My Instagram feed has the amazing ability to make me hungry all the time. Whether it's a cheesy burger or spicy noodles, my attention is always grabbed by the delicious food pics that appear. That's why, after years of admiring the rainbow food trend from afar, I finally decided to bake a gluten and dairy free rainbow cake.

Gluten and Dairy Free Rainbow Cake

  • Prep Time:1 hr
  • Cook Time:45 mins
  • Total Time:1 hr 45 mins
  • Servings:6
  • Medium

    Ingredients

  • 500g rice flour
  • 100g potato starch
  • 100g corn starch
  • 200g sugar
  • 200g dairy free milk
  • 100g sunflower oil
  • 5 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 5ml orange flavouring
  • 36g baking powder
cheesecake, pie, pastry, cream, chocolate, sweet, cake
Mun Ling Koh

  • Step 1

    Mix the rice flour, the potato starch and the corn starch together. The mixture of these three different dry ingredients will give the cake a structure similar to the one gluten usually gives, helping the cake grow tall and soft.

    cake, bread, dough, egg, flour
    Michela Quecchia

  • Step 2

    Add the eggs, the (possibly unrefined) sugar, the dairy free milk and the sunflower oil. Give it a powerful whisk until well mixed. For this recipe — and for desserts in general — I recommend sunflower oil instead of olive oil. The latter has a too earthy and intense flavour for cakes and biscuits.

    garlic, white sauce, milk, bread, vegetable, dairy product, cream, soup
    Michela Quecchia

  • Step 3

    Add the brandy, the orange flavouring and the baking powder. Be careful that the baking powder is gluten free as well — better being overzealous than poisoning someone! Add the food colouring. Keep in mind that the hue will darken once cooked, and that too much colouring can spoil the flavour.

    soda, tea, beer
    Michela Quecchia

  • Step 4

    Now that you have six different batters, put them in identical oven friendly molds and put them in the oven at 175°C for 15 minutes.

    beer, coffee, tea
    Michela Quecchia

The Last Magical Touch

mousse, curd, dairy product, sweet, pudding, sour cream, dairy, cream, milk, yogurt
Mun Ling Koh

Once the cakes are baked and cold, it's time to pile them up and create our gluten and dairy free rainbow cake! First, we need to make a cream of some kind to put the cakes together. Since I'm a healthy type, I settled for a slightly lighter version for this — already super sugary — cake.

Put 500g of plain, dairy free Greek yogurt in a bowl and mix it to get the smooth texture of a mousse. Add 5ml of coconut flavouring and give it a nice whisk to incorporate the flavour.

whipped cream, dairy, dairy product, yogurt, sweet, milk, cream
Mun Ling Koh

Now add coconut flakes to taste. I prefer their tiny version, you might prefer bigger, dried chunks of coconut. Remember that you can also add them later, either on top or on the sides of the cake.

#SpoonTip: while Greek yogurt is naturally low in lactose, be sure to find a certified lactose-free version. If someone is allergic or intolerant to lactose, you'll need to be very careful about it.

cream, cheese
Michela Quecchia

Once you have successfully constructed and frosted your cake, it should look something like this. Just sprinkle some extra dried coconut on top of the cake and let it chill in the fridge to settle before serving. Then cut a slice for major rainbow effects and feed your inner fairy!

cake
Michela Quecchia

I strongly suggest trying this gluten and dairy free rainbow cake at least once. It's colourful, Instagram worthy and perfect to satisfy everyone's cravings. Bonus points for the chilled coconut cream, which makes the cake refreshing and full of summer vibes!