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. 

slice of vegan chocolate cake on a plate

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!

vegan chocolate cake with a slice taken out of it

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.

 

 

vegan chocolate frosting in a bowl with a whisk

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!

vegan chocolate cake frosted close up

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.

slice of vegan chocolate cake with a fork taking a bite.

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Recipe inspired by Add A Pinch.

slice of vegan chocolate cake with a fork taking a bite.
4.96 stars (1679 ratings)

The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake

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. 
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Servings: 16 servings

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

  1. For cupcakes, fill liners half full and bake for 20-25 minutes. The whole recipe will yield approximately 24 cupcakes.
  2. 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.
  3. Don't like a lot of frosting? Cut the frosting ingredients in half. The recipe as written makes enough for thick layers of frosting.
  4. Nut allergy? You may substitute soy milk or another milk for the almond milk, any non-dairy milk will work here.
  5. 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). 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 496kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 408mg | Potassium: 222mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Nora Taylor
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!
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Comments

  1. Can you substitute for Almond flour? Would it be the same measurement, and does the rest of the recipe stay the same? Thanks!

  2. This cake was absolutely delicious, light and fluffy and the icing is amazing too. Thank you x made a lovely 80th birthday cake.

  3. This cake was a WINNER!! So moist and chocolatey. My boyfriend said it was better than any cake he has had…and he is an amazing baker. I made it for his birthday and we served it to two non-vegans who said they would never know it was vegan. I made one small adjustment. I used unsweetened oatmilk instead of almond milk for the cake and icing. I also added a little bit of coffee to thin out the icing and give it a mocha flavor and it was divine! Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe. Truly the best chocolate cake!!!

  4. I made it for my sister-in-law’s birthday. She loved it so much that she took the whole cake! I made 12 regular sized cupcakes and a “bread” using the bread pan. I will definitely be making more for myself and most likely freezing it to have it for even longer. Thank you! 

  5. I am not sure what I have done wrong but the cake turned out like a really fudgy brownie with hard edges. The only substitution I made was swerve granular instead of regular sugar. The toothpicks came out clean but was not like a cake at all. I made them in two round cake pans. I dusted them with swerve confectioners sugar and they taste like amazing vegan brownies but what could of caused it?

    1. It was probably using swerve instead of regular sugar, as I’ve never tested it without sugar. Adjusting ingredients can cause undesired results, especially when it comes to cake! I’d try it again as written, it will be tall, light, moist, fluffy chocolate cake.

  6. I have made this cake several times within the last few months. Everyone who comments has nothing but amazing things to say about it. Delicious!!

  7. This cake was amazing! I made it for my birthday this past weekend and my non-vegan family loved it! Definitely a do over!

  8. I could literally eat this cake without frosting, it’s so tasty. It also has the stamp of approval from my pickiest, hardest-to-please omni family members. I prefer to substitute some of the applesauce for flax egg (see note 5); the cake isn’t as crumbly and stays together better that way imo.

  9. Hello, I avoid vinegar of all kinds. Is it possible to make this without the apple cider vinegar? What is its purpose? Is there an alternative?
    Thank you

  10. My son is 11 months old and is allergic to milk and eggs. I was trying to find a cake to make for his birthday… And this is it! I made cupcakes instead and baked them for 20 minutes. They turned out perfect! I was skeptical at first but these tasted even better than regular cupcakes! I topped them with peanutbutter frosting instead.

  11. This is hands down the best chocolate cake in the world. So incredibly moist and easy to put together. I’ve been making it for all of my friends and family members’ birthdays for the past year and a half. Love the reactions when I tell them it’s vegan.

  12. Wow! I’m experimenting with vegan recipes and this is one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made – vegan or not! It’s so moist and fudgey. I didn’t bother with frosting  and just put plain icing on top of one cake and froze the other.  Will be my go to recipe! 

    1. I’ve always used salted as I wasn’t able to find unsalted until just recently. Either is fine though, you just may want to add a tiny pinch of salt to the frosting if using unsalted.

  13. Hey Nora
    Lovely recipe. I am making it today but have put the batter into 2×8″ pans. Could you pls. tell me how can one divide the batter into smaller pans. Does one merely eye ball or is there a math to it. If so pls. explain. Thanks a ton.

    1. Hi there, I hope you enjoy the cake! I just eye ball it, no math involved. 🙂 If you wanted to measure it exactly, I suppose you could pour the batter into a large measuring cup and split it exactly, but I never do that. Hope that helps!

    2. The best way of splitting a cake mix into 2 pans so it is even is to weigh each pan with the mixture in it – so each one weighs the same

  14. If I want to use 6″ pans for this to make 4-5 smaller layers will keeping the recipe measurements the same be okay?

    1. That should work, yes, but the layers will be quite thin so they won’t need to bake for nearly as long, probably only 15-20 minutes. Thank you!

  15. Hi! I am looking to make this tonight but I only have one cake pan and want this to be a two layer cake, is it possible to bake the layers separately ?

  16. Hello Nora!! thank you for sharing your recipe! looks amazing,
    in my country we dont have vegan butter, is there any substitute for that? or how can i make a good frosting without that vegan butter.

    thank you for sharing!!:)

  17. This cake is so loved by my family. One thing that always happens though, is at the slightest temp increase, such as a trip in the car or if the kitchen is too hot after the oven being on, the frosting turns so liquidy. It’s thick and pretty firm when i initially finish mixing it. Should I add more powdered sugar than the recipe calls for?? What am I missing?

    1. I’m so glad! Make sure that when you start, your vegan butter is not too soft. Also, you can try adding a little less milk, only as much as you need to keep it nice and thick. But in very warm places, it may get melty so I would avoid hot places. You could store it in the fridge. Hope that helps!

  18. It really is the best chocolate cake! My non-vegan friends request this cake on the regular, so it’s a definite crowd pleaser. Thank you for the lovely recipe, it’s definitely a go-to dessert recipe for me!

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