Gluten-Free Chocolate Snack Cake
This moist gluten-free chocolate snack cake recipe couldn’t be easier. You mix and bake it in the same pan! Plus it’s vegan and low in fat!

What Is a Snack Cake?
A snack cake is a small one-layer cake—usually baked in an 8-inch square pan. Made with wholesome ingredients, this cake is a guiltless treat you can prepare in less than an hour!


What Makes It Healthier?
Some basic substitutions help make this cake a bit healthier:
- Apple sauce replaces half of the oil
- Maple syrup replaces cane sugar
- Vinegar and baking soda replace eggs
Additionally, I find Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour works best. Their Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour is great for cookies and pie crust, but it seems to make a gummy cake.
Also, I usually use Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chips or Dark Chocolate Morsels. You can sprinkle them on top (see photo above) or mix them in the batter (see below.) Either way, the cake is filled with chocolatey goodness! And it doesn’t get much better than that!
How to Make It Extra Fancy

This gluten-free chocolate snack cake is delicious on its own. But, if you want to make it extra fancy, you can stir the chocolate chips in the batter and top it with Dark Chocolate Avocado Frosting.
This is our go-to combination when we celebrate birthdays for the chocolate lovers in our family.
Gluten Free Chocolate Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 2 Tbsp. grape seed oil plus enough unsweetened apple sauce to equal 1/3 cup
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (gluten-free and diary-free)
Instructions
- Preheat toaster oven or conventional oven to 350° (I like to use my convection toaster oven)
- Add dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) to an ungreased 8×8 baking dish and mix with a fork until well blended
- Add wet ingredients and continue to mix with a fork – making sure to scrape along bottom and edges of baking dish – until well combined
- Sprinkle chocolate chips on top
- Bake approximately 30 minutes at 350° (if using convection oven) or 35-40 minutes (if using conventional oven) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Cool in pan on a wire rack for at least one hour prior to cutting
I was wondering if anyone tried to make this without the oil at all. If so did you up the applesauce? Any tips?
If you make it without the oil you would definitely want to up the apple sauce. Try replacing the oil with an equal amount of apple sauce and see how it works. Let me know how it goes!
I was wondering, since this is gluten free. What dark cocoa powder do you use?
Hi Bekah – I use Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa and my daughter (who has a wheat allergy) hasn’t had a problem with it. However, if you need to be very careful with gluten, I have also used Anthony’s Organic Cocoa Powder – which is certified gluten-free and very tasty.
Is all cocoa powder not gluten free
Hi Rita – while cocoa powder itself does not contain gluten, if it’s processed in the same facility as products that do contain gluten it could contain trace amounts. So depending on your level of sensitivity, you may need to look for cocoa powder that is labeled gluten-free.
Thank you if it is organic would that mean gluten free I’ve never seen cacoa powder here in uk that’s says gluten free I always buy goo quality organic
Do you have to use xanthan gum ? is there a substitute for this?
You could try substituting the same amount of ground chia seeds for the xanthan gum – but honestly, the cake has a better texture/consistency when I use xanthan gum. Funny – I literally have this cake in the oven right now – per my daughter’s request. I made some avocado chocolate frosting to go with it: https://veggieprimer.com/dark-chocolate-avocado-frosting/ 🙂
Thank you!! I am going to try it out soon and the avocado frosting as well.
Enjoy!
Can you suggest a grain free option? Ie: flour. To replace the GF flour? I have a wheat intolerance. GF food options do not stop the symptoms as it’s not a Gluten Intolerance. Thanks. 🙂
Hi Carrie – my daughter has a wheat allergy rather than a gluten intolerance and she doesn’t have any trouble with the flour I recommend in the recipe ingredients. I believe it’s processed in a wheat-free facility.
hi 🙂
wondering if another oil can be used in place of the grape seed, or if it does something specific in the baking process?
thanks!
I use grapeseed oil because it has a light neutral flavor but other oils would probably also work okay in this recipe. Give it a try and let us know what you think.