g | Fat |
| 99g | Carbs |
| 4g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 12 | |
| Calories 677 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 31g | 40% |
| Saturated Fat 19g | 95% |
| Cholesterol 124mg | 41% |
| Sodium 477mg | 21% |
| Total Carbohydrate 99g | 36% |
| Total Sugars 71g | |
| Protein 4g | 8% |
| Vitamin C 0.1mg | 0% |
| Calcium 110mg | 8% |
| Iron 0.6mg | 3% |
| Potassium 106mg | 2% |
| Fatty acids, total trans 1g | |
| Folate, total 10.4mcg | |
| Vitamin B-12 0.3mcg | |
| Vitamin B-6 0.1mg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.