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 (1680 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. This is my go to – impress the crowd – chocolate cake.  I make a triple layer by doubling the recipe.  Kerigold butter is a MUST for the icing.  

  2. My Mom made it for my birthday. All I can say it that it lives up to the title = THE BEST!
    Thanks for this one. Love it.

  3. My boyfriends mama made this cake for my 22nd birthday and it was amazing!!! My boyfriends birthday is tomorrow so I’m going to be making it today ? I don’t have a mixer though so I hope it turns out with just hand mixing!! ?

  4. I make this recipe ALL THE TIME! I bake a lot and this is the recipe I use most. If you don’t like chocolate, then you might not like this cake. But, if you LOVE chocolate like me, then this is probably the best cake you’ve ever had! It’s super moist, rich, and the frosting is thick and creamy. And you can’t even tell it’s vegan!

  5. I’m making cupcakes out of this recipe tonight. They’re in the oven now! I’ve baked cakes out of this recipe twice and it has always been a huge hit. This recipe is so simple and tasty!

  6. Wow! Turned out great! Does the cake need to be refrigerated after frosting? I do not normally use vegan margarine and am serving the cake tomorrow. 

  7. Hi Nora, Thank you for responding to my Feb 21, 2021 enquiry re whether or not I should use cake flour next time I make your chocolate cake, also the fact that my 2 cakes did not rise as much as I expected. I will factor in your helpful hint re making sure that the baking powder and baking soda is fresh.
    I should mention that after my cakes cooled, I frosted them with your delicious recipe and must say, the cake was very moist and tasted great!!!
    Thank you so much. I plan to make your vegan Lemon cake next but you have a ton of appetizing recipes that I want to try and I am not even vegan but I am motivated to eat healthy alternative ingredients.

    1. No, almond flour will not work here. You will end up with a very moist, dense, greasy cake. A gluten free all purpose mix works quite well here.

  8. I made it today and omg it has no business being this yummy. I can’t stop, help ?
    Thanks for sharing! I’m turning it into my go to cake recipe.

  9. This cake was so easy to make, and it was delish! I am not a vegan, but my grown daughter is and I always try to make her a birthday cake every year. In the past they have been flops. This one is great. I made peanut butter frosting instead of the chocolate and it came out great. Thank you so much for coming up with this recipe.
    Vicki

    1. Hi Vicki! Peanut butter & chocolate…yum! I’m glad the cake turned out great for your daughter’s birthday! Thank you so much for sharing your review!

    1. Hi there! Actually two 6 inch cake pans are too small for this recipe. You could try it but the cakes will be super tall. You could make three 6 inch cakes out of the recipe as written, if you’d like. I’m not sure how to cut down the ingredients to fit two 6 inch pans, I would have to test it to know for sure. Perhaps doing 75% of the recipe, but I’m not sure, sorry!

  10. I made it with the applesauce and the again minus the apple sauce plus 2 flax eggs.  My personal taste I like it with the flax eggs, but both ways are super moist and tasty! 

  11. Hi! I have made this recipe and I love it. But, I recently discovered I have an allergy to a few vegan butters. The only butter that works for me is Wayfare butter. Do you think that would work? I am also substituting unsweetened oat milk for the almond milk. 

    1. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, but I’m not familiar with that brand. It’s fine to sub oat milk. Hope it works out well with the new butter!

  12. Hello again Nora, further to my previous comment where I noted that my baked cakes were very thin, I should mention that I sifted my flour and other dry ingredients before mixing. Do you think that would have made a difference in the density of the cake? Also, can cake flour be used instead of all-purpose flour? Overall, I liked the simplicity of your instructions and clarity of your accompanying video. ??

    **Looking forward to your response.

    1. Hi Janice! Yes, the cakes should be quite thick and fluffy, though moist. Definitely not dense. Make sure that you are using fresh baking powder and soda, because sometimes they can go bad. Also, I don’t recommend sifting the flour, that may have caused it to be dense because you likely did not add enough flour by sifting it first. I use the spoon and level method, so spoon flour (or cocoa) into the measuring cup, then level it off with a knife, no need to shake it down or sift it first. I would not use cake flour here, because it’s too light. Typically I use it in other cake recipes, just not this one. Hope that helps and you can have success, it’s a very well loved cake!

  13. Hi Nora, I just made this cake today for a family member’s birthday cand it is now cooling before frosting. I followed your recipe exactly but my two cakes are very thin – they did not rise as high as yours appears in your pictures. Should I add more baking powder/baking soda next time? I was expecting a nice thick cake.

  14. hey! I’mbsuoer interested in making this but I’m curious how it would taste with whole wheat flour or even almond flour??

    1. Hi there! So almond flour does not work here, and can not usually be substituted for regular flour in baking. It doesn’t absorb liquid in the same way, so you will end up with a soupy, weird textured cake. If you use whole wheat flour, it won’t be nearly as light or fluffy, it will be more dense and dry. And it will very much taste like whole wheat flour. I’m sure it would technically work, but it wouldn’t be my preferred choice. If you have white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour, that would be better. Hope that helps!

  15. Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m the only vegan in my family and this cake barely lasted the weekend before it was gone. I can’t fault this recipe at all, hands down the best cake (vegan or not) that I’ve ever tried! 

  16. Yesterday, I made this for my teenager’s 18 birthday. It was so easy and fun to make. I used oat milk and cut the icing recipe in half because I made a sheet cake. My neighbors came over and I sent them home with 2 large pieces. I just got a text asking for the recipe because they love it and actually want to make it without the icing. That’s a great idea as well. I also thought the cake was amazing in day 2. I love your recipes!

    1. Thank you, Elizabeth, for sharing your fun and wonderful review! Happy birthday to your teen! I’m glad everyone loved the cake! Thank you for using my recipes, and for sharing them. Happy cooking!

  17. I would suggest putting your notes section at the top of the recipe. Otherwise, great cake to give my dad a vegan treat without him missing any of the eggs and butter.

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