The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake- A quick and easy recipe, made in 1 bowl! This really is the best chocolate cake ever, vegan or otherwise. It’s super moist, rich and full of chocolate.
My birthday was a few weeks ago, so what did I do? I asked my mom to watch all 3 kids for a few hours so I could create and photograph the BEST EVER Vegan Chocolate Cake. Pretty great birthday if you ask me! 😉
For some reason, every time I get a vegan piece of cake out (such as at Whole Foods or elsewhere), I am disappointed. The frosting is usually yummy, but the cake part is either 1. strange tasting OR 2. super dry, not moist at all. Seriously disappointing.
I’ve also made a few of the vegan chocolate cake recipes out there, but even those weren’t quite moist enough or perfect enough for my taste. So I did a little thinking and experimenting and I finally came up with the best, most perfectly moist and delicious vegan chocolate cake recipe!
The frosting is a mouthwatering, ultra rich chocolate buttercream. I recommend using earth balance vegan buttery sticks, I haven’t found another brand that tastes quite as good.
If you are looking for a lighter alternative, check out this Chocolate Cake with Cashew Vanilla Frosting. There is nothing “light” about this Chocolate Cake! It is a full on indulgent recipe. And I’m okay with that.
What is the secret to a super moist vegan chocolate cake?
A couple of things make this cake super moist. The applesauce helps (don’t worry, you can’t taste it). But the BIG secret is to add a cup of boiling hot water to the cake batter right before baking. It makes such a difference!
The batter will appear runny when you add it, but don’t worry, that is completely correct and exactly what it should be like. It results in the most moist, delicious chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted!
If you are craving a chocolate fix about now, or are new to being vegan and miss good tasting cake, give this recipe a try! It’s easy to make and hard to mess it up.
OR if you are wanting to try something other than chocolate, give this Vegan Lemon Cake a go! It’s one of my most popular dessert recipes, and impresses people every time I make it.
Recipe inspired by Add A Pinch.
The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
- 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups vegan butter, softened baking sticks, not the tub
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 8 or 9-inch cake pans (8 inch pans will result in taller cakes). I also line them with parchment rounds for easy removal of the cakes later.
- Measure 1 cup unsweetened milk and add the tablespoon of vinegar to it. Stir slightly and set aside to curdle.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well to combine.
- Now add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and milk/vinegar mixture. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer (or stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until well combined.
- Lower the speed and carefully pour in the boiling water, continuing to mix into the cake batter until combined. The batter will seem very runny at this point; that is how it should be, trust me!
- Divide the batter evenly between your cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After 10 minutes of cooling in the pan, carefully remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely before frosting.
For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Add the cocoa powder to a large bowl (I just wipe out the cake bowl and use it for the frosting). Whisk well to remove any clumps.
- Add the softened vegan butter and mix with a hand mixer until creamed and well combined.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and half of the milk, and mix until combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix starting on low, and turn to high. Mix until fluffy and combined.
- If the frosting seems too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon or two at a time. If the frosting seems too wet and doesn't hold it's shape, add more powdered sugar until it thickens up.
- Frost the cake using an icing spatula or just a butter knife.
Video
Notes
- For cupcakes, fill liners half full and bake for 20-25 minutes. The whole recipe will yield approximately 24 cupcakes.
- Double the recipe to make a 4 layer cake, or cut in half to make a 1 layer round cake. You can also make a bundt cake, simply bake for 45 minutes. Or a 9 x 13 inch cake, baking for about 35-40 minutes.
- Don't like a lot of frosting? Cut the frosting ingredients in half. The recipe as written makes enough for thick layers of frosting.
- No applesauce? Substitute 2 flax eggs (2 tbs ground flax + 5 tbs water), whipped aquafaba or another egg replacer such as Bob's Red Mill (2 eggs worth).
This looks yummy and I’m going to make it, but I only have a loaf tin. Do you think I can fill the loaf tin with the mix and it still bake fine?
Thank you xx
Hi Harriet. I have never made these in a loaf pan, however, I think it should work. I recommend filling the pan about 2/3 full. Bake as indicated in the recipe. It will probably take a little longer to bake. Happy baking!
Hi there, would it be possible to make this recipe into cupcakes? Obviously no layers, but would the only thing I need to change be the baking time?
Yes, there are instructions for this and other varieties in the ‘notes’ section of the recipe: “For cupcakes, fill liners half full and bake for 20-25 minutes. The whole recipe will yield approximately 24 cupcakes.” Enjoy!
I just took this to an holiday work gathering for my team. I tried it once at home a few weeks ago with my daughter and made a couple mistakes but still very edible for my first ever cake baking experiment. This time I nailed it and even chilled the cake before icing the next day. People loved it. “It’s so delicious and moist. And it’s vegan?!” They took slices home and the whole cake was gone. I felt so good to being so much joy to the table. Thank you!! I’ll be trying other recipes next. Lemon cake here I come!
Do you think the cake would be too soft to cut the layers down in half to have more thinner layers? Thanks
I think it will work if you are very careful when cutting and handling the cake layers. Enjoy!
Can oat milk be used instead of nut milk?
Yes, it can.
I have made this cake so many times, it’s always a huge hit. I’m literally in the process of making it again right now at the request of my daughter for her 17th birthday sleepover. The last time I made it for her, all her friends wanted the recipe. I’ve also made it to take to work, for my sugar loving work colleagues, and been hounded for the recipe. It really is the best chocolate cake, even the next non vegans (which is pretty much everyone but me) are totally obsessed. Thank you.
