Baking
A gluten-free birthday cake
A vanilla sponge sandwich with raspberry jam, vanilla buttercream and colourful gluten-free sprinkles.
Two vanilla sponges, a layer of raspberry jam and a generous swirl of buttercream make a birthday cake that is easy to decorate. Leave the sides bare and scatter sprinkles over the top.
Let the sponges cool completely before filling them so the buttercream holds its shape. This recipe is in development and has not been kitchen-tested.
The recipe
A gluten-free birthday cake
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total*
- 60 min
- Makes
- 12 servings
*Estimated development timings. Allow about 70 minutes for cooling, including 10 minutes in the tins. Total minutes exclude cooling; allow about 2 hours 10 minutes from starting to serving, and longer if the sponges are still warm.
Ingredients
Tick things off as you go.
For the sponge
For the filling and decoration
Equipment
- Use two round 20 cm sandwich tins, at least 4 cm deep.
- You will need baking parchment, kitchen scales, measuring spoons and a measuring jug.
- Use a large mixing bowl, a smaller bowl, an electric hand mixer, a sieve and a spatula.
- Have a clean skewer, two cooling racks, a palette knife and a serving plate ready.
Let’s make it.
- 01
Prepare the tins
Heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas 4. Grease the tins with the reserved 10 g butter and line their bases with parchment. Check that the paper lies flat.
- 02
Mix the sponge
Beat the remaining 200 g sponge butter with the sugar until noticeably paler and airy. Beat in the eggs individually, adding a little measured flour with each. Fold in the remaining flour, baking powder, milk and sponge vanilla until no dry pockets remain. Do not taste raw batter.
- 03
Bake the layers
Divide between the tins and smooth level. Bake together for 20–25 minutes until golden, the centres spring back and a skewer comes out without wet batter. If needed, bake for another 3–5 minutes and check again. Wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling raw batter.
- 04
Cool the sponges
Leave in the tins for 10 minutes, then carefully turn onto racks and remove the paper. Allow about another hour: the undersides must feel completely cool before decorating.
- 05
Beat the buttercream
In a clean bowl, beat the filling butter until creamy. Add the icing sugar in three batches, mixing slowly at first. Beat in the filling vanilla and 10 ml cooled boiled water, then beat for 2–3 minutes. Add the remaining 5 ml water only if needed. The buttercream should spread easily while holding a soft ridge.
- 06
Fill and decorate
Place one sponge on the serving plate. Spread half the buttercream over it, then gently spread the jam on top, leaving a 1 cm border. Set the second sponge on top without pressing hard. Spread over the remaining buttercream and add the sprinkles. Check that the layers sit level and the filling stays inside the edges. Refrigerate covered if not serving straight away.
Ingredient checks
Choose a gluten-free self-raising flour blend intended for cakes and check whether it includes xanthan gum or guar gum before following the substitution guidance. Use gluten-free-labelled baking powder and sprinkles, and verify the gluten-free suitability of every packaged ingredient, including icing sugar, vanilla and jam. For a person with coeliac disease, prevent gluten cross-contamination by cleaning worktops, tins, sieves and utensils thoroughly, using clean parchment and keeping ordinary flour away during preparation. Use butter and jam that have not been contaminated by knives used on ordinary bread.
Allergens: Contains eggs and milk.; Check the flour blend, baking powder, icing sugar, vanilla, jam and sprinkles for other declared allergens and precautionary warnings; formulations vary.; The specified ingredients do not intentionally add celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, fish, lupin, molluscs, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, soya or sulphites, but this is not a guarantee that packaged ingredients are free from them..
Make it work for you
If preferred, replace the raspberry jam with the same amount of strawberry jam, checking its gluten-free suitability.
If your gluten-free self-raising flour contains neither xanthan gum nor guar gum, add ¼ tsp xanthan gum with the flour; omit this addition when the blend already contains either gum.
You can leave off the sprinkles without changing the method.
Do not replace the flour blend with a single flour such as rice, coconut or almond flour; these need a different recipe.
For another day
For best texture, serve on the day of baking. Otherwise, cover and refrigerate at 0–5°C once cool and decorated, within two hours of baking. If decorating is delayed, refrigerate the cooled sponges separately. Eat within 48 hours.
Take out only the portions needed about 30 minutes before serving to soften the buttercream, and return leftovers to the fridge promptly.
For making ahead, wrap the completely cooled, unfilled sponges well and freeze for up to one month. Defrost covered in the fridge and use within 24 hours of fully thawing. Freezing quality has not been kitchen-tested for this recipe.
Exploding food
What goes in.
The ingredients, seen a little differently. This image is an illustration of the main ingredients; use the written recipe for the full list and quantities.
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