Our perfect gluten-free cake recipe
This yellow sheet cake has already racked up five stars.
Cooking

April 26, 2025

A slice of yellow sheet cake with vanilla frosting is shown on a pale blue plate with a fork.
Brian Levy’s gluten-free yellow sheet cake. Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.

Keep this gluten-free cake recipe in your back pocket

By Mia Leimkuhler

Gluten-free is the Kevin Bacon of the food world: We’re all within six degrees of separation from someone who avoids gluten. That’s why, as we approach graduation party, bridal shower, picnic and barbecue season, it’s good to have a really good gluten-free cake up your sleeve.

Brian Levy’s gluten-free yellow sheet cake is built on a blend of white rice, millet, oat and brown rice flours — you can find that recipe here, if you’d like to batch it — which gives his cake a nutty, vanilla-like aroma and a sunny yellow color.

He tops his cake with a gluten-free vanilla ermine frosting, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do your (or your lucky guest’s) favorite: classic buttercream, chocolate satin, cream cheese? Whipped cream and loads of berries? That’s another argument for keeping an excellent cake recipe close: With the base out of the way, you can get really creative with your extras.

That’s the cake taken care of. (We made it free for you to share — no subscription needed!) Now, let’s dance!

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Gluten-Free Yellow Sheet Cake

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Today’s specials:

Mussakhan (roast chicken with sumac and red onions): Weekdays are for quick, skillet-y chicken; weekends are for relaxed, marinated chicken. This roast chicken from Yasmin Khan and Mayukh Sen, with its marinade of warming spices and lots of sumac, would be a superb Sunday dinner.

Fresh spring rolls: Lately I’ve really been craving these plump, refreshing Vietnamese-style spring rolls (also known as gỏi cuốn, rice paper rolls, salad rolls and summer rolls). Ali Slagle’s recipe perfectly captures that mix of textures — chewy rice paper, snappy shrimp, crunchy carrots. Serve with nước chấm, peanut sauce or both. (I’ll take both.)

Caramelized corn and asparagus pasta with ricotta: I asked my friend and yours, Alexa Weibel, if we could use frozen corn in her recipe. “You sure could!” she replied. “But honestly, I think canned corn is better — more moist!”

Mushroom and tofu sticky rice: Hetty Lui McKinnon is my vegetarian cooking queen, and I cook many of her dishes on repeat. I wouldn’t be surprised if this vegan dish, built on staples that last a long time in the fridge and pantry, joins the rotation.

Quinoa: The other week I made a double batch of Ali’s easy couscous and was delighted by how handy it was for lunches and dinners. So, next up is her basic quinoa recipe, ready for all sorts of salads and grain bowls.

Gheysava (eggs with dates and cinnamon): “It tasted like a super-roasty and dark French toast,” reads one comment on this new Naz Deravian recipe. I can see it — fudgy dates cooked in butter with walnuts and cinnamon circling a runny-yolked egg. Absolutely and yes, please.

Carajillo: I was lucky enough to test this cocktail from Kristina Felix, a sweet and refreshing shaken mix of very strong coffee and Licor 43. My husband and I now refer to it as “special coffee” — it’s what we make after we’ve finished our Saturday afternoon chores and before we embark on our Saturday evening fun.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Article Image

Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen

Mussakhan (Roast Chicken With Sumac and Red Onions)

Recipe from Yasmin Khan

Adapted by Mayukh Sen

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

1,958

1 hour, plus 1 to 3 hours’ marinating

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Fresh Spring Rolls

By Ali Slagle

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarUnfilled Star

910

1 hour 30 minutes

Makes 12 rolls

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Maggie Ruggiero.

Caramelized Corn and Asparagus Pasta With Ricotta

By Alexa Weibel

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

2,890

25 minutes

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Article Image

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Mushroom and Tofu Sticky Rice

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarUnfilled StarUnfilled Star

17

About 1½ hours

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Article Image

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Quinoa

By Ali Slagle

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarUnfilled Star

120

About 40 minutes

Makes 3 cups

Article Image

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Gheysava (Eggs With Dates and Cinnamon)

By Naz Deravian

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

5

15 minutes 

Makes 2 servings

Article Image

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Carajillo

By Kristina Felix

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

72

5 minutes

Makes 2 drinks

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Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

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Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

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