This Hershey’s Chocolate Kiss Cake is a quick and easy celebration cake. It has been made with my gluten free chocolate cake, but ‘kisses’ would work equally well with sponges of any flavour (gluten free or not) and on cupcakes too. Simple and fun but very effective. Make sure to choose the gluten free varieties if needed.
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Chocolate Kiss Cake for a Gluten Free Birthday Party
This Chocolate Kiss Cake makes a perfect easy birthday cake. Made when my (then younger) Coeliac daughter went to a birthday party, at the request of the mum of the birthday girl, it is layered with the most delicious gluten free chocolate cake… My ‘go to’ recipe that is fudgy, chocolatey and has never failed yet.
For anyone with children who have Coeliac Disease, intolerances or allergies, children’s birthday parties can often be a bit of a trial. Although we know our little one won’t be able to eat most of the party food, we want them to feel like their friends and enjoy all that the party has to offer. After Miss GF’s diagnosis of Coeliac, packing gluten free party boxes became a fast art. Always being careful to check what food would be on offer for other party-goers, I would match her pack as closely as possible… always anxious to ensure she didn’t feel too different. She never complained, although it must have felt rather strange at times.
We learnt a lot about the best way to support and manage play dates and parties during that time. We also learnt a lot about how cruel and ignorant some children (and their parents) could be. The wisdom taken from those early Coeliac years has been shared in the post : ‘Coeliac Children + Friends – Staying Gluten Free at Playdates and Parties’ . Hopefully it will help others too.
The Best Friends and their Parents
Of course, not all parties are difficult and sometimes you find a gem of a friend in the community. Someone who absolutely ‘gets it’ and who wants to go the extra mile to make your child feel like all the others. And when that shining light asks if you would help in making a birthday cake for the party because they want everything on the table to be safe for your child, you absolutely say ‘yes’!
This Chocolate Kiss Cake was that birthday cake… A favourite chocolate sponge with sumptuous vanilla butter icing, decorated with Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses and our favourite sprinkles – Magic Sparkles.
Kisses are the easiest decoration and always look fantastic on special cakes. You can use lots or a few and even top cupcakes with them for an extra yummy treat.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to eat any of this cake (it wasn’t mine to eat). I was however, very naughty and made a couple of cupcakes from the mixture before baking… All in the name of quality assurance… honestly! The sponge was really moist and very chocolatey. The icing was rich with vanilla and sumptuously creamy. I hope the kids enjoyed it as much.
Where can I buy the kisses for my Chocolate Kiss Cake and are they Gluten Free?
Hershey’s Kisses are American and can be a little tricky to source in supermarkets in the UK. They used to be sold in Asda, but I haven’t seen them there for some time, so I am assuming they are no longer stocked. You may however, find them in some of the American sections in supermarkets or in one of the many bespoke American food shops that seem to have sprung up on our high streets.
To be honest, I really can’t be bothered to go hunting on a whim. So when I need them, I head over to Amazon… It’s easier!
Be careful though. Not all Kisses are gluten free. The Hershey’s site will give you the list of what is safe. The Almond kisses and the Milk Chocolate Kisses are fine for Coeliacs at the time of writing this.
Where can I find Magic Sparkles?
Everything’s better with sparkles right? And they look so pretty on this chocolate Kiss cake.
I am a huge fan of edible glitter, but I can also be a bit of a ‘sparkle snob’. I make no apology. Not all sparkles are equal and I have been let down too many times buying pots pertaining to be edible glitter, which simply don’t sparkle at all.
My favourite Magic Sparkles are different and (in my humble opinion) better than all others I have tried. They never fail to impress and always add a really magical touch to cakes. When they catch the light, they sparkle like lots of tiny diamonds.
Made from maltodextrin, Magic Sparkles come as both sparkly flakes (Magic Sparkles) and glitter (Magic Twinkles) and are 100% edible and gluten free. They can be bought on line from Amazon (there are lots of other colours) and also from on-line cake decorating suppliers.
Where is the Recipe for gluten free Chocolate Kiss Cake?
You can find the sponge and butter-icing recipes for my Chocolate Kiss Cake on an updated post. Just click this link.
Because the gluten free chocolate cake used is my base for so many celebration cakes, it has been updated with a separate post, to make things as simple as possible. Just add any decoration you choose. For this Kiss Cake, I used a standard size bag of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kisses and some magic sparkles.
The recipe is for a two-layer 8 inch (20 cm) cake (made with two tins). To make a three layer or larger cake, simply increase the ingredients proportionately as you need to (you can find these increased ingredient measurements in my cupcake post). If you end up with too much mixture, make an extra cake or cupcakes and freeze for later. The sponge makes a great trifle base too!
Other cakes and trifles featured on Gluten Free Alchemist and made with this gluten free chocolate cake recipe
- The Rose Cake
- The Easter Golden Egg Cake
- The Rosy Swirl Cake
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes for Easter
- Black Forest Trifle
- Nutella Trifle
Made Chocolate Kiss Cake?
If you make my chocolate kiss cake (or any other cake with my gluten free chocolate sponge), I’d love to hear from you. Find me on social media and tag me to share, email me, or leave a comment below. I hope you love it as much as we do.
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