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.
Sign-up to get new recipes by email and receive a FREE 5 Day Family Friendly Vegan Meal Plan! SUBSCRIBE NOW.
Recipe inspired by Add A Pinch.
The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 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 preferred
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 9-inch cake pans. I also line them with parchment rounds and lightly flour for easy removal of the cakes later.
- Measure 1 cup unsweetened almond 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 almond 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 almond 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.
- Nut allergy? You may substitute soy milk or another milk for the almond milk, any non-dairy milk will work here.
- 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).
Hi Nora! Just found your website because of this recipe. My birthday is in 2 days and its been a couple of days i was told my newborn may have lactose allergy (and i have egg allergy). I was so bummed for not being able to have a cake but i found this recipe and im thrilled to try! But i have ancouple of questions! Can the flour be almond flour? Can i use coconut milk instead of the almond? For the frosting, can i use peanut butter instead of vega butter? Can i use yeast instead of baking powder? I only have baling soda, not baking powder. Thank you!!!
I hope you enjoy the cake! No one would guess this cake has no dairy, so I think you will love it. Almond flour will not work here, it will be a soupy mess unfortunately. Definitely use regular flour for best results. Coconut milk will work just fine instead of almond. I don’t know if peanut butter would work in the frosting, it might be okay. Yeast won’t work in place of baking powder. I’m not sure if you could use more baking soda instead of baking powder, it might not rise. For best results, make the cake as written, it’s the only way I can guarantee good results!
The recipe I see above doesn’t make the cake part chocolate. Just the icing.
Ok I’m officially blind. I read that like four times. Somehow I skipped over the cocoa powder every time. Oh well it made a delicious vanilla cake batter which is now in the oven and tomorrow I will make it with the chocolate powder. Duh.
Ms. Nora this cake is awesome. I love it because 1.)It doesn’t taste funny. 2.)It’s not nasty. 3.)Doesn’t have an after taste. It taste better then regular chocolate cake. I couldn’t believe how good it was so I tried it on some of my family members they all loved it. I haven’t found anyone who doesn’t like it. I made it at a church function and the Bishop wanted a cake for hisself…..lol I also made it for my cousin wedding because his wife is vegan. That was the reason I set out trying to find a good recipe. Thumbs up everyone loved it and I actually made different kinds of cakes but that chocolate cake was 100%. People didn’t know it was vegan…..lol Thank you so much. This recipe is my go to chocolate cake.
Wow, thanks so much for the great comment!! I’m so glad that it was such a hit!
This cake truly is the best vegan chocolate cake! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I will definitely be signing up for more of your recipes. Great tasting vegan dishes are hard to find.
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad you liked it!!
Can the unsweetened almond milk be substituted with original (sweetened). I only have the original in the fridge. Also, should
Yes, that is fine.
Hi Nora. My kids think we’re friends because when I make one of your recipes and they ask me about it, I always say “my girl Nora gave it to me.” This cake is EXCELLENT! I followed the recipe exactly, using oat milk. It is better than any chocolate cake I could buy, moist and silky. The chocolate frosting was fabulous too, but I could have eaten the cake without it. You are the vegan recipe whisperer! Thank you for sharing your love of food snd family in every recipe.
Haha, that’s so funny! Thank you so much for the wonderful comment!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Hi, I want to make this cake next weekend for my husbands birthday. Have you tested it with gluten free flour by chance?
Yes, I have used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour and it worked quite well!
Can I use ghee or imperial stick butter?
You probably could but I don’t because I don’t use dairy products.
I had some cashew milk that I had made and wanted to use it. I found this recipe, subbed the cashew milk for almond milk. I also subbed hot coffee for the hot water. As I’m not vegan, I used real butter for the icing and coffee for the liquid in the icing. Can I say that this was the absolute best chocolate cake I have ever eaten, bar none.
I’m so glad it was good!! Thanks for the great comment!
