This Chocolate Sprinkle Cake is so easy to make and is perfect for parties or taking along to family gatherings. With a deliciously moist chocolate sponge topped with smooth chocolate buttercream and decorated with a generous amount of sprinkles!
When developing this recipe my daughter who is my main baking assistant suggested we make a chocolate version of my gluten free traybake. We settled on making a old school chocolate tray bake.
This chocolate sprinkle cake is so easy to make it is perfect for getting the kids involved and having some fun in the kitchen. Although that means they usually get to lick the remains of the buttercream in the bowl!
If like me you are obsessed with all things chocolate then you also need to try my chocolate crumb cake, gluten free chocolate cupcakes, and gluten free chocolate layer cake. They definitely won't disappoint.
Ingredients
- Gluten free all purpose flour - Most gluten free all purpose flour blends or 1.1 baking flours will work well with this recipe. See baking tips below for the flour blend I used when making this chocolate cake with sprinkles.
- Sugar - Makes the cake light, gives moisture, and adds sweetness to the cake.
- Cocoa powder - Use a good quality cocoa powder as it will make all the difference in the outcome of the flavor of the chocolate tray bake.
- Baking powder & Baking soda - AKA bicarbonate of soda. Acts as a leavening and rising agent by reacting to heat. Make the cake light and rise well. Always use gluten free baking powder, see is baking powder gluten free for more information.
- Xanthan Gum - You can omit it if your flour blend already contains xanthan gum.
- Salt - Helps balance out the flavors of the chocolate.
- Butter - I find it easy to melt butter in the microwave.
- Eggs - Room temperature
- 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.
- Hot water - Don't skip this step as adding hot water will add moisture to the chocolate cake and prevent it from becoming too dry.
- Heavy cream - AKA Double cream or whipping cream.
- Vanilla extract - Enhances the flavor of the buttercream.
- Sprinkles - We can't forget the sprinkles as it wouldn't be chocolate sprinkle cake without them! I used chocolate sprinkles but you can use your preferred colored sprinkles. Some Sprinkles may contain gluten so always read the labels to ensure that the sprinkles are gluten free.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
1.In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, and salt.
2. 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
3. Pour the chocolate cake batter into the prepared baking tin and spread evenly within the tin. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.
4. Spread the buttercream using a palette knife or spatula evenly on top of the chocolate tray bake. Decorate with the sprinkles and slice the chocolate sprinkle cake into squares.
See the recipe card for more detailed instructions.
💭 Gluten Free Baking
- Gluten Free Flour – I used a 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 King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour, Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Flour, Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, with my recipes.
- Kitchen Scales - Using digital scales is recommended when baking. I always measure using scales and 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
- Rainbow sprinkle cake - To make a fun and bright cake, Use rainbow sprinkles to decorate.
- Layer cake - To make a round layer cake, Divide the cake batter into two 8 inch cake tins. The cake will take approximately 20-25 minutes to bake in the oven or you can make my chocolate crunch cake and replace the crunch decorations with sprinkles.
- Whipped chocolate ganache frosting - If you prefer ganache frosting on your chocolate traybake then you can easily replace the buttercream by using the chocolate ganache in my gluten free chocolate cupcakes recipe.
Equipment
For the gluten free chocolate tray bake I used 9x13 baking tin You could use a 9x9 baking tin but will take slightly longer to bake. See above in variations if you prefer a round sprinkle cake.
For the chocolate buttercream, I recommend using a hand-held electric beater or stand mixer. Don't worry if you don't have them as you can use a wooden spoon and hand whisk but this will require a little extra time and elbow grease.
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If stored in the fridge then remove the chocolate sprinkle cake for at least 30 minutes to allow it to come to room temperature before serving for best results.
Other Recipes you might like.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Sprinkle Cake
Nutritional information is meant as a guideline and all information is approximate.
Equipment
- 9x13 baking tin You could use an 9x9 baking tin but will take slightly longer to bake.
Ingredients
Chocolate sheet cake
- 200 grams Gluten free all purpose flour AKA Plain flour in UK
- 200 grams Sugar
- 50 grams Cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder Some brands may have ingredients that contain gluten. Always be sure to check the label.
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda AKA bicarbonate of soda. Some brands may have ingredients that contain gluten. Always be sure to check the label.
- ¼ teaspoon Xanthan Gum You can omit if your flour blend already contains xanthan gum.
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 200 grams Butter Melted, I find it easy to melt butter in the microwave.
- 2 large Eggs Room temperature
- 200 ml whole milk
- 60 ml Hot water
Chocolate buttercream
- 250 grams Butter Room temperature
- 300 grams Powdered sugar AKA Icing sugar
- 4 tablespoon Cocoa powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Heavy cream AKA Double cream
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 30 g Chocolate sprinkles To decorate. Some Sprinkles may contain gluten so always read the labels to ensure that the sprinkles are gluten free.
Instructions
How to make the chocolate cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
- Line the baking tin with parchment paper. I recommend having extra parchment paper overlap the sides of the baking tin as this will make the cake easier to remove when cooled.
- 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.
- Pour the chocolate cake batter into the prepared baking tin and spread evenly within the tin.
- Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. You can check if it is ready by inserting a wooden skewer and when it comes out clean it is ready to remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully removing the chocolate traybake onto a cooling rack.
How to make chocolate buttercream
- With an electric beater or stand mixer beat the butter until it is light and fluffy ( usually looks whiter in color).
- Sieve powdered sugar, salt and cocoa powder into a bowl and add to the butter a few tablespoons at a time until fully combined.
- Add cream and vanilla extract to the buttercream and beat well until it is smooth and shiny.
Assembling the chocolate sprinkle cake.
- Once the chocolate cake is fully cooled carefully spoon the chocolate buttercream on top of the cake.
- Spread the buttercream using a palette knife or spatula evenly on top of the chocolate tray bake. Decorate with the sprinkles and slice into squares.
- Enjoy!
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 Sprinkle 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.
This Chocolate Sprinkle cake was shared with Twinkl as part of their MacMillan Coffee morning featuring a collection of delicious recipes all in support of a great cause. If you want to get involved you can check out the Twinkl coffee morning event page to read all about it and how you can support it by hosting a coffee morning.
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