This gluten free chocolate crunch cake recipe is a feast for the eyes and taste buds as the texture is so satisfying. Made with 3 delicious layers of moist chocolate cake filled and decorated with smooth chocolate ganache frosting then topped with rice krispy crunch cake. A chocolate lover's dream cake!
This crispy chocolate cake is definitely a must when hosting a party. It makes the best gluten free chocolate birthday cake. It's the perfect decadent chocolate triple layer cake with the added fun twist of the chocolate krispy treats.
Loved by both kids and adults I have served this to non gluten-free eaters who can't tell the difference just like my gluten free chocolate cupcakes and chocolate crumb cake.
If you are looking for a gluten free celebration cake you will also want to check out my Medovik tort and gluten free Victoria sponge cake.
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- Gluten free All-purpose flour - I used a shop bought Gluten free Plain flour blend from Doves Farm Freee from range. Which is a flour blend of Rice, Potato, Tapioca, Maize and Buckwheat flour. I have had reports that others have used Bob’s Red Mill and other Gluten free All purpose blends with my recipes that have worked well.
- Sugar - This makes the cake light, gives moisture, and adds sweetness to the cake. I used fine white sugar aka caster sugar but granulated sugar will also work well.
- Cocoa powder - Dutch-processed cocoa powder is what I recommend.
- Baking Powder & Baking soda - Acts as a leavening and rising agent by reacting to heat. Making the cake light and rise well.
- Salt - Helps balance out the sweetness of the chocolate cake.
- Xanthan Gum - Prevents ingredients from separating as it is a stabilizer. Essentially acting as gluten would gelling everything together.
- Butter - Melted in the microwave.
- Whole Milk - I like to take the milk out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before making the cake to allow the milk to come to room temperature.
- Eggs - Room temperature
- Warm water - Don't skip this step as adding hot water will add moisture to the chocolate cake and prevent it from becoming too dry.
Chocolate Crunch
- Milk Chocolate - When making the milk chocolate crunch or as some may call it chocolate concrete always be sure that the chocolate you use is gluten free. See what chocolate is gluten free if you are unsure.
- Rice Krispy Cereal - I used Nestle go free Rice pops. Be sure to use gluten free cereal.
Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- Heavy Cream - AKA Double cream
- Chocolate - I used 450g Milk chocolate 150g Dark chocolate. Used your preferred combination of chocolate for the frosting.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Recipe step 1.
How to make chocolate crunch cake
- In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, and salt.
- In a separate bowl combine the eggs, milk, melted butter, and hot water. Mix well.
- Add the wet ingredients into the larger bowl that contains the dry ingredient mix and whisk until fully combined and resembles a smooth chocolate cake batter.
- Divide the chocolate cake batter between the 3 baking tins. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. Insert a skewer into a cake. If it comes out clean it's ready if not leave it in slightly longer. (Times may vary slightly depending on the oven).
Recipe Step 2.
- Chop the chocolate up as finely as you can and place it in a large bowl.
- Add cream into a non-stick saucepan and heat on medium-high heat until the cream is hot stirring continuously. DO NOT bring the cream to a boil.
- Carefully pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chopped chocolate and leave it to sit for 3-4 minutes. This will allow the hot cream to begin to melt the chocolate.
- Stir the melted chocolate and cream together until fully combined and smooth.
Recipe Step 3.
- Melt chocolate in the microwave. Be sure to check and stir to prevent burning. Once melted mix in the rice crispy cereal until fully coated with the melted chocolate. Just like making rice krispie chocolate cakes.
- Transfer to parchment paper spreading the chocolate cereal in a thin layer. Place in the refrigerator to set.
- Once set using a sharp knife cut into your preferred size crispy bites. I like to make a variety of larger and smaller crispy pieces.
See the recipe card for instructions to assemble the layer cake.
Crunchy cake filling ideas - If you want to include crunchy layers within the cake sprinkle some of the chocolate crunches on top of each ganache filling before adding the next chocolate cake layer. This makes a decadent chocolate cake with crunchy layer.
Recipe Tips
- Gluten Free Flour – I used a shop bought Gluten free flour blend from Doves Farm Freee from range. Which is a flour blend of Rice, Potato, Tapioca, Maize and Buckwheat flour. I have had reports that others have used Bob’s Red Mill and other Gluten free All purpose blends with my recipes that have worked well. I would love to know what flour blends worked for you so feel free to get in touch by leaving a comment below or you can contact me directly.
- Kitchen Scales - Using digital scales is recommended when baking. I always measure using scales and in grams as baking is a science. When baking gluten free it is essential to weigh out ingredients to get the best results! There is no need to purchase expensive digital scales and you can find them available cheaply online. (Although for small amounts I will use spoon measurements)
- Oven Temperatures - Your oven temperature may be slightly different. As all ovens vary in temperature and the baking time is used as a guide. Some ovens run hotter than others. You could invest in an oven thermometer to be more accurate.
Variations
There are various options to use when making the crunch for the cake. I have included a few variations below that I have also used in the past. Substitute the chocolate rice krispy crunch for:
- Oreo's crunch - Using gluten free Oreo's crush up the cookies and decorate the tops and sides of the frosting. I used broken oreos when making my Gluten free dirt pudding.
