Vegan Chocolate Cake - The BEST Recipe! (2024)

How to make a delicious and easy vegan chocolate cake recipe, with just a few basic ingredients. It’s perfect for any occasion!

Vegan Chocolate Cake - The BEST Recipe! (1)

The best vegan chocolate cake

This simple vegan cake is a great recipe to keep on hand for any time an occasion calls for you to make a chocolate cake.

With no crazy ingredients or flax eggs required, the recipe will never let you down. It can easily be customized to create many different flavors, and non-vegans love it too – so you know it must be good!

Also try these Black Bean Brownies–NO flour required

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The cake works well at any of the following:

Birthdays

Barbecues

Potlucks

Graduations

Anniversaries

Baby Showers

Family Reunions

Sleepovers

Holiday Gatherings

Dinner Parties

It tastes like a classic chocolate cake because it is a classic chocolate cake!

Unlike many other vegan cake recipes, this one does not require a single ingredient not found in traditional chocolate cakes, such as flax or chia eggs, avocado, or black beans.

Baking soda helps it rise, and applesauce or banana or nondairy yogurt binds the cake without eggs, also keeping it delightfully light and fluffy. The recipe can be dairy free, egg free, whole grain, and even oil free.

No one ever suspects it’s healthier and vegan.

Single serving version: Chocolate Mug Cake

Chocolate cake flavors

Mounds Bar Cake:Frost with coconut cream orVegan Chocolate Mousse, and top with more shredded coconut.

Nutella Chocolate Cake:Frost each cake layer with store bought chocolate hazelnut butter or my plant based Homemade Nutella Recipe.

German Chocolate Cake:Add a homemade or store bought caramel frosting, mixed with chopped pecans and toasted coconut.

Black Forest Vegan Chocolate Cake:Frost withCoconut Whipped Creamor cashew cream, and decorate with fresh cherries or cherry jam.

Mocha Cake:Add a small spoonful of instant coffee to your favorite vegan chocolate frosting or to myChocolate Avocado Mousse.

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake:Use peanut butter in place of the oil for an oil free cake. Frost with the vegan cream cheese frosting recipe from myEasy Cinnamon Rollspost, and beat a half cup of peanut butter into the frosting.

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How to make a vegan chocolate cake

Start by gathering all of the ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease two 8-inch round or square pans, then set the pans aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, sweetener, and optional chocolate chips until evenly mixed.

If using almond butter, gently warm it until soft and easily stir-able. Whisk the nut butter or oil, applesauce, yogurt, or banana, water, and pure vanilla extract in a new bowl. (If you want it to be a one bowl cake, it technically does work to just add all of the liquid ingredients into the dry mix instead.)

Pour the wet into the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t over-mix. Smooth into the prepared 8-inch pans, dividing the batter evenly between the pans.

Bake on the oven’s center rack for 25 minutes, or until the cakes have risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out mostly clean.

Let cool before frosting. (It’s not required, but if you can wait, I recommend letting the cake sit overnight and not tasting until the next day, because the flavor is richer and sweeter after sitting a day.)

When ready to frost, go around the sides of the cake pans with a knife, then invert the chocolate cake onto two plates. Frost separately, then place one cake on top of the other. Add icing to the sides, then serve and enjoy. The cake can be frosted ahead of time if you prefer.

I like to store leftovers in the fridge for freshness (especially if iced with a perishable frosting) for up to a week, but you can store them covered at room temperature for a day or two if you wish. Cake slices can also be frozen.

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Vegan cake frosting recipes

I recommend this shortening-freeand vegan Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

Or feel free to use your favorite homemade frosting or one of the options listed above in the “chocolate cake flavors” section of this post.

Surprisingly, there are also many store brand frostings that are accidentally vegan, including some of the flavors from Duncan Hines, Pillsbury, Simple Mills, Miss Jones, and Betty Crocker. Look on the labels to see which flavors don’t contain milk products.

Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

Here's an easy vegan chocolate cake recipe, made with basic ingredients and perfect for any occasion.

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Print Recipe

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Yield 2 cakes, or 1 double-layer cake

5 from 225 votes

Ingredients

2 cups spelt or white flour (for low carb, try this Keto Cake Recipe)
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
1 1/2 cup sugar, or xylitol for sugar free
1/2 cup applesauce, banana, or yogurt of choice
1/2 cup oil, almond butter, or allergy-friendly sub
1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease two 8-inch pans. Set aside. Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, optional chips, and sweetener in a bowl. If using almond butter, gently warm it until soft and easily stir-able. In a new bowl, whisk the oil or nut butter, applesauce or yogurt, water, and vanilla. Pour wet into dry and stir until just combined (don’t over-mix). Pour into the pans.
Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes or until batter has risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out mostly clean. (I like to take them out when still a little undercooked, let cool, then set in the fridge overnight. This prevents overcooking, and the cakes firm up nicely as they sit.) If you can wait, I highly recommend not tasting until the next day… this cake is so much richer and sweeter after sitting for a day! When ready to frost, go around the sides with a knife, then invert each cake onto a large plate. Frost separately, then place one cake on top of the other if a double-layer cake is desired. At this point you can also frost the sides if you wish. I linked a few of my favorite frosting recipes earlier in this post.
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Notes

For a non-chocolate vegan cake, make this Vegan Carrot Cake.

