Let's Be Yummy A Gluten Free way to enjoy life's pleasant delights
Moist, fluffy, sinfully delicious Red Velvet Cake made Gluten Free!
I started making Red Velvet Cakes while I was in high school for a very special friend. I guess you could say Red Velvet Cake was my claim to fame in my group of friends.
We grew up, moved on, lost touch with one another until a few years ago when we reconnected. Of course the Red Velvet Cake was remembered (and requested) but now I’m gluten free!! I hadn’t made this cake in years, no really YEARS!
I love challenges and here was one. Could I recreate the Red Velvet Cake in all its moist fluffy goodness so that I could eat it and the friend would not know it was gluten free?
I blew the dust off the original recipe and went to work.
With love in my heart, prayers going up and some holding of breath, the challenge was on.
It looked like I remembered the batter appearing as I was whipping it up. It smelled like THE Red Velvet Cake I remembered, before, during and after baking. I burnt my fingers testing for doneness, just like I remembered!! Why are some things so difficult to learn? It came out of the oven….looking like my Red Velvet Cake of years gone past!!! Yippee!!
Now for the real test.
My friend, who can be very critical, tried it and stated this red velvet cake was just as they remembered it!!!
They loved the moist texture, the sweet taste, the fluffiness!! They felt they were transported back in time!!! A huge success!!
What? Did I tell them it was gluten free?
Would you have?
Yes, I did let them know it was gluten free … after about the third slice!!!
Y’all, I can’t tell you how happy this cake made me; it was everything I had envisioned!!
You really need to try this wonderful Red Velvet Cake real soon and sit back and absorb all the compliments!
- Cake Ingredients
- 1 box
gf yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker) - 2 eggs
- 1⅓ cups buttermilk*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cocoa
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons red food coloring (1 bottle)
- Icing Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup shortening
- 3 cups powder sugar
- 1 Tablespoon
gf vanilla extract - 4 Tablespoons buttermilk*
- Cake Directions
- Mix cake mix an cocoa together in a large mixing bowl until there are no lumps.
- Add eggs, buttermilk* and food coloring.
- Beat well.
- Mix the baking soda and vinegar together in a small bowl.
- Fold baking soda and vinegar mixture into cake mixture.
- Pour into a greased 9x13 or 9
inch round baking pan** - Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes.
- Icing Directions
- In a mixer beat butter until soft and creamy.
- Add shortening and beat again. The longer you beat the shortening the lighter it will make the frosting. I beat mine for about 3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and mix well.
- Add powder sugar 1 cup at a time. I place a towel over the bowl to prevent a huge mess from the sugar flying every. You still might have a small mess but nothing like what you would have if you don't cover it at all.
- Add milk one tablespoon at a time. If you don't like the consistency you can add more buttermilk one tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency you are looking for.
**Using the cake mix will make a thin cake if using two 9 inch cake pans. If you want a layered cake with thicker layers you will need to double the recipe.
what did you replace the butter in the icing with?
I didn’t. There is butter in the icing.
It states its gluten dairy free but if you used Betty Crocker yellow cake mix and butter , butter milk then that would not be true right ? Or did I miss something
The recipe just states that it is gluten free. Was a typo in the url address that stated dairy free. The recipe title just states gluten free. The butter milk I made was made with a nut milk. You could substitue vegan butter and the recipe would be dairy free.
For the buttermilk – all I read in the note is to add 1 T plus 1 t, then add the milk. What’s the difference unless the T and the t are some other ingredient, like lemon juice?
I left out white vinegar and have since updated the note. Thanks for asking and by asking letting me know I had left something out of the directions. Hope that helps and if you have any other questions please let me know. Hope you enjoy the cake!
How is this gluten and dairy free?
I used a gluten free yellow cake mix and I used nut milk. Not sure what part of my recipe you thought contained gluten or dairy. If you would like to clarify your confusion about my recipe I will be glad to clear it up for you. I did use butter in the icing but the cake is still dairy free. A vegan butter could be used in the icing to make it dairy free also.
the gf cake mix listed milk in ingredients
I am not sure what you are looking at. I just checked the ingredients in the Betty Crocker gf yellow cake mix and there was NO milk in the ingredients. You can use whatever gf yellow cake mix that you would like for this recipe. Hope that helps.
I’m from the UK. Could you tell me the size/weight of the Betty Crocker gf cake mix please? Thank you.
15 ounces/425 grams
Do I also add the listed ingredients on the cake mix instructions, or just the dry mix and all your recipe ingredients?
DO NOT add listed ingredients on cake mix instructions.
Just add dry mix and all ingredients in my recipe.
Hope you enjoy!
I made this cake for Valentine’s Day. It was AMAZING! Such easy to make and sooo delicious. Thank you Jenny for this recipe!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
It was my understanding that food colorings contain gluten. Other recipes add beet juice for coloring. Could you clarify? Also I would not use shortening in my icing. I prefer cream cheese
From my research, most food coloring is gluten free. If you have an allergy to gluten then please do your research and make sure your food coloring is one that is gluten free . I have an intolerance to gluten and not an allergy. So far, I have not had any reaction to food coloring. You certainly could use beet juice in place of food coloring in this recipe.
I avoid cow’s milk at all cost. It is another food that I have an intolerance to. I do not like using vegan cream cheese because I do not like consuming soy. So, I had to find an alternative to cream cheese frosting and that is why my icing contains shortening. I use a non hydrogenated shortening. If you do not have a problem with cow’s milk then cream cheese frosting would be great to use.
If we do not get the gf cake mix, can we use almond meal, if yes, how much?
Almond meal tends to be heavy so I would not recommend using it. You could make your own gluten free cake mix.
The recipe I would use would be
2 1/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour
(brands I would use would be Pamela’s Artisan Blend, Better Batter or one that states it is a 1 to 1 baking flour like Bob’s Red Mill)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and use a wisk to blend together.
Then proceed with my recipe for red velvet cake.
Hope that helps.