When you’re following a gluten-free diet because of intolerances or Coeliac disease, it can be hard to find desserts that actually taste good. So we’ve pulled together a selection of our favourite gluten free cakes, from dainty cupcakes to decadent chocolate cakes and a tasty, syrupy polenta and orange cake. There’s even classics like lamingtons – all free from gluten.
You’ll need these…
Gluten-free strawberries and cream layer cake
Little gluten free chocolate cakes
Blueberry cupcakes
Cauliflower and passionfruit ice-cream cake
Gluten-free red velvet mud cake
Lemontons
Gluten-free lamingtons
Cardamom and lemon cake with vanilla labne and lemon syrup
Gluten-free banana bread
Gluten-free Chelsea buns
Gluten-free doughnuts
Pure apple cake with golden syrup custard
Gluten-free glace fruit cakes
Gluten-free blueberry cake
Sicilian almond, apple and ricotta cake with pecans
Orange buttermilk syrup cake
Earl grey and chocolate cheesecake
Spiced apple cupcakes
Raw choc-peanut cake
Watermelon cake
Gluten-free whole orange cake
Gluten-free orange cake with labne
Flourless chocolate roulade
Polenta and ricotta cake with rosemary lemon syrup
Ricotta, polenta and blueberry cake
Chocolate cake with sour cherry ganache
Gluten-free New York cheesecake
Dark and dreamy chocolate cake
Flourless orange & white chocolate cake
Lemon and zucchini polenta cake
Gluten free rosewater chocolate cake
Easy gluten-free chocolate cake
Flourless almond, peach and orange blossom loaves
Flourless fig, pecan and maple cake
Flourless hazelnut chocolate cake
Gluten-free carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
Flourless chocolate, prune & hazelnut cake
Flourless chocolate cakes with avocado icing
Upside-down mandarin polenta yoghurt cake
Plum and lemon polenta cake
Gluten-free orange syrup cake
Chocolate orange mousse cake
Gluten-free mixed berry and vanilla sponge layer cake
Gluten-free raspberry and lemon syrup cake
Which flour is best for gluten-free cakes?
Gluten free flour is available from most major supermarkets in Australia, including both plain and self-raising varieties. Some gluten-free cake recipes also use almond meal, hazelnut meal or other alternatives to flour that are naturally gluten-free.
If you’re using a recipe that is specifically designed to be gluten-free, following the recipe and ingredient lists will usually give you the best results. But if you’re adapting a recipe that uses wheat flour by substituting it with gluten-free flour, the results may vary depending on how much flour is needed. In most cases, you’ll get the best results if the recipe only requires a small amount of flour.
If you need to replicate the binding effect of gluten, another option is to add xanthum or xanthan gum, a pre-gel starch or guar gum in the approximate proportions of 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of flour.
Can coeliacs eat cakes?
While coeliacs can’t eat cakes make with wheat or other gluten-containing flour, there are plenty of gluten free cake recipes that are coeliac-friendly. This includes the recipes we’ve put together here.
One detail to note for people who aren’t coeliac but want to make a cake for someone who is: make sure there is as little risk of cross-contamination with gluten as possible. For example, if you’re using butter in a recipe, it’s ideal to get a new stick or container. That ensures there is no trace amounts of gluten that may be present on butter in your fridge that’s been spread on wheat toast (or anything else).
