Oh look, cake!
If you’ve been following along, you know I promised gluten-free cake recipes — and I usually deliver. This is one of those: a gluten-free white chocolate mud cake. It’s moist, dense and has a lovely balance of white chocolate and vanilla.
I used to favor dark, intense chocolate, but lately I appreciate the delicate flavours of white chocolate and vanilla. This cake combines smooth white chocolate with a hint of vanilla in a dense, cake-decorating-friendly crumb.
The recipe is adapted from the popular Citrus Mud Cake on Taste.com.au. After testing several white chocolate mud cake recipes while learning to decorate, this version worked best for me, so I converted it to be gluten free — and it performs beautifully.
A key tip: use good quality white chocolate that contains cocoa butter rather than cheaper compound chocolate made with vegetable fat. The flavour and texture are noticeably better with real white chocolate.
Like my gluten-free dark chocolate mud cake, this is an easy melt-and-mix style cake. The milk, butter, white chocolate and sugar are gently melted together, then combined with the dry ingredients, vanilla and eggs.
I kept the original batter amount, which yields a tall seven-inch round cake (about 4″ high). White chocolate mud cakes develop a darker crust, even when using baking strips, so I like the extra height to allow trimming the top and bottom crusts for better-looking slices. If you prefer less trimming, scale the recipe down or bake in an eight-inch pan instead.
To tidy the layers and make room for ganache, I trim the darker edges using a simple plastic template cut slightly smaller than the cake board. Placing the template on each layer and trimming with a small serrated knife gives neat, even layers.
This version is plain white chocolate, but you can add citrus zest (lemon, lime and/or orange) from the original recipe if you want a zesty lift. Any one or all three zests work well depending on the flavour direction you prefer.
White chocolate ganache is a natural filling and crumb-coating for this cake. As with the cake itself, use good-quality white chocolate for the ganache — it greatly improves flavour and mouthfeel. If chopping large blocks of chocolate is a chore, chocolate buttons or high-quality chips are a convenient alternative.
This cake is slightly less dense than the dark chocolate version but remains sturdy enough for most decorating tasks, light carving and tiered cakes when chilled and supported with ganache. It’s versatile and reliable for many cake projects.
Use a tin conversion tool like CakeOmeter to adjust the recipe for different pan sizes. If you’re new to gluten-free baking, check my post about gluten-free cakes for decorating for tips and troubleshooting.
Gluten Free White Chocolate Mud Cake
Ingredients
- 420 g gluten free flour*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder check that it is gluten free
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan gum
- 350 ml milk
- 350 g butter cut into cubes
- 180 g white chocolate chopped
- 400 g caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 160°C (350°F). Line the base and sides of a 7” round (at least 3” high) cake pan and make a baking strip and foil lid.
- In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and xanthan gum. Whisk to combine well.
- In a large heavy-based saucepan heat the milk and butter over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the butter melts.
- Add the white chocolate and stir over low heat until melted.
- Whisk in the sugar until dissolved (this can take several minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Allow the mixture to cool until you can comfortably hold a finger in it. Transfer to a heatproof bowl to cool faster if needed.
- When cool, add the dry ingredients in three additions. Mix using a folding motion with a whisk to avoid incorporating too much air.
- Whisk the eggs together with a fork and add to the batter, mixing again. Let the batter sit for a minute to allow bubbles to surface, then pour into the prepared pan and tap the pan to release any large bubbles.
- Cover with the foil lid and bake for 2.5–3 hours. Test with a thin skewer — it should come out clean. An instant-read thermometer should read at least 99°C in the centre.
- Remove the foil lid and let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Then cover the top with foil and leave the cake overnight to cool completely before removing from the pan.
Notes
Chocolate ganache – To fill and cover a cake this size with white chocolate ganache (four layers of cake/three layers of ganache filling) you’ll need about 1.6 kg of ganache (approximately 1.2 kg white chocolate to 400 g cream).
Enjoy 🙂
~Natalie
xx
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