Or here is a vanilla Vegan Cake Recipe.

Have you made this recipe?

Tag @chocolatecoveredkatie on Instagram

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More Vegan Dessert Recipes

Vegan Brownies

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Banana Bread

Vegan Cheesecake Recipe

Chocolate Truffles

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Vegan Chocolate Cake - The BEST Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

Why is my vegan cake not fluffy? ›

CAKE NOT RISING

This can be caused by a few things already mentioned such as using the wrong egg replacer or over mixing. I always recommend using fresh raising agents. Generally, baking soda and baking powder only stay active for 3 months after opening.

Get More Info ›

Is vegan cake healthier than regular cake? ›

Because the ingredients of vegan cakes contain fewer calories than those of regular cakes, you have a lower tendency to gain weight while eating them. However, this depends on your amount of consumption. Like any other thing, eat vegan cakes in moderation.

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How do you keep a vegan cake from crumbling? ›

To prevent your vegan cake from crumbling apart, use binding ingredients like flax eggs or applesauce, measure your ingredients accurately, avoid overmixing the batter, and bake at the correct temperature for the recommended amount of time.

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Why use vinegar in vegan baking? ›

It's all in the chemistry: the acidity in the vinegar reacts with the baking soda creating bubbles and making your batter rise.

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Why does my vegan cake sink in the middle? ›

YOUR CAKE IS SINKING IN THE MIDDLE OR NOT RISING

You may not have used enough raising agents. I do recommend experimenting with double action baking powders. Otherwise try using 25 percent more chemical raising agents (baking soda or baking powder) if you're converting a recipe to gluten free. b.

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What is the secret to light fluffy cakes? ›

The most crucial tip? Instead of buying an entire box of cake flour, simply incorporate two tablespoons of cornstarch into 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. This blocks the formation of gluten in the flour, which produces a lighter, fluffier cake.

Get More Info Here ›

What ingredient makes cake Fluffy? ›

Cakes and pastries are fluffy and light in nature due to the presence of baking soda in it. When baking soda is combined with both an acidic ingredient and a liquid, it becomes activated. Upon activation, Carbon dioxide is produced, which allows baked products to rise and become light and fluffy.

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What makes a cake dense instead of fluffy? ›

If a recipe includes a lot of acid such as lemon juice and buttermilk and isn't lifted with enough baking powder, the cake will taste dense. In that case, you may need the addition of baking soda which will react with the acid and create a fluffier crumb.

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What is the unhealthiest type of cake? ›

Unhealthiest: Cheesecake

Depending on where you order or buy your cheesecake, one slice can have anywhere between 300 and 1,000 calories!

How to bind vegan cake? ›

Flaxseeds are often used as an egg replacer in vegan cakes. They work well to bind the ingredients together and create a fluffy, moist texture, just like eggs do. We use milled brown flaxseeds in our cakes, which are high in fibre and omega-3 fatty acids.

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Should a vegan cake be refrigerated? ›

This chocolate cake will last for 4 days at room temperature IF wrapped properly: I allow the cake layers to FULLY cool before wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap. Then store them at room temperature or in the fridge.

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Why is my vegan cake soggy? ›

Perhaps the recipes you're following are a little off? You could try different ones or try reducing the water and/or oil content a little. If you're adding things like fruit to the batter it can release juices during baking that can make cakes soggy.

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Why does eggless cake not rise? ›

There could be various reasons, like you are not properly sifting the dry ingredients, or mixing the dry and wet ingredients too thoroughly. Or maybe the egg substitute is being too heavy. Make sure that the baking powder isn't too old or hasn't become moistened.

Why did my almond flour cake not rise? ›

So, if you've ever made an almond flour recipe and had issues with the final product holding together, leaching out the oils or butter, or not rising properly and holding its shape, a likely culprit is that you are using the coarser almond meal, instead of almond flour.

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Why is my vegan cake gummy? ›

This can happen for a few reasons, but the biggest reason is that your ingredients weren't room temperature. If your ingredients, even vegan ingredients, aren't all room temperature (i.e. some are cool, some are warm, some are hot), the cake will come out gummy.

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