my favorite {Gluten and Dairy Free} chocolate cake

A client contacted me and asked me to make two gluten, dairy, nut and sugarcane free cakes.  I discovered this beauty and it was possibly the best cake I've ever made. A Girl Defloured,  shares this altered version of the glorious Hershey's cake and it is amazing. (below) I had to alter it quite a bit to meet the qualifications. I used rice milk instead of whole milk and chia eggs (3 TBS chia and 9 TBS water) instead of the eggs. For the coffee I did decaf to make it kid friendly. It was SO moist!  Here is what it looked like.  I used beet sugar instead of sugar cane sugar. For the frosting I used 2 cups palm shortening, 2 teaspoons gf vanilla and 1 cup arrowroot powder and 1 cup agave.

I went the natural route with decorations. 

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1¾ cups Cup4Cup (235 grams) or other light gluten-free flour blend (I used 1 cup brown rice and 1/2 cup tapioca and 1/4 potato starch)
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit of your blend has it)
• ¾ cup good quality cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten (room temperature) or 9 TBS of applesauce
• 1 cup whole milk (or milk substitute of your choice)
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee

FOR THE FROSTING:

• ½ cup butter (or dairy free stick butter substitute of your choice), melted and cooled slightly
• ⅔ cup good quality cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• ⅓ cup whole milk (or milk substitute of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free pure vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch cake pans with gluten-free cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Combine the sugar, flour, xanthan (if using), cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Carefully whisk in the hot coffee. The batter will be runny.
3. Evenly distribute the cake batter between the two prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let it cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.
4. Make the frosting. Whisk the melted butter into the cocoa powder until thoroughly combined. Alternate adding the sugar with the milk while beating until the frosting is smooth and glossy and a spreadable consistency. If the frosting seems too thick, add a splash of additional milk. If it seems too thin, add additional powdered sugar. Beat in the vanilla extract and salt.
5. Frost the cooled cakes as desired.