I made this for a vegan’s graduation party, but all the non-vegan guests absolutely inhaled it and were raving about how great it was. I have to admit I was skeptical with the runny batter and vegan butter in the frosting when I was preparing it, but it was a total home run. Thank you!
I’ve made this cake before and it was delicious and worked well. This time it didn’t rise very much so don’t know what I did different there apart from use pear instead of apple? Also I ran out of cocoa so used some carob (only 1/3 cup maybe?) ?
Those two things may have made the difference!
By far the best cake/cupcake I have ever made! Definitely making this again!
My grandson is allergic to soy and almonds. Can I substitute the liquid for coconut milk?
Yes you can. Enjoy!
This cake is awesome! Just made it for a July 4th gathering and everyone loved it!
Just baked this cake today and it turned out great. The frosting especially is delicious. I used a 9×13 pan and am keeping it in the fridge. It really fluffs up after some time.
Hi Terra. Thanks for your glowing review and feedback! I’m so glad you loved the cake!
Does this need to be refrigerated or can it be left on counter for a couple of days?
Hi Lauren. The cake will last about 4-6 days when stored in the refrigerator and about 3-4 days if left out on the counter. Either way works! Enjoy!
Wow 🤩 this really is the best ever chocolate cake. I made it for my birthday last week and already have requests from family to make it again.
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Best wishes, Shana
Do you know if I can leave this out on the counter for 2 days? Or does it need to be refrigerated?
The cake will last about 4-6 days when stored in the refrigerator and about 3-4 days if left out on the counter. Either works.
Can this be made using gluten free flour??
Hi Donna. I have tried it gluten free, and it works pretty well. I also altered the recipe slightly to make an incredible gluten free version: Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cake. Check it out! Enjoy!
Can these sponges be made and frozen ahead of time?
Can the butter cream be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge?
Hi Donna. The cake freezes very well, frosted or unfrosted! If you bake the layers and freeze for later, ensure they are completely cool prior to wrapping and freezing. When ready to use, defrost overnight at room temperature and frost. Yes, the frosting can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy!
Has anyone made this as a Bundt cake?
Hi Joanne. You can, yes. It will take about 40-45 minutes to bake. You may be interested in my vegan bundt cake recipe, where I made this recipe into a bundt cake with ganache frosting. Enjoy!
There are not enough stars in the cosmos for this stellar cake !!!!
This is better than almost every traditional chocolate cake I’ve ever had and I’m not even a vegan.
I wanted to make a chocolate cake from scratch for many, many years and I chose this recipe for my virgin cake-baking foray.
Easy and beyond delicious, it will remain a staple and it is very unlikely that I will ever even look at another recipe. This is The. One !
Thank you so much !
The sugar amount in the original recipe is waay too high. I reduced it by 30% and it was still too sweet. While the cake was very tasty I would not redo it with this frosting. Jam in the middle and whipped cream with strawberries on top would fit great though. Definitely going to reuse the recipe for the cake with rwduced sugar amount.
Superb
This cake is so delicious and easy to make! This is my 3rd time making it. My daughter who has several food allergies requests it all the time. Her 25th birthday is on Thursday and this is the cake she wants 🙂 Vegans and non-vegans alike rave about this cake. Thank you for this and all of your other wonderful recipes.
Not worth the hype or special ingredients. Certainly not a demonstrable improvement over any cake I’ve made from scratch or even a boxed mix. Big disappointment.
Haha. You must have done it right! This cake was excellent the first time and we are it in like 2 days. I must have messed it up somehow the second time around. Luckily I made it correctly the first time to see how amazing it was;
This is one of our favorite recipes! I have an excess of cake flour on hand. Should I keep the same ratios for cake flour?
Hi Ashley. I’m glad you are laving the cake recipe! Cake flour is too light to use for this particular cake recipe, but I love using it in most other cakes.
Hi there. Can this cake be covered with fondant? I’ve never done this before but on this occasion I want to decorate the cake for a child’s birthday party. Thank you 🙂
Hi Lara. I haven’t tried covering it with fondant, but hopefully it will work. I know the cake is quite moist, I’m not sure if that would be a problem or not. If you try it, let me know how it works! Happy baking!
Hi Nora. Fondant worked a treat with this recipe! I just popped in fridge for a couple hours to chill/harden the buttercream before wrapping it.
Here in Australia I struggled with some of the ingredients & had a couple of minor issues:
1. The only vegan butter sticks we have are salted – for future reference, would this work? I instead used about one third copha & the rest spreadable butter which set perfectly but I think the copha caused the cocoa to granulate.
2. I also couldn’t find unsweetened applesauce sauce & used sweetened (i used 50 grams less sugar in the buttercream to compensate). Would apple puree otherwise work?
3. My cakes also cracked a little & didn’t really rise (I’m wondering if it’s because I baked 4 at once which caused uneven heat distribution forcing me to keep opening oven & swapping them around)?
All my non-vegan family absolutely raved about this cake – fabulous recipe! Thank you 😊
I’m so glad it worked well! Salted butter sticks are perfect and what I always use (I can’t usually find unsalted.) Sweetened applesauce will work fine, no problem. It’s possible that cooking 4 layers at once in your particular oven had a negative effect on the rise. Especially if you kept opening the oven door. Perhaps try baking two at once and don’t open the door during baking unless it’s near the end to check if they are done. Thank you!
Can I use Dutch processed cocoa powder or do I need to use natural? Thank you!
Natural is better but I have used Dutch processed before and it works, the outcome is just a bit different. Still good though! Your cake and frosting will be darker in color.
Thank you very much! There’s a wonderful independent baking store near me with a great variety of cocoa powder, so I’ll pop in for some natural.
Good