Gluten Free Chocolate Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

This chocolate vanilla bean cake was epic to make: four layers of one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes, layered with silky, gorgeously-easy and indulgent vanilla bean pastry cream (with a touch of bourbon because why the heck not), rich chocolate buttercream (also with a touch of bourbon), and a ganache drip. And tons of flowers! Sometimes the classic combos like vanilla and chocolate are the absolute winners, and that certainly is the case with this cake. For those of you who haven’t tried making pastry cream yet, let me be the first to welcome you to the world of SUCH easy and mind-blowing-amazingness. Pastry cream comes together in under 10 minutes (it then needs to chill for a couple of hours but it’ll fly by) and it sounds and looks delightfully fancy – win win!

If you’re looking for other great birthday cake ideas, try this chocolate hazelnut cake, or this strawberry lemonade cake, or this vanilla lavender cake, or this pistachio raspberry rose cake, or vanilla apricot cake, or this easy chocolate raspberry cake, or this floofy angel food cake, or this chocolate earl grey cake (it’s WILDLY good), or this guava cream cheese cake!

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5 from 2 votes

Gluten Free Chocolate Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

This decadent four-layer cake is made of rich chocolate cakes filled with vanilla bean pastry cream and chocolate buttercream!

Prep Time2 hours hrs

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Chilling time5 hours hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: birthday cake, buttercream, cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate drip, ganache, gluten free, layer cake, pastry cream, vanilla bean

Servings: 20 people

Calories: 600kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Four 9-inch round cake pans
• Four cake pan strips (link below)
• Plastic wrap
• Electric mixer
• Cake scraper
• Piping bags and tips

Ingredients

For the cake layers:

• 4 large eggs
• 2 Cups sour cream
• 1 1/2 Cups canola oil
• 3 1/2 Cups white sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum) – link below to the one we use
• 2/3 Cup arrowroot starch
• 2/3 Cup sweet rice flour
• 1 Cup dutched cocoa powder unsweetened
• 1 Cup regular cocoa powder unsweetened
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Cups hot weak coffee

For the pastry cream:

• 2 Cups whole milk
• 1 Cup heavy cream
• 2 whole vanilla beans
• 1/2 Cup white sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp bourbon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 Cup cornstarch
• 5 large egg yolks
• 4 Tbsp salted butter room temp

For the buttercream:

• 6 Cups salted butter room temperature
• 2 Cups dutched cocoa powder unsweetened
• 1 Cup regular cocoa powder unsweetened
• 7-8 Cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 1-2 Tbsp bourbon
• 3 tsp vanilla extract

For the ganache drip:

• 1/2 Cup heavy cream
• 1 Cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

To make the cake layers:

• Preheat the oven to 300° F and grease your four 9-inch round cake pans with either butter or cooking spray. Start soaking your four cake pan strips in a large bowl of water. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry cake ingredients (gluten free 1-1 flour mix, arrowroot starch, sweet rice flour, dutched cocoa powder, regular cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt).
• In a large bowl, whisk together the the eggs, sour cream, canola oil, sugar, and vanilla extract until fully blended and creamy. Once combined, add in the dry ingredients and use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix. Fun step! Poor in the piping hot coffee and stir until fully combined (it’ll take some working). Pour cake batter evenly into the four greased cake pans and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely before constructing. Once the cakes are cool, carefully turn them out onto plastic wrap (clean the pans) and wrap each cake layer in two layers of plastic, then return the cakes to the clean pans, then freeze them for at least three hours.

To make the pastry cream:

• Make your pastry cream while the cakes are freezing. The cream will need to chill for 2-3 hours in the fridge so will chill at the same time as the cakes are freezing. Using a small paring knife, slice both vanilla beans in half lengthways then set aside. In a small saucepan, heat your whole milk and cream until it just comes to a simmer, then turn off heat and scrape all of the vanilla seeds out of the cut pods and add them to the saucepan, then add the empty vanilla bean pods and stir until mixed. Let this steep for 10-20 minutes. Then remove the actual vanilla bean pods and add 1/4 cup of the sugar and heat over medium low, stirring frequently, until it comes to a simmer again. While the milk mixture is heating, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, cornstarch, salt, and five egg yolks in a medium bowl until thick and smooth.
• Finally, once milk is simmering, remove from heat and stir in the bourbon. Then, whisking constantly, pour 1 cup of the mixture slowly into the egg yolk bowl to temper your egg yolks. Once tempered, put the saucepan back over low heat and whisk in the tempered egg mixture. Whisk constantly as the saucepan mixture continues to thicken over low heat. Once thick, remove from heat and whisk in the 4 Tbsp salted butter, then press all of the pastry cream through a sieve to remove any tiny lumps and then scoop the pastry cream into a bowl, place plastic wrap directly on top of the pastry cream, and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours (you can make this a day or two ahead of time if you'd like).

To make the buttercream:

• While the cakes are freezing and the pastry cream is chilling, make your chocolate buttercream. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, at least 2-3 minutes. Add in the cocoa and beat until fully blended, then add in the sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until frosting is stiff enough to spread. Add in 1/4 tsp of salt, thee bourbon, and the vanilla and beat to combine. If the frosting is too stiff, you can add a tbsp or two of cream. Keep tasting the buttercream as you go. If it needs more flavor, add a touch more salt, or if it's too loose/doesn't look stiff enough, add more cocoa powder and powdered sugar.

To construct the cake:

• Place one of the frozen (unwrapped) cake layers on a plate or on a cake board. Then scoop some of the chocolate frosting into a piping bag with a 1/2 inch opening and pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the top of the cake, and then fill in the center with a thin layer of frosting. Then spread 2/3-3/4 cup of your chilled pastry cream in the center of the cake, staying within the barrier ring of chocolate frosting. Add the second cake layer and repeat filling as you did the first layer until the final layer has been placed on top. Then, using your cake scraper, crumb coat the entire cake with more chocolate buttercream, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the cake. Once it's set, remove from the fridge and apply the final coat of frosting using your cake scraper to ensure that it's smooth. Then return to the fridge for another 20 or so minutes to set the frosting.
• While the cake is setting, make the chocolate ganache for the drip. Pour the cream into a heat proof bowl or large measuring cup and microwave for one minute, removing from microwave just as the cream begins to bubble up. Pour the chocolate chips into into the hot cream and let sit for one minute before stirring to combine (it'll take about a minute to get the smooth consistency you want – it should be smooth and glossy). Once the drip is smooth, pour it into either a piping bag or a squeeze bottle. Let the ganache sit until it is closer to room temp before dripping it on the cake.
• Once the frosting has set, remove from the fridge and carefully drip the ganache around the top edge of the cake, then fill the center of the top of the cake with ganache and spread to the edges. Return the cake to the fridge for another 15 or so minutes to set the ganache drip before adding the final decorative frosting.
• Once drip is set, scoop some of the extra buttercream into a piping bag with your favorite piping tip, then remove cake from fridge and pipe decorations on the top of the cake. Set this in the fridge for another 15 minutes until the frosting has hardened. Then add any final decorations like flowers.

To serve:

• Keep the cake in the fridge until just before serving – the pastry cream needs to stay chilled (since it contains eggs, it should not bee out of the fridge for too long). To cut a clean slice, use a large/long knife and heat the knife over an open flame or in a large pitcher of very hot water (wipe it dry before slicing), and clean the knife in between each cut you make. This cake will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber