My Gluten Free Chocolate Marble Cake Recipe (dairy free option, low FODMAP)

Here’s my gluten free chocolate marble cake recipe… just like the one I can NEVER eat at Starbucks. This recipe is not only gluten free, but it’s easily made dairy free, low FODMAP and it tastes marble-lous.

Yep, that’s right, I’ve been back in Starbucks and gazing through the glass at all the cakes and thinking “why can’t I eat you???” Three hours of staring and being-asked-to-leave-the-shop-several-times later, I just decided to create my own gluten free chocolate marble cake recipe!

I’m sure you know by now that not being able to eat something is basically where I get the inspo for every single recipe on the blog. From frustration comes baking motivation!

I guess if I had to put it into a flow chart it would look a little something like this:

Can I eat that?

Yes? Eat it.

No? Recreate it.

Sadly, it’s the second option 99% of the time for me. But at least I can then whack those recipes up on the blog and share them with you guys. Starting with my gluten free chocolate marble cake recipe!

So for those of you who have never tried a gluten free chocolate marble cake, let me just say this: yes, it does taste as good as it looks.

(you can basically impress anyone by making this cake and it’s not even that hard!)

It’s not a chocolate cake per se, but it does have a lovely cocoa flavour running through the lovely light sponge. The chocolate ganache is where the chocoholics will reeeeeally rejoice!

It’s seriously so rich and indulgent that you won’t believe that its dairy free. I like to add a little dairy free white chocolate as a finishing touch too.

You can either pipe it on like I did above, or just drizzle it on with a spoon for a messier finish. It’s up to you!

Ok, so here’s what you’ll need for the recipe…

Gluten Free Chocolate Marble Cake Ingredients

Here’s some tips/FAQs for creating the perfect gluten free chocolate orange cake…

Can I make this recipe gluten free?

It is gluten free!

Can I make your gluten free chocolate marble cake dairy free?

Of course you can! All you need to do is ensure a few things are dairy free – the chocolate, milk and the cocoa powder.

Also, you’ll need to use Stork hard margarine instead of butter. Then you’re good to go.

Is your gluten free chocolate marble cake recipe nut free?

Yep, this is a nut-free recipe. But of course, make sure you check the ingredients label on all the products you use to bake this cake.

Even if the products don’t contain nuts, they may have a ‘may contain nuts’ warning due to being produced in a factory that handles nuts.

You can never be too careful so always read the labels on everything first!

Can I make your gluten free chocolate marble cake in a food processor or standing mixer?

Of course you can – and it’ll save you on elbow grease! I don’t use a standing mixer or food processor to make the cake mixture personally – I use an electric whisk. Just because I’m used to it!

(here’s a link to the electric whisk I use)

You can of course, bake this without any assistance from any appliance – just a good ol’ fashioned wooden spoon will do. Just make sure you give it a lot of welly, otherwise your mixture won’t be consistent and might not bake properly.

Do I need any special equipment to bake your gluten free chocolate marble cake?

Certainly not! As I mentioned, a food processor, standing mixer or electric whisk will cut down on prep time, but they’re not mandatory.

You will need a good quality 2lb loaf tin though, so here’s a link to the one I use.

Do I need weighing scales to bake your gluten free chocolate marble cake?

In short… yes! And I wouldn’t advise attempting any my recipes without them. One of the worst things you can do in any baking recipe is alter the quantities by mistake or on purpose.

(unless you know what you’re doing of course)

Why? Well, you’re sort of just gambling with the recipe and praying that it turns out ok. And I’ve generally already done the hard work there for you!

A lot of work went into fine tuning ratios and quantities so I wouldn’t mess around with them unless you really know your stuff.

Can I bake your gluten free chocolate marble cake with less sugar?

I can definitely understand the need to reduce sugar in our foods, but this is one of the recipes where I wouldn’t advise it at all!

Of course, the sugar isn’t just for sweetness – it’s an integral part of the structure of the cake.

If you’re conscious about this, you can always reduce the amount of ganache you put on top of the cake. It’s up to you!

