Gluten-free Chocolate Cake from a Mix

Over the past few months I have been trying out various gluten-free chocolate cake mixes. Normally I like to make things from scratch, but I wanted to have an option for myself and others when we want something a little easier and less time-consuming. In addition, I wanted to find a way to make a gluten-free dessert without having to buy a lot of specialty ingredients. Of the ones I tried, these three cake mixes fit the bill: Betty Crocker Gluten Free devil's food cake mix, Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free chocolate cake mix, and Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Dreams chocolate cake mix. All three taste great and come together with just a few ingredients. I found them at local supermarkets, so you should be able to find at least one of these brands wherever you shop.

If you're not making the cake or cupcakes for Michael, you can use store-bought frosting if it is gluten-free and does not contain milk or egg. Many of the Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker frostings have a gluten-free label on them. It's okay if the label says that the frosting "may contain milk ingredients" as a warning. It's also okay if the frosting contains soybean oil. If making the cake for Michael, use my chocolate frosting recipe.

I am including ingredients and instructions below because I had to modify them a bit to make the cakes egg-free and dairy-free. For two of the mixes I substitute banana for the egg, but don't worry that it makes the cupcakes taste like banana. Sabrina doesn't prefer a strong banana flavor and she thinks the cupcakes are great. When making a cake, grease the bottom and sides of the cake pan with canola oil. When making cupcakes, use cupcake liners or grease the muffin tin with canola oil. I find that even the non-stick pans need to be greased so that the cake and cupcakes don't stick.


Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake Mix
makes one 8" or 9" cake or 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 package of cake mix
• 1 "flax egg" (3 Tbsp. hot water and 1 Tbsp. flax seed meal)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. canola oil (or you could try with just 1/4 cup canola oil)
• 1/2 cup pureed banana (about 1 large ripe banana)
• optional: 1 tsp. vanilla extract. (If making the cake for Michael, use a vanilla extract that does not contain any corn syrup or alcohol. However, the cake tastes great even without the vanilla.)
  

Instructions:

Follow the instructions on the box. For the flax egg, heat the water, stir in the flax seed meal, let sit for several minutes, and then stir again before combining with the other ingredients. For the banana, I recommend pureeing it in a food chopper to make it a smooth consistency and to aerate it a bit. I used about 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake. I used a nonstick muffin tin and baked the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free chocolate cake mix
makes two 8" round cakes or 15-18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 package of cake mix
• 2 "flax eggs" (6 Tbsp. hot water and 2 Tbsp. flax seed meal) OR 1/2 cup pureed banana (about 1 large ripe banana)
  
• 1 cup vanilla rice milk or almond milk (either plain or vanilla)
  
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. canola oil (or you could try with just 1/4 cup canola oil)
• 1/3 cup hot water (110 degrees)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract. If you are making the cake for Michael, use a vanilla extract that does not contain any corn syrup or alcohol. If you use a vanilla-flavored rice milk or almond milk, you can omit the vanilla extract.
  

Instructions:

Follow the instructions on the package, except use canola oil instead of butter. Instead of egg, I have used either 2 "flax eggs" or 1/2 cup pureed banana. Both ingredients work fine. We prefer using the banana, though, because this cake isn't as sweet as most chocolate cakes and the banana helps make it a little sweeter. For the flax egg, heat the water, stir in the flax seed meal, let sit for several minutes, and then stir again before combining with the other ingredients. For the banana, I recommend pureeing it in a food chopper to make it a smooth consistency and to aerate it a bit.

To make 18 cupcakes, use a scant 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake. To make 15 cupcakes, use 1/4 cup of batter. If you make just 15 cupcakes, they will take about 20-22 minutes to bake at 350 degrees. A toothpick poked into the middle of one of the cupcakes will come out with a few crumbs on it even when the cupcakes are done. They will firm up inside as they cool.

Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Dreams chocolate cake mix
makes a 9" round cake or 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 package of cake mix
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract. If making the cake for Michael, use a vanilla extract that does not have any corn syrup or alcohol.

Instructions:

Follow the instructions on the package. Use 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake to make 12 cupcakes.