This Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Mini Loaf is a small batch, gluten free, and naturally sweetened loaf cake topped with a decadent chocolate glaze. The chocolate chip loaf is made with almond flour, sweet rice flour, yogurt, and maple syrup for a soft, dense, and sublimely moist cake.
Table of contents
I thought after I made the super-delish gluten free mini lemon loaf, that I needed to try a classic version with chocolate chips. And the results are just as awesome.
Everything To Love About This Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Mini Loaf
- Sturdy Cake – We’re talking able to hold-a-slice-in-your-hand-without-falling-to-pieces sturdy. Loaf cakes, much like pound cakes, should be soft, yet dense.
- Gluten Free – It is in the name, but worth repeating. This gluten free loaf is made with almond flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, and coconut flour.
- Refined Sugar Free/Naturally Sweetened – The loaf is sweetened with maple syrup and it produces a bake that is delicately sweet. Use sugar free chocolate chips too!
- Classic Flavor – I think of a small batch of chocolate chip muffins as being a classic breakfast muffin recipe. Put all of that into a mini loaf, cover it with even more chocolate, and you have yourself a breakfast (or snack) recipe that will become a go-to.
- Easy – The nature of a small batch helps to make the recipe easy. Additionally, there aren’t any special baking or preparation techniques for this recipe, and it comes together in about 10 minutes.
Key Ingredients and Notes
- Almond Flour – I recommend blanched almond flour because it is ground finer and without the almond skins.
- Sweet Rice Flour – The sweet rice flour adds texture to the loaf cake. It helps to keep it moist and perfectly dense.
- Tapioca Flour – The tapioca flour lends to the soft texture and also works as a binder.
- Coconut Flour – Coconut flour is more absorbent and is great when using a liquid sweetener – like maple syrup – to ensure the loaf cake has a cake texture.
- Cinnamon – The ground cinnamon is optional but I like to add it to my chocolate chip bakes because it adds subtle flavor without being overpowering.
- Unsalted Butter – We use unsalted butter because we are controlling the salt level ourselves.
- Pure Maple Syrup – Make sure to use pure maple syrup and not pancake syrup. The maple syrup provides a delicate, and refined sugar-free, sweetness to the loaf.
- Unsweetened Coconut Milk Yogurt – I like to use So Delicious coconut milk yogurt. But feel free to use any yogurt you prefer.
- Chocolate Chips – I highly recommend mini chocolate chips because they are less likely to sink to the bottom of the loaf pan.
Chocolate Glaze For Loaf Cake
The chocolate glaze for this mini chocolate chip loaf is certainly optional, but why would you pass?! It would be like saying I’ll skip the chocolate coating on a thin mint small batch of cookies or a vanilla gluten free donut. The chocolate glaze for this mini loaf is literally the icing on the cake!
You only need a couple of ingredients to make the chocolate glaze:
- Chocolate Chips – Feel free to use semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips. I used semi-sweet because I added a little extra powdered sugar.
- Coconut Oil – The coconut oil helps the chocolate to melt smoother, and adds a tiny bit of shine!
- Powdered Sugar – I used a little powdered sugar to help the glaze set up.
And to make the chocolate glaze, there are two methods which you can use:
- Microwave Melt – Simply put the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave-safe dish, bowl, or measuring cup. Melt in about 30-second increments, stirring after each. You want to heat the chocolate until it is mostly melted. The residual heat from the chocolate will melt any remaining lumps.
- Double Boiler – This is my preferred method because I can control how the chocolate is melting. The double boiler is a small saucepan and a heat-proof bowl (glass mixing bowl). The bowl should be large enough to sit on top of the saucepan without touching the water in the pan. Bring about 2 inches of water to a rolling simmer, set the bowl on top, add the chocolate and oil, and heat until the chocolate is mostly melted.
Helpful Tips
- Make sure it is sweet rice flour – The sweet rice flour is what lends to the soft texture of this mini lemon loaf.
- Try unsweetened coconut yogurt – Versus a sweetened, or flavored, yogurt. We are adding enough flavor with the butter, vanilla, and chocolate chips and we want those ingredients to organically shine!
- Maple syrup is the liquid sweetener of choice – I can’t recommend honey as an alternative for this recipe. Honey does not behave like maple syrup in baking. It requires a lower bake temperature because it browns quickly, a longer bake time to compensate for the lower temperature, and fine refinement of the other ingredients to compensate for the acidity.
- Use mini chocolate chips – I have tested this and can say normal-size chocolate chips will fall to the bottom. Even if you sprinkle them with a little extra flour. The mini chips are lighter and therefore will defy gravity better and stay suspended in the loaf cake.