How long can I keep your gluten free chocolate marble cake for?

I’ve kept this cake for up to 5 days in an air-tight container. We usually eat it well before then to be honest!!

If it’s any longer than that then I’d highly recommend reading the next question…

Can I freeze your gluten free chocolate marble cake?

Of course! I’ve frozen it for up to a month and after allowing them to full thaw, you’d never know they were frozen.

Just make sure that you slice it up before freezing though – possibly even separating them out into separate bags. That way, you don’t need to defrost the entire cake and waste any.

Plus, it’ll defrost much quicker that way!

Can I make your gluten free chocolate marble cake vegan?

Yep! If you follow the instructions above to make this cake dairy free, then all you’ve got left to contend with is the eggs.

Here’s a few ideas you can use as egg replacements, so each of these = 1 egg.

• 3 tablespoons of aquafaba – water from a can of chickpeas. Keep the chickpeas for a future dinner!
• Egg replacement powder – I’d recommend using Orgran as it’s gluten free.
• 1 tablespoon of chia/flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons of water and left for 10 minutes in the fridge.
• 3 tablespoons of applesauce.

So use one of those egg replacement options and you’ve got gluten free AND vegan cake! I haven’t tried all of these egg-replacement options with this cake, but if you do, please comment below with how it goes.

How can I tell when my gluten free chocolate marble cake is done?

Grab a skewer and give it a poke in the centre. If it comes out clean, then it’s done!

If the skewer comes out moist and cake-like, it’s best to pop it back in for a bit longer.

How can I tell when the cake is done?

Grab a skewer and give it a poke in the centre. If it comes out clean, then it’s done! The loaf cake should look like it has a nice, crisp, outer crust too.

If the skewer comes out moist and cake batter-like, it’s best to pop it back in for a bit longer.

The more you get used to using your own oven, the more likely your cake will come out perfectly cooked first time. Oh and also make sure your oven is fully pre-heated before putting your sponges in too.

Troubleshooting

Why did my cake batter split or curdle?

Firstly, I never worry when my batter has split or curdled! It may not look the best, but generally it doesn’t affect the bake in way that you’d notice.

But basically, a mixture can split or curdle when the eggs AND butter/margarine aren’t both room temperature. So make sure you get the butter/margarine out of the fridge a few hours early, BEFORE you start baking!

Over-mixing your batter can split the mixture too, so once you’ve got a nice, smooth cake batter without lumps, stop mixing!

My cake didn’t rise or was totally flat/sunk in the middle!

There’s actually quite a few reasons, but here’s a few common ones:

• Too much raising agent – eg. baking powder. Anything that causes your cake to rise too fast, will inevitably sink by the time the cake it done. The cake won’t be cooked enough to hold it’s own weight!
• Split or curdled mixture. Whilst this can have a bit of a role in a sunken cake, I’ve found that it’s never too drastic.
• Opening the oven door. Never open the oven door while a cake is baking if you can avoid it! Not only does this result in a sudden drop in temperature, but it will interrupt the circulation of air in the oven.
• Over mixing the batter. If you whisk too much air into the batter, it’ll probably sink under the weight of the cake.
• Under-mixing the batter. If your cake mixture isn’t well-combined, it won’t work as well!

Why is my cake dry with a tough outer crust?

If your loaf cake comes out looking and feeling dry, hard with a tough outer crust, it’s probably over-baked.

That either means it had too long in the oven, or the oven temperature was too hot.

Oven temperatures can vary massively, so it’s best to keep an eye on your loaf cake around 15 minutes before it should be done.

Can I print your gluten free chocolate marble cake recipe?

Of course! Just hit the print button located on the recipe below ?? (otherwise you might end up printing this entire post which would probably make your printer go into early retirement)

Ok, so here’s my gluten free chocolate marble cake recipe…

Thanks for reading how to make my gluten free chocolate marble cake recipe! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your creation and tag me on Instagram!

Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me Instagram and leaving me a comment!

Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

Oh and don’t forget to pin this for later!