Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake
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This Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake is the best gluten free birthday cake (although you don’t need to use a special occasion as an excuse to treat yourself to a slice)! It’s moist, fudgy, made with simple ingredients, and decorated with a homemade chocolate buttercream.
Why you’ll love this gluten free chocolate cake:
- There’s nothing dry about this gluten free cake. It’s super dense, chocolatey, fudgy, and delicious.
- Quick and easy! It’s a bakery-quality chocolate cake recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes.
- Grain free, nut free, gluten free, and refined sugar free. It’s (almost) free of most allergens!
Table of Contents
If you’re looking for a moist and fudgy gluten free birthday cake, look no further than this Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake. Not only is it just as easy and special as my almond flour chocolate cake, but it’s a chocolate lover’s dream come true! Each slice is dense, decadent, and quite frankly, the BEST.
Coconut flour is a staple in my kitchen. I’m always using it to make gluten free and grain free baked goods, like coconut flour cookies and coconut flour banana muffins. I love it because it’s low carb, high in fiber, and a great nut-free flour option.
If you’re new to baking cakes with coconut flour, add eggs to your grocery list because it’s a VERY absorbent flour. Even though you need less coconut flour than you would regular flour, you make up for it by needing half a dozen eggs. That may seem like a lot for one cake layer, but coconut flour cakes need A LOT of moisture.
Ingredient notes:
- Coconut flour – It wouldn’t be a coconut flour chocolate cake recipe without the coconut flour, which means there’s no substituting it. You might need to sift your coconut flour if it clumps up in the packaging.
- Milk – I used soy milk, but you can use any kind of dairy free milk.
- Eggs – Eggs are vital to making a moist coconut flour cake. For the best results, use room temperature eggs.
- Maple syrup – I love the natural sweetness maple syrup provides without needing refined sugar. No substitutions here.
- Coconut oil – Your coconut oil needs to be melted and cooled off before making the cake batter. You can use refined or unrefined coconut oil here (unrefined coconut oil has a more robust coconut flavor).
- Vanilla extract – For depth and flavor. The better quality the vanilla, the better the cake will taste.
- Cocoa powder – This is where all of the chocolatey goodness comes in. If you’re a dark chocolate lover, use dark chocolate cocoa powder.
- Baking soda – Without it, your cake will fall flat. The goal is a plump, fudgy cake.
- Chocolate buttercream frosting – You’ll need softened butter, milk, vanilla, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder to make the chocolate frosting. I used soy milk, but you can use any plant based or regular milk here.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Whisk wet ingredients. Whisk the eggs, almond milk, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Mix dry ingredients. Stir the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl.
Step 3: Combine mixtures. Add the dry mixture to the wet mix and GENTLY stir to combine.
Step 4: Bake and cool. Pour the batter into a parchment paper-lined cake pan and bake. Let the cake rest before turning it onto a cooling rack to finish cooling before icing.
Step 5: Make the icing. First, whisk the butter, milk, and vanilla together. Then add the sugar and cocoa, and whisk until smooth.
Step 6: Ice cake. Once the cake is cool, place a large dollop of icing on top and ice your cake. Slice and enjoy!
Erin’s tips and tricks
- It’s so important that you line your cake pan with parchment paper before adding the batter. Without it and the cake will stick to the bottom. If you want to go a step further, you can grease the sides of the pan with butter or coconut oil.
- Coconut flour needs to be measured precisely because it’s so absorbent. Too much or too little can ruin the cake.
- To make this a layer cake, simply double the cake and frosting recipes and bake the cake batter in two 8” round cake pans.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tip
Don’t over-mix the batter. To keep your cake soft and tender, stir and whisk everything by hand. You run the risk of over-mixing if you use an electric mixer. Only mix until the flour is just combined (it’s ok if the batter is a little lumpy).
Variations
Vegan – I’ve never tested this recipe without eggs, but feel free to try a vegan egg replacement or flax eggs. Use your favorite plant based butter and dairy free milk to make vegan buttercream frosting.
Paleo – Use paleo-friendly milk (like almond milk) in the cake and swap the buttercream frosting for your favorite paleo frosting.
Keto – Replacing the maple syrup with a keto-friendly sweetener, like erythritol syrup, will significantly slash the carb count.
Coconut Flour Cake FAQs
No. Coconut flour is significantly more delicate and absorbent than almond flour. If you use almond flour, you’ll need to change the amount. Check out my almond flour chocolate cake if you’d rather use almond flour.
This recipe was tested using 8” round cake pans. You should be able to use 6” or 9” pans instead. Just keep an eye on the oven as the baking times may differ slightly.
