For today’s Chocolate Monday treat, I decided to make you a Kahlua Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting and boy is it good! Simple to make, absolutely decadent to eat, and popular with any crowd, this is a winner!
You know I love to make sheet cakes because they are so easy, but you could turn this into a layer cake easily – just bake it in two 8-inch round cake pans and double the amount of frosting to be sure you have enough to fill and fully cover the cake.
I love how quickly this cake comes together. There are no major hoops to jump through and you’ll have this in the oven in no time! The hardest part is waiting for the cake to cool before frosting and serving it – I barely left the kitchen because it smelled so good and I wanted a piece right now, LOL.
I made a major mistake in today’s baking, totally forgetting to add the baking powder and baking soda to the dry ingredients when I was making the cake. Thank goodness I didn’t forget the eggs, so they did the leavening on their own. My cake is shorter and denser than yours will be, so don’t be surprised if yours turns out much taller and lighter. See, even someone who bakes regularly can make a mistake!
Today is another edition of Choctoberfest and what fun it has been to be among these incredibly talented bakers and cooks! Be sure to check the blog hop at the bottom of the page for more delicious recipes.
Enjoy this delightful Kahlua Chocolate Cake and have a fabulous weekend!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let me know in the comments, I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Kahlua Chocolate Cake:
- Gluten-free flour blend, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder
- Salt, buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla, Kahlua or prepared hot coffee
- Frosting: butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, cocoa, Kahlua, milk
PRO Tip:
To be sure you include all the ingredients (learn from my mistake!) place them all on the left side of your mixer and as you add them, move the container to the right side. If there is anything remaining on the left side, it still needs to be added!
How to make Kahlua Chocolate Cake:
- Make the Cake: Place the dry ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and whisk to combine; in a large measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla then pour into the dry ingredients, beating just until smooth
- With mixer on low, very slowly pour in the Kahlua and mix just until incorporated; pour the thin batter into a buttered and floured 7×11-inch baking pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350°F, cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean, then cool completely
- Prepare the Frosting: Beat the butter until light and fluffy, reduce speed to low and add sugar 1 spoonful at a time, mixing well, then scrape the bowl and beater; add the vanilla, cocoa, Kahlua and milk and mix in the scrape the bowl and beater to be sure there are no hidden ingredients and everything is evenly combined
- Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy with a good spreading consistency; if it is too thick slowly add more milk a teaspoon at a time, if it is too thin add more sugar
- Spread over the top of cooled cake and set aside for 30 minutes to firm up before cutting and serving
PRO Tip:
This recipe benefits from using a stand mixer because of all the beating required. If you have a hand mixer, be prepared to stand at the bowl for quite a while and keep the beaters moving around the bowl. Trade off hands when you need to give your arm a break.
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowls
- Sieve (for sifting)
- 7×11-inch (2 quart) baking pan
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Offset spatula
Gluten-Free Tips:
You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a straight edge, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
*NOTE: The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues even if it is below the 20 ppm limit. If you are making this cake for a very reactive person, or if they have Celiac disease, you can use potato vodka plus a little brown sugar in place of the liquor called for. Or in todays recipe feel free to substitute with prepared coffee.
Kahlua Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting (GF)
This Kahlua Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting is sinfully good, easy to make, and popular with any crowd. Perfect for afternoon snacks or dessert, your friends and family will be raving about it.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1-3/4 cups (210g) gluten-free flour blend or all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (63g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher or fine sea salt
- 1 cup buttermilk or soured milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Kahlua* or prepared hot coffee
Kahlua Frosting
- 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 3 to 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp Kahlua* or prepared cool coffee
- 1/4 cup half-and-half or whole milk
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 7x11-inch (2 quart) baking pan and dust with gluten-free flour.
- Make the Cake: Place all the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk until combined. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and beat just until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, very slowly pour in the Kahlua and mix just until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, it will be very thin. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the Frosting: In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add the sifted powdered sugar, 1 spoonful at a time and mix well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla, cocoa, Kahlua, and the milk, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl again to be sure all the ingredients are evenly combined.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and beat the frosting until light and fluffy with a good spreading consistency. If the frosting is too thick, slowly add more milk one teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Spread over the top of the cooled cake and set aside for about 30 minutes to firm up before cutting and serving.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
Cake adapted from Ina's Beatty's Chocolate Cake
Frosting adapted from Bigger Bolder Baking
You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with a straight edge, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this
article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
*NOTE: The major gluten-free organizations have declared that distilled alcohols are gluten free. But some distillers may use caramel coloring or flavorings which sometimes contain gluten. For some very sensitive people this may cause issues. If you are making this cake for a very reactive person, or if they have Celiac disease, you can use potato vodka plus a little brown sugar or prepared coffee in place of the Kahlua.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 931Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 637mgCarbohydrates: 188gFiber: 3gSugar: 134gProtein: 12g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate.
If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to follow me on social media so you never miss a post:
Below are more recipes from Choctoberfest just for you, a photo array of delectable options to choose from!
Create a New Tradition Today!
Welcome! The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers/Privacy Policy page for additional details. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases without any additional cost to you. This page may contain affiliate links. This post was first shared in Oct 2018. The article was updated in 2022.