Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Treat yourself to a delicious Gluten Free Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting. The almond flour and cocoa powder made cake tastes delicious with a butter and peanut butter frosting and a rich chocolate drizzle!

A drool-worthy chocolate cake with peanut butter icing

There’s nothing like a fresh-out-of-the-oven piece of warm chocolate cake. And when it’s topped with peanut butter icing, things are looking even better.

Today we’re baking the most delicious fluffy cake and creating a butter and powdered sugar frosting for on top. The flavor combinations create a cake that’s just downright drool-worthy! I like going the three-tier route with this one, but you can also go with two pans or a sheet cake version!

Ingredients in peanut butter chocolate cake

Chocolate peanut butter cake uses 8 ingredients for the cake base and 4 for the frosting. Together, these ingredients create a flavorful cake that’s made complete with a yummy chocolate drizzle!

Chocolate Cake

• Almond flour: To begin, you will need 3 cups of almond flour. This will be a delicious base for the chocolate cake!
• Cocoa powder: From there we’ll add the chocolate component with 2/3 cup of cocoa powder.
• Baking soda: Add 1 tsp of baking soda to help the cake cook properly.
• Salt: Include 1/2 tsp of salt for flavor!
• Eggs: Next, use 5 eggs to create a fluffy cake and to help the ingredients bind together well.
• Coconut oil: 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil will serve as the oil component of this recipe.
• Maple syrup: To create a sweet flavor naturally, include 1 cup of maple syrup. This ingredient also contributes to the texture!
• Vanilla: The final ingredient of the cake consists of 1 tbsp of vanilla.

Peanut Butter Frosting

• Butter: 1 cup of softened butter makes up the base of the peanut butter frosting. It’s such a tasty way to create the icing!
• Peanut butter: Use 3/4 cup of natural peanut butter to achieve the proper flavor.
• Powdered sugar: 4 cups of powdered sugar helps us create the correct frosting consistency, and it adds sweet flavor.
• Almond milk: Throw in 3-6 tbsp of almond milk as needed.

For a delicious chocolate drizzle, melt 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and 1 tsp of coconut oil together and drizzle on top of the frosted cake.

Kitchen tools you’ll need for this recipe

To make this gluten free chocolate cake, you’ll need a few cooking items. Grab your cake pans, mixing bowls, and measuring cups, and let’s get rolling!

• Cake pans – either three 2 inch or two 6 inch
• Medium mixing bowl
• Stirring utensil
• Large mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Handheld mixer

For measuring, you will need 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, 2/3 cup, 3/4 cup, and 1 cup

How to make gluten free chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting

We’ll start off with the cake, and then we’ll create the frosting while it bakes. Add everything together, and voila! A rich and fluffy chocolate cake.

To begin, preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease three 6 inch cake pans. You can also use two 8 inch pans if preferred.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Whisk the eggs and coconut oil in a large mixing bowl. Then, add the maple syrup and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredietns to the wet and stir until combined. Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans.

Bake the batter for 26-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cakes are baking, use a handheld mixer to beat together the butter, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. Add the powdered sugar slowly, cup by cup.

Then, add the almond milk as needed until the frosting is fluffy.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool for ten minutes, and then remove them from the pans and let them continue cooling on a wire rack.

Once cool, add the frosting. Optionally add chocolate drizzle.

How this cake is healthier

When it comes to baking, it is so simple to make things healthy. With a few ingredients swaps, you have a healthier sweet treat at your fingertips! For this recipe, I used 6 healthier items.

Almond flour
First, I skipped all purpose flour and went with almond instead. This is a usual occurrence in my baking, and it’s an easy swap to make! The flavor change isn’t noticeable.

Cocoa powder
Next, I added chocolate the natural way by using cocoa powder. Rather than using a regular chocolate cake mix, use cocoa powder for a healthier result and a rich flavor.

Coconut oil
Skip the vegetable and canola oils and opt for coconut — a simple, healthy swap! Use refined for undetectable flavor.

Maple syrup
Maple syrup is the perfect way to add sweet flavor naturally. It tastes amazing in baked goods! Two more natural options are honey and molasses.

Natural peanut butter
Skip the processed nut butters and use a natural option instead. Less processed ingredients is always the healthier way!

Almond milk
Finally, I skipped regular milk and opted for almond milk instead. I love this plant-based option. It tastes great and makes for a fluffy cake!

Wondering about ingredient substitutions? This recipe allows for a few!

• Coconut oil: Coconut oil can be easily swapped with any baking oil like vegetable or canola.
• Maple syrup: For an equally natural option, you can use honey or molasses in place of maple syrup. Because each of these have a different level of sweetness, I recommend starting with a small amount and adding to taste.
• Peanut butter: Any nut butter will work well in this recipe which means you can use almond, cashew, or whatever you’d like!
• Almond milk: Finally, you can sub almond milk with any milk whether regular or plant based.

If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!

If you loved this chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, its’ definitely worth diving into some more delicious peanut buttery recipes!

• Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars with Pretzels
• Healthy Peanut Butter Brownie Bites
• Protein Peanut Butter Cups
• Healthy Peanut Butter Pie (Dairy-Free)

Photos by Moriah Sawtelle and recipe by Erin Antoniak.