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.
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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).
This cake turned out so well. I used two 8 inch cake tins so it took longer to cook than stated in the recipe. I skipped the chocolate icing and used raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream in between the layers with a small amount of buttercream and raspberries on top. It was delicious! It tasted like a brownie cake.
Thanks for sharing your review and comments, Carrie! Your cake sounds delicious!
This was super delicious and crazy moist! I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper to the batter to make it a Mexican hot chocolate cake. So good!
Thank you for sharing your review, Monique! I’m glad you love the cake!
This is an INCREDIBLE recipe – easy and yummy!! I made this cake for my 3 year anniversary, and my non-vegan boyfriend couldn’t get enough. Thanks, Nora!!
Thanks Emily! I’m glad you both loved the cake! I appreciate you taking time to share your review!
Hi Nora! Could you try making a vegan mocha cake? Anything mocha. Mocha is my FAVS. I’m going to try some of your other recipes. And maybe add something to the recipes that makes me happy. (Like Mocha….maybe…..) Anyway I can’t wait to make some of those delicious recipes! (Sorry If I’m a talker)
A mocha cake sounds really fun, I’ll have to put it on my list! You can sub hot coffee for the boiling water to give it a little coffee flavor. Hope you enjoy the recipes!
Ok! Thank you!
I made this for my birthday and it was delicious — the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten, and my non-vegan husband agreed. Love this, and all of your recipes that I’ve tried so far. Bravo, Nora! (Or I guess I should say, ‘brava!’)
Thank you for sharing Meredith! I’m glad you love the cake! Thank you for using my recipes!
Hi there! I want to make this for a friends birthday tomorrow but I want it to be a bit richer. Usually I would use espresso powder but I don’t have it here. Do you think for the boiling water, I could use 1/2 boiling water and 1/2 hot coffee? Or would this interfere with the chemical reactions somehow? Thank you! 🙂
It will only alter the flavor slightly, it’s pretty good with coffee actually! You could use 1 cup hot coffee instead of water, or 1/2 and 1/2 if you want. Enjoy!
Awesome cake. Making it two years in a row for my daughter’s birthday. Do you know how many cups of batter the recipe makes? I need a total of 10 cups to fill the pans I’m using so I just need to know how many batches of it to make. Thank you!
Thank you, glad you have enjoyed it! I’ve never actually measured how many cups of batter the recipe yields. I’m guessing around 5 cups though I could be off. Sorry I can’t be of more help! I’m guessing you’ll need to double the recipe. Sounds like it will be a fun cake!
Can I replace Almond milk for Goat milk or Malted milk?
I’m honestly not sure how either of those would affect the flavor of the cake, sorry!
Ok! I’ll just buy some unsweetened almond milk
WOW! Nora! This cake is amazing! I tried the cake and it was fabulous! I’m going to give my son this for is birthday! I don’t really like applesauce but it goes so well with this cake! I’m so sorry I doubted you! Your recipes are so YUMMY! Bye Nora! (I love your vegan coffee cake)
I’m glad you love the cake, Marina! Happy birthday to your son! I”m glad you love my recipes, thank you for using them! I appreciate you taking time to share your comments, and happy cooking!
🙂
I’m going to try this recipe out for my nephews first birthday just wondering if you can freeze this sponge?? X
Yes, the cake can be frozen, I have done it many times. Enjoy!
I only have a dairy allergy, do you think this recipe would work using eggs? Or should I just stick to the applesauce?
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine it would work fine. I believe it would take two eggs, but you might want to try it with the applesauce, the recipe really does not need eggs. Thanks!
Hi Nora this cake is amazing! I made it for my sister’s birthday, she had no idea it was vegan.
Quick question do you know how I can cut down the recipe to fit two, 6 inch round cake pans?
I’m so glad you and your sister enjoyed the cake, thank you! I have made the cake using 3-6inch cake pans, as written, but to use only two would be a little trickier. I’m honestly not sure what the conversion would be, and I’d hate to steer you wrong.
Can I substitute the almond milk for oat milk?
Yes.
Delicious! I increase by 50 per cent and make in 3 x 8″ tins. I also add 1.5 tsps espresso coffee powder to the hot water. I reduce the frosting by half and find it’s plenty. Thanks for super recipe.
Thank you for sharing, Adele! I’m glad you love the cake!