Love the recipe!! Made it the first time and it came out perfect but the second time, it didn’t rise like the first one did. Any idea what could have happened or any advice?
There are several reasons a cake won’t rise. The baking powder could be stale or old, or it needed to bake a bit longer and it wasn’t all the way done in the middle (do the toothpick check to ensure it’s done), and leaving the batter too long in the bowl before baking can also lead to a flat cake. Hopefully it’s better next time, like the first time!
Hello, I’m making this tomorrow.
I have aquafaba which I’m really tempted of trying for the first time.
I also alternatively have unsweetened applesauce and flax seeds.
How would the taste/texture change if I used aquafaba instead? Should it be whipped for sure? And how much should I use?
I hope you enjoy the cake! I have not tested it with aquafaba so I’m not sure how it will do in this recipe. I would stick with unsweetened applesauce for best results. It may end up too fragile with aquafaba.
Please could I ask if the cup measurements are UK or US? Thank you!
U.S. measurements.
Hi! What is considered a serving? How big of a slice? Please feel free to email me directly if that’s better for you!
1/16th of the cake would be considered one serving, in regards to the nutrition information.
The greatest cake I have ever had! It was soooo moist, chocolaty, yummy goodness! I am sooooo happy we found this recipe! My non vegan family members even thought it was delicious, they couldn’t stop eating it! Thank youuuu!
You’re so welcome!!
This cake was delish very moist thanks for sharing I am going to make again
Can I make the frosting with nuttlex instead of vegan butter?
I believe you can but they don’t have that where I live so I’ve never baked with it. 🙂
My first vegan cake and it was awesome. Kiddos loved it. For a stronger flavour, I would probably add coffee instead of the hot water next time. Frosting was a bit too sweet for me. Will definitely make the cake again but with a different frosting.
This was a fantastic cake! It was moist, chocolatey and delicious. This will definitely be in the rotation.
Thanks!! I’m so happy to hear you liked it!!
I love this cake. Ever since going vegan, it has been a struggle to find a recipe that is yummy and moist. I was skeptical at first because of the slew of recipes available that claim to be soft and delicious but this one is legit the BEST. Thanks, Nora!!
You’re so welcome! Thanks for the great comment!
This is the first time making this. This was delicious and everyone said it was great!
I’m so happy to hear that!!
I have made this cake at least 10 times. Without fail, it is the best vegan cake recipe. Ever.
Wow, that’s so great to hear!! Thanks so much!
Truly Amazing!! (FYI-didn’t need to use all the frosting)
Made this on Saturday and can not believe how moist and delicious it is days later!
Thanks so much!!
Wanting to combine chocolate and orange flavors. Would orange zest in the cake itself and an orange zest/juice drizzle icing do the trick you think?
Sure! You could even add some orange essence to the batter and/or frosting.
Hi! We are making this cake for the very first time. Can’t wait to taste it!
Two questions – If we only have regular applesauce, instead of unsweetened, should we cut down the sugar amount, and, if so, by how much? The applesauce vs. the Bob’s Red Mill vegan eggs. Is your preference still to use the applesauce? Thanks so much!
I would probably prefer to use Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer instead of sweetened applesauce actually, but either would work. 2 “eggs” should be just right. Enjoy!
Hello! Thank you for this recipe, I’m excited to try it! Just wondering if you think it would be ok to double this, so that I’d have a 4 layer cake? Have you ever tried it? TIA!
Yes, that would work. Just make sure the cakes are cooled completely and your frosting is on the thicker side, not runny at all. The common issue with tall cakes it they are known to slip and break, so just handle it very gently and you should be fine. 🙂
Insert 4 plastic straws or bamboo skewers in the cake to keep all of the layers together. Just push them in after the layers have been filled so they support from top to bottom of all the layers. Snip off ends so they are not noticeable and remove them when cutting the cake.
Would olive oil work?
It should work as long as it’s light tasting olive oil.