- Cadbury's Crunchie - As Cadbury crunchies are gluten free you can use crushed crunchie for a stunning honeycomb crunch. This method results in a chewy crunch and looks stunning as the color of the honeycomb with the color of the chocolate frosting make the cake pop.
- Cadbury's mini eggs- Perfect for an Easter theme crunch cake. Decorate the frosting with whole and halved mini eggs. The mini eggs bring a fun colorful element to the cake.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, I often make the cake the day before I plan to serve. The cake can be stored in an airtight container for you to enjoy for up to 3-4 days. Store in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Yes, I have made this a 3 layer chocolate cake but if you prefer 2 layers of chocolate cake just divide the chocolate cake batter between two cake tins. The cake will take a little longer in the oven so adjust the baking time. Insert a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean it's ready if not leave it in slightly longer.
Yes, This recipe is gluten free! Just be sure all ingredients used are safe and free of Barley, Rye, Oats, or Spelt and don't have any may contain gluten warning on the ingredients labels.
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Crunch Cake
Nutritional information is meant as a guideline and all information is approximate.
Equipment
- 3 8-inch baking tins
- Large bowl
- non-stick pan
- Whisk
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- 300 Grams Gluten free All-purpose flour (I used Doves free from Plain flour)
- 300 Grams Sugar
- 70 Grams Cocoa powder
- 1½ Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1½ Teaspoons Baking soda (AKA Bicarbonate of soda)
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 300 Grams Butter (Melted)
- 300 ml Whole Milk
- 3 Large Eggs Room temperature
- 90 ml Hot water
Chocolate Crunch
- 150 Grams Milk Chocolate
- 50 Grams Rice Krispy Cereal (I used Nestle go free Rice pops).
Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- 600 ML Heavy Cream AKA Double cream
- 600 Grams Chocolate I used 450g Milk chocolate 150g Dark chocolate. Used your preferred combination.
Instructions
How to make Chocolate cake layers
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/225°F/Gas Mark 3. Grease the sides and line the bottom of the baking tins with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, and salt.
- In a separate bowl combine the eggs, milk, melted butter, and hot water. Mix well.
- Add the wet ingredients into the larger bowl that contains the dry ingredient mix and whisk until fully combined and resembles a smooth chocolate cake batter.
- Divide the chocolate cake batter between the 3 baking tins. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. Insert a skewer into a cake. If it comes out clean it's ready if not leave it in slightly longer. (Times may vary slightly depending on the oven).
- You can divide between two tins if you would rather at 2 layer cake. Baking time will be slightly longer.
- Transfer to a cooling rack. Carefully remove from the tins once slightly cooled as the cake will be delicate to handle.
How to make Chocolate Crunch
- Melt chocolate in the microwave. Be sure to check and stir to prevent burning. Once melted mix in the rice crispy cereal until fully coated with the melted chocolate.
- Transfer to parchment paper spreading the chocolate cereal in a thin layer. Place in the refrigerator to set.
- Once set using a sharp knife cut into your preferred size crispy bites. I like to make a variety of larger and smaller crispy pieces.
How to make Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- Chop the chocolate up as finely as you can and place it in a large bowl.
- Add cream into a non-stick saucepan and heat on medium-high heat until the cream is hot stirring continuously. DO NOT bring the cream to a boil.
- Carefully pour the hot cream into the bowl with the chopped chocolate and leave it to sit for 3-4 minutes. This will allow the hot cream to begin to melt the chocolate.
- Stir the melted chocolate and cream together until fully combined and smooth.
- Leave the chocolate ganache to cool completely and then cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Once the chocolate ganache has had time to chill whisk until the frosting becomes creamy and thick. It won't take long to thicken and usually only takes up to 5 minutes when using an electric whisk or mixer. (The key is to not over whisk as it will quickly become thick and grainy).
How to Assemble the cake
- If your cake has large domes you can use a serrated knife to remove the domes to result in a flat top. I find that these cakes don't have a large dome and need very little to no leveling.
- Place the first layer on your cake stand or plate and use approx ¼ of the frosting layer and spread evenly. Then carefully layer with the second chocolate cake and repeat the frosting. Top with the final layer of cake.
- With the remaining frosting cover the top and sides of the cake. If desired use the back of a spoon or spatular to create swirls and small peaks.
- Decorate with the chopped chocolate crunch pieces. I like to make a chocolate crunch top and decorate the bottom of the cake with smaller pieces of the crunch mixture.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Oreo's crunch - Using gluten free Oreo's crush up the cookies and decorate the tops and sides of the frosting. I used broken oreos when making my Gluten free dirt pudding.
- Cadbury's Crunchie - As Cadbury crunchies are gluten free you can use crushed crunchie for a stunning honeycomb crunch. This method results in a chewy crunch and looks stunning as the color of the honeycomb with the color of the chocolate frosting make the cake pop.
- Cadbury's mini eggs- Perfect for an Easter theme crunch cake. Decorate the frosting with whole and halved mini eggs. The mini eggs bring a fun colorful element to the cake.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutritional information is meant as a guideline and is always an approximate calculation. Recipes may include information of various products used. It is your responsibility to check that ingredients you use when making a recipe are gluten free.
I hope you enjoyed this Chocolate Crunch Cake recipe.
I would love your feedback. Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below. You can also tag me in any photos taken when trying this recipe over on my Instagram.
Kat
Perfect for a birthday or celebration cake!