Hi Nora, I’ve made this cake of yours several times for some very picky clients and they’ve been wowed by it. Thank you so much!! Now I have a client who is asking for a vegan, gluten free sugar free chocolate cake. I’ve noticed that people have asked in the comments about coconut sugar, and gluten free versions. I was wondering if you think xylitol and gluten free flour as substitutes in this recipe would work, or if you’ve tried has it worked well? I do have another dietary restrictive chocolate cake recipe, but your cake is just the best. Thanks
Hi Michelle, thank you! I’m glad the cake has been a hit. I’m about to post a gluten free version of this cake, but as far as replacing the sugar, that’s a little tricky. I believe with xylitol you would use far less than sugar, so it might mess up the texture of the cake. You could try it, but I never have and can’t be sure it will work. Subbing coconut sugar 1:1 works fine, but that’s not sugar free, just refined sugar free. You’ll probably have to do some testing to figure out if it will work. Let me know if you try it.
This is the best vegan chocolate cake I have ever had in 10 years of being vegan. I made this for non vegans and everyone said it was the best tasting cake they’ve ever had!
I’m really glad everyone enjoyed the cake, Meg! Thank you for sharing!
I’m not a vegan myself but my best friend is. Whenever we go out to eat, it’s usually a challenge to find a place that has an abundance of vegan options, not just a garden salad. And I’ve noticed desserts tend to be lacking in vegan options as well. So for his 25th birthday, I made him this cake. Being someone who’s used to eating dairy and eggs, I of course wondered what this would taste like. I’d had vegan desserts before and usually notice a difference in taste than regular desserts. But this blew my mind! This cake was amazing. And anyone who’s not a vegan who may be skeptical when they see “vegan cake”, don’t turn your nose up at it, because vegan alternatives can be delicious. Needless to say, my friend loved it too. Couldn’t find earth balance sticks, but the country crock plant based sticks were great!
Just one question, is there a way to turn this into a yellow cake? Any changes to make to the recipe besides ditching the cocoa powder? Thank you!
Hi Evan. How fun that you made this cake for your friend’s birthday! I’m so glad that you both loved it! I have tried to make this cake into a yellow or vanilla cake and it does not work. I would go with my Vegan Vanilla Cake, you will have much better results! Thank you for taking your time to share your fun and fantastic review!
I have made this cake 5x the last 3x the cake was crumbling- tastes delicious though but what am I doing wrong! Everone loves it
It’s hard for me to say, it shouldn’t be crumbly. Did you start doing anything differently the third time? I’m glad everyone still loves it though.
Can I use Dutch Process Cocoa in this recipe?
Hi Jacqueline. I usually use natural cocoa powder, but dutch processed does work as well. It will make the cake and frosting very dark. Thank you!
Thank you!
This was probably the best chocolate cake ever! Moist, sliced easily. The icing was great but very sweet, too heavy on the cake. My cake actually cracked under the weight and some of the icing slid down edges. Next time I won’t use all the icing, my family said just don’t put as much on the cake. And this cake won over eaters more than our family Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake recipe! Thank you so much for this recipe. My granddaughter with dairy and egg allergies finally ate the same dessert everyone else ate! 2 pieces!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed the cake so much, thank you! Make sure your vegan butter isn’t too melty when you start the frosting, then it should be much easier to work with and won’t slip, but less frosting is fine as well. 🙂
Can I use coconut almomd milk? Will the results be the same you think?
Hi Cari. Oat milk or any other milk will work fine in the cake recipe. Thanks!
Thanks so much for this recipe! It was my first scratch cake and a huge hit!
That’s great Lindsay! I’m glad the cake was a hit! Thank you for sharing your review!
I became vegan completely the 4th of nov 2020 for health reasons. I have be treating my non vegan friends your cake recipes and cookie recipes and got standing ovations. You have a nice feeling when someone tastes something you made and they all say OMG. Thank you
Hi Sonia. I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes and sharing them! Thank you, and I appreciate you for taking your time to share your comments!
Hey Nora! Thanks for all your great recipes 🙂 I absolutely LOVED how the icing turned out! The flavor of the cake tastes great but for some reason the texture turned out way too wet/gummy/chewy for me 🙁 I cut the recipe in half and used GF flour so my roommate could try it.. do you think that could be why? I saw others had success with GF flour. I baked it for around 33 minutes and it rose fine, looked perfectly done! Was also wondering if the almond milk part could have been the problem – I’m not sure it curdled how it was supposed to?
Thanks in advance!!
Hi Becca! I’m sure it was the GF flour. I know many people have made it with success with GF flour, but I recently have been testing it and found I had to use a specific brand, add xanthan gum and change a few things to make it taste truly amazing. I will be posting the recipe for GF Chocolate Cake in a few days, so stay tuned! It’s very similar to this cake, and no one could detect it was GF at my house.
Amazing chocolate cake that just happens to be Vegan, everyone loved it, you are spreading so much Happiness with your cake recipe, Thank You so much !
Thank you, Peta, for sharing your fun and encouraging review! I’m glad you love the cake!