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).
Everyone always loves this cake! Making it for our 1 year Olds first birthday. Can anyone reccomend a similar cake but vanilla and vanilla frosting?
Could I