Gluten Free Vanilla Cake

This gluten free vanilla cake recipe is insanely simple & equally delicious! It comes together in one bowl and is incredibly moist and fluffy.

📝 Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cup gluten-free flour (320g)
• 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder (12g)
• 1 tsp fine salt (6g)
• 1 cup water (240g)
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature (255g)
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil (112g)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature (112g)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (12g)
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (452g or a 1 lb. box)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (8g)
• 1/2 tsp fine salt (3g)
• 7 cups powdered sugar (904g or a 2 lb. bag)
• 3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream, room temperature (45g)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Gluten Free Vanilla Cake ---
2. 2Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F/175°C and grease and line three 6-inch or 2 8-inch cake pans.
3. 3Add 2 and 2/3 cups gluten-free flour, 2 cups sugar, 1 Tbsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl and gently combine with a whisk.
4. 4Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add 1 cup of water, 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, and 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Gently whisk the wet ingredients together until they start to combine. Then slowly begin to mix them into the dry ingredients.
5. 5Mix the batter for a couple of minutes to help give the batter structure. You don't have to worry about over-mixing because there's no gluten in this batter!
6. 6Cover and let the batter sit for about 30 minutes to give the gluten-free flour time to absorb more of the liquid in the batter. This helps prevent the cake from having a gritty texture.
7. 7Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-38 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. I like to rotate my pans halfway through to help them bake more evenly.
8. 8Let the cake layers cool in their pans for 10 minutes before flipping them onto wire racks to finish cooling.
9. 9--- Gluten Free Vanilla Buttercream Frosting ---
10. 10While the cake layers bake and cool, make the buttercream frosting.
11. 11Beat 2 cups of butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a whisk or paddle attachment until smooth.
12. 12Mix in 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt on a low speed.
13. 13Gradually mix in 7 cups of powdered sugar and 3 Tbsp of heavy cream on a low speed.
14. 14Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and smooth. If the frosting seems too thick, add in additional cream (1 Tablespoon at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time).
15. 15Stack and frost the cake layers, then decorate as desired.