This gluten free yellow cake with cream cheese frosting is a delicious classic recipe, and designed to be made perfectly with whatever filling you would like. This recipe can also be made into gluten free yellow cake cupcakes. It couldn't be easier to make gluten free yellow cake from scratch.

Gluten Free Yellow Cake

Yellow cake with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting is in my top 5 favorite cakes. Tres leches, chocolate, spice, and black forest cakes are right along side it. Trying to decide which is my absolute favorite would be impossible, so I just rotate through them.

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Yellow cake is just a good classic cake and you can fill and frost it anyway you please. But raspberry and cream cheese are a pretty solid combo. The cake itself is slightly sweet with a hint of vanilla, so you can get away with eating it on its own but it's also neutral enough to pair with just about any flavor. Chocolate frosting or lemon curd filling with buttercream frosting are great choices as well.

This recipe makes a great birthday cake. The frosting doesn't have to be perfect and adding sprinkles will delight and distract anyone from noticing if you goofed.

While I find it fun to decorate cakes I am not the greatest at it and prefer an imperfect homemade looking cake to slaving over decorations and getting it 'perfect'. Who wants to eat a perfectly decorated cake? They're usually too pretty to eat and unless your trying to win a baking contest I think it's a waste of time.

Gluten Free Yellow Cake Ingredients

This cake is made with a few simple ingredients that you would expect to see in any cake you bake. There's no weird textures or flavors here, just delicious gluten free cake that everyone can enjoy.

Butter
Sugar
Eggs
1-1 gluten free flour blend (we love Bob's Red Mill)
Baking Powder
Salt
Vanilla extract
whole milk
half and half

The secret to making this cake so moist is the addition of both milk and half and half. If you've experienced crumbly gluten free cakes before, have no fear, this recipe is anything but.

The texture of this cake is perfect. It's soft and moist without being too dense. It also doesn't have the grittiness that other gluten free cakes have (thank you Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free blend). I don't know how this cake will turn out if you use a different flour blend.

I recommend buying small bag of the gluten free 1 to 1 flour and trying it out. If you like it stock up on it. It's my go to flour blend and I have success with it in just about every recipe I make. Just make sure it's the 1 to 1 blend and not the all- purpose gluten free blend... They are completely different.Can I use this gf vanilla cake recipe to make cupcakes?

Can I use this gf vanilla cake recipe to make cupcakes?

Yes, this cake recipe can easily be used to make cupcakes. In fact, I have a whole post dedicated to making gluten free vanilla cupcakes here. The big difference is of course needing a cupcake pan and the cooking time for the cake. Cupcakes are cooked from 20-25 minutes.

Can I use this easy gluten free vanilla cake recipe to make a sheet cake?

Yes, you can make this cake into a sheet cake in a 9" x 13" pan no problem. You will need to increase the cooking time to accomplish this. Cook a sheet cake for 35-40 minutes. Be sure to keep a close eye on the cake as it is cooking, because each and every oven cooks slightly differently!

Does gluten-free flour bake differently?

If this is your first time baking gluten free there's a few things to know. First of all, because we're using a 1-1 flour mixture, the batter will be very close to a normal batter you are used to - perhaps a little bit thicker.

The other thing I have noticed in my years of gluten free baking is that sometimes gluten free flour baked goods just don't get as golden brown as their glutinous counterparts, so be sure to stick a toothpick into the cake to judge doneness.

Gluten Free Yellow Cake

Print Recipe

Classic yellow cake made gluten free and filled with raspberry jelly and covered with the best cream cheese frosting and sprinkles.

Author: A Stray Kitchen
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 12 1x
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the cake

½ cup Butter (softened)
2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs
2 ½ cups Bob's red mill 1 to 1 gluten free blend
3 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
1 TBS Vanilla Extract
1 ½ cups Whole milk
½ cup Half and Half

The filling and frosting

½ cup Raspberry Jelly
8 oz Cream cheese (Softened)
½ cup Butter (Softened)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup Powdered sugar
Sprinkles

Instructions

The cake

Pre-heat oven to 350F and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.
In a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
In a large bowl whisk together the gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt.
With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients. Once all the dry is incorporated slowly add in the milk, half and half, and vanilla. Turn the mixer up to a medium speed and mix for 2 minutes.
Divide the batter into the greased cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick pricked into the center comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. After 10 minutes carefully flip cakes over, with the bottoms of the pans in the air and leave until they fall out of the pan and onto the cooling rack. Let these rest for an hour or two till completely cool.

The filling and frosting

While the cakes are cooling prep the filling and frosting. Measure out the Jelly and set aside till ready to assemble the cake.
In a stand mixer cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar until it's fully incorporated. Now crank up the mixer and beat for 3-5 minutes till the frosting increases in volume.
Place half the frosting in a piping bag with a large scalloped tip (or tip of choice). Set aside till ready to assemble. *If it's a warm day you may need to store the frosting in the fridge so it keeps it's airy texture.*

Assembly

Line the edges of a cake plate with parchment paper. Spoon a dollop of frosting into the center of the cake plate. This will act as a glue to keep the cake from sliding off the plate when moved.
Make sure your cakes are level, trimming off any bumps or unevenness. Place one of the rounds on the cake plate and squish it down slightly to push around that dollop of frosting.
Take your piping bag and pipe a small circle on the outside edge of the top of the cake. This will act as a wall and keep the jelly from spilling out. Now spoon in and spread the jelly in the center of the cake.
Take your second cake round and place it directly on top of the first cake. Spoon and spread the frosting over the cake, first in a thin layer to trap crumbs and then thicker to cover the cake.
Remove the parchment paper from the sides of the cake and pipe a design along the bottom of the cake. Then pipe the rest of the frosting on the top of the cake.
Sprinkle liberally with colorful sprinkles.
Can be served immediately or refrigerated until ready to serve.