Storage
- Room temperature: Coconut flour chocolate cake can be kept at room temperature for 1 to 2 days
- Refrigerator: Store the coconut flour cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Wrap the baked, unfrosted cake (whole or individual slices) in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Make sure to thaw the cake completely before adding the icing.
More coconut flour baked goods
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 3/4 cup soy milk, or milk of choice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
for the frosting:
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 tbsp soy milk, or more as needed; can use any kind of milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and line one 8" or 9" round cake pan with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla together.
- In a separate bowl, stir the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together. Then, pour the dry ingredients into the wet and GENTLY stir to combine — only stir until the flour is just incorporated (it's ok if the batter is a little lumpy) — over-mixing will cause the cake to be too dense.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, place it into the oven and bake the cake for 30-34 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool before icing it.
- For the frosting: with a stand or hand mixer, whisk the butter, milk and vanilla together, then add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and continue mixing until it's smooth. Place a large dollop of icing on top of the cake, then use an offset knife or the back of a spoon to smooth it out. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Room temperature: Coconut flour chocolate cake can be kept at room temperature for 1 to 2 days
- Refrigerator: Store the coconut flour cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Wrap the baked, unfrosted cake (whole or individual slices) in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Make sure to thaw the cake completely before adding the icing.
Nutrition
Hi Erin, could I freeze the layers?
You should be able to!
just made this! it’s pretty good for a flourless cake, but i think it’s not nearly sweet enough (it’s actually kinda bitter) without frosting
I definitely recommend frosting for all coconut flour-based recipes 🙂 It helps!
Hey Erin,
I tried making this cake but it came out more like a brick and the texture was pretty bad. Obviously I did something wrong. Could you help me figure out what I need to change? I measured things out by weight. Also on your site it has things like coconut flour and cocoa powder measured in ml. Shouldn’t those things be measured in grams? Thanks! 🙂
Made this for my son today. Did white a few modifications but my son was so happy to eat it . Because I was experimenting I halved the recipe and made them into cupcakes. Used half the amount of maple syrup and the other half mashed banana but a good amount of banana, . It probably could have been a little more moist so next time I’ll do a little more coconut oil ..
For the frosting I didn’t use powdered sugar . I did not half this .. I added a little extra butter and some mild goat chz I made kinda like cream chz. Then I added a scoop of collagen powder and a scoop of complete milk protein powder , a little maple syrup and like 1/3 the amount of cacao powder . .. and then my son requested fresh strawberries on top.. I wish I could share the time lapse I took of him eating it .. chocolate cake for the win ! Thank you 😊
I’m glad the cake worked with the modifications and that it was a hit!
hello i wanted to know if i can substitute the maple syrup for coconut sugar and if i can should i use the same amount?
I haven’t tried it myself, and baking with coconut flour is a little finicky. If you want to give it a try, go ahead and do a 1:1 substitute.
thank you
Frosting:
Is there a replacement for the butter?
And for the powdered sugar?
Instead of butter, you could use softened coconut oil, but I don’t have a great substitution for powdered sugar.
You usually can made a syrup using 10 second bursts in the microwave, with a small amount of water and the equivalent amount of sugar just stir it like crazy. just reduce the amount of “milk” you add by the water added
This was the best grain-free chocolate cake I have found, and I’ve tried a few! Thank you!
Wow, thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the cake 🙂
Erin,
Thank you so much for this coconut flourless chocolate cake recipe! Because of your added tip of not over mixing, it turned out perfectly! I will be using this recipe a lot. It is so kind of you to share.
Yes, so important to not over-mix, especially with coconut flour. I’m so glad you liked the cake, and really appreciate the review!
Hey Erin,
I just have a quick question. I read that since gluten free desserts don’t contain gluten that you really can’t over mix it because there is no gluten in there to develop which can cause the tough texture sometimes. I’m pretty new to gluten free baking so I’m just trying to figure out why some gluten free recipes say to not over mix and some don’t. I look forward to making this recipe. Thanks! 🙂
Great question! It really depends on what kind of gluten free flour you’re using. This recipe calls for coconut flour, which easily absorbs liquid. So, if you overmix, the batter will become too thick and the overall texture of the cake will be impacted. I hope this helps — let me know if you try the cake!
Great texture, not dry at all. Made it without icing and still delicious.
Thanks for the 5-star rating — I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake!
Perfect texture. Made it without icing but added mini chocolate chips. Oh and substituted coconut oil for canola oil and sprinkled in some espresso powder into the mix. Yum!
Thanks for the positive rating, and I’m glad you liked the cake!