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Gluten Free Chocolate Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

This is the ultimate vanilla bean + chocolate layer cake, complete with bourbon cherry jam
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time40 minutes
Chilling time2 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free
Keyword: birthday cake, bourbon, buttercream, cake, cherry, chocolate cake, gluten free, layer cake, vanilla bean
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 500kcal
Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

  • Four 8-inch round cake pans
  • Electric mixer
  • Piping bags and tips
  • Small saucepan
  • Whisk
  • Small paintbrush

Ingredients

For the cakes:

  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 Cups sour cream
  • 1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
  • 2 2/3 Cups white sugar
  • 1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp dutched cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 Cups hot coffee

For the vanilla bean buttercream:

  • 4 Cups salted butter room temperature
  • 6-7 Cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • seeds from 1 whole vanilla bean

For the chocolate fudge sauce:

  • 1/4 Cup salted butter
  • 1/3 Cup dutched cocoa powder
  • 1/2 Cup white sugar
  • 1 tsp instant coffee granules
  • 1/4-1/2 Cup whole milk

For the filling:

  • 1/4 Cup cherry jam or preserves
  • 2 tsp bourbon

For the construction:

  • 1 Cup white chocolate chunks/chips
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1 tsp lemon juice optional
  • edible gold powder optional

For the vanilla bean whipped cream:

  • 1 1/2 Cup heavy cream
  • 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
  • seeds from whole vanilla bean

Instructions

To make the cake:

  • First, make your cake layers! Preheat the oven to 300° F and grease four 8-inch round cake pans with either butter or cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry cake ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt).
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the the eggs, sour cream, canola oil, 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 that cup and a half of piping hot coffee and stir until fully combined (it’ll take some working). Pour cake batter evenly into the two greased cake pans and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Make your frosting and fillings:

  • While cake is baking, make the fudge sauce (it will need to cool). Dissolve the instant coffee granules into the milk and set aside. In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add in cocoa powder and whisk until smooth, then add in sugar and whisk until combined. Add milk and continue to whisk until thick. Remove from heat and let sit until fully cooled.
  • Then, mix together your bourbon and cherry preserves and set aside. Then, make the vanilla bean whipped cream. Beat cream with a whisk or electric mixer until thick, then add the vanilla bean seeds and powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks, then set aside.
  • Finally, make the buttercream. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the room temp butter on high for at least 5 minutes. This may seem like a long time, but the butter will change color and get whiter the longer you beat it, giving you a much whiter buttercream to decorate your cake with. After five minutes of beating, add one cup of powdered sugar at a time, beating in between each add until smooth. Once all the powdered sugar has been added, add your vanilla extract and scrape the seeds from one whole vanilla pod into the buttercream and beat to combine. If the buttercream is too stiff, add a tablespoon of cream. Beat to combine, then set aside.

Construct the cake:

  • Now, assemble your cake. Turn out all of the cake layers and carefully slice off the top bump so that each cake is flat. Place one cake layer onto a cake board or a serving plate. Scoop some of the vanilla bean buttercream into a pastry bag and pipe the buttercream in a circle as an edge around the top of the cake layer. Spread a thin layer of vanilla buttercream over the layer, then spread about a 1/4 of an inch of the cooled fudge sauce, then a tablespoon of the preserves, then two tablespoons of the whipped cream, staying within the barrier you piped around the edge. Then place a second cake layer on top and repeat this step on that layer.
  • Finally, place the final cake layer on top, and crumb coat the entire cake – top and sides – with the vanilla bean buttercream. Freeze the entire cake for 30 minutes to set the crumb coating, then remove, and finish frosting the cake with the vanilla bean buttercream. I use a cake leveler/scraper to ensure sides and top are smooth and straight.
  • Finally, make your white chocolate drip. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 45 second intervals until fully melted, then stir in the canola oil. Let cool and then add to a squeeze bottle. Once cooled, add some to the top of your cake and spread to top the cake, then drip the rest around the edge of the cake. Freeze the entire cake again for 15 minutes to set the drip, then mix the gold dust with a little lemon juice and mix together with the paintbrush. Remove the cake from the freezer and paint on the gold dust mixture with the paintbrush. Freeze cake for 10 minutes to set the paint, then remove and pipe on the last of the vanilla bean buttercream and add any final decorations!