- Rest the batter before baking – Gluten free flours will yield a softer crumb when the batter has had time to hydrate before baking. Otherwise, the loaf may turn out with a spongy, dense crumb.
Recipe FAQ’s
Will a 1:1 gluten free flour blend work instead?
I (personally) find the 1:1 blends to be too dry. And they may need some other ingredient refinement to achieve the same loaf texture.
Can I replace the maple syrup with a different sweetener?
I haven’t tested other sweeteners and can’t say for certain. You could try coconut sugar or granulated sugar. The only sweetener I don’t recommend is honey because honey behaves extremely differently than maple syrup when baked.
Why do I have to let the batter rest before baking?
I find that using sweet rice flour requires giving the batter some time to hydrate. Otherwise, your loaf cake may end up a little drier and crumbly.
My chocolate for the glaze seized up. Can I save it?
Unfortunately, no. You could try to loosen it with milk or cream, but it may not set up like a glaze.
Can I use the batter to make muffins instead of a loaf cake?
You can. The batter will likely yield about 4 muffins, or you could try the gluten free chocolate chip muffins recipe already on the blog!
Did you enjoy this gluten free chocolate chip mini loaf recipe? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave me a comment and star rating below so I can continue to provide tasty, FREE recipes!
Recipe
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Mini Loaf
Yield: 6 Servings
This Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Mini Loaf is a small batch, gluten free, and naturally sweetened loaf cake topped with a decadent chocolate glaze. The chocolate chip loaf is made with almond flour, sweet rice flour, yogurt, and maple syrup for a soft, dense, and sublimely moist cake.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons sweet white rice flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk yogurt (or dairy yogurt; room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Sweet Chocolate Glaze
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon cold pressed refined coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Lightly grease a mini loaf pan, and line it with parchment paper – cut long enough to hang over the sides of the pan. Note – The mini loaf pan is 3.5 inches x 5 inches.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (if using).1/2 cup blanched almond flour, 2 tablespoons sweet white rice flour, 2 tablespoons tapioca flour, 1 tablespoon coconut flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the butter. Using a hand held mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until it is smooth and creamy. Add the egg and beat until it is incorporated. Then add the maple syrup, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Continue to beat on on medium speed until the mixture is fully incorporated. The mixture will be lumpy from the butter, and that is ok.3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 large egg, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 2 tablespoons coconut milk yogurt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients. Beat on medium-low speed until no dry streaks remain. The batter may still be lumpy from the butter, and that is ok. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter. Tip – To keep the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom, use mini chocolate chips AND sprinkle a little tapioca flour over the chips in a small bowl and toss to coat them.1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Let the batter rest in the pan for 5 minutes. This allows time for the batter to get hydrated. Bake for 33 to 35 minutes, or until the loaf feels springy to the touch, a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, and the edges are starting to pull away from the sides of the pan and look golden brown.
- Cool the loaf in the pan set on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully lift the loaf out of the pan using the parchment paper overhang, and allow the loaf to cool completely on the wire rack. If necessary, use a knife or offset spatula to run along the sides of the loaf to release it from the pan.
Sweet Chocolate Glaze
- Melt the chocolate using the double boiler method – In a small saucepan, bring about 2 inches of water to a rolling simmer. Set a glass bowl that is large enough to sit on top of the saucepan without touching the water. Add the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Heat the chocolate until it is mostly melted, and remove the bowl from the heat. Any small pieces will melt with the residual heat. Do not overheat the chocolate, otherwise it may seize up.1/3 cup chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon cold pressed refined coconut oil
- Sprinkle the powdered sugar over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Let the glaze cool for about 2 minutes before drizzling over the loaf. Allow the glaze to set up for a few minutes on the loaf before cutting and serving. Enjoy!1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Loved the recipe?Please consider leaving a comment + star for the recipe! This greatly helps me continue to provide FREE recipes. Thank you!
RECIPE NOTES
- Servine Size – This is a small batch recipe. I have not tested doubling the recipe. If you try it, bake use a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan and increase the bake time by 5 to 10 minutes.
- Yield – The mini loaf will make enough for 6 slices – depending on what size you make your slices.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I do not recommend swapping the flour blend in the recipe for a 1:1 GF flour blend. I have not tested it, and I find the 1:1 GF blends to bake drier and other ingredient adjustments would need to be made.
- Storage – The mini loaf can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. It can also be wrapped in plastic, placed in a freezer bag, and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and bring to room temp to serve.
NUTRITION ESTIMATES
Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 243IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is calculated by a third-party and should only be considered an estimate and not a guarantee.
about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you! Click here to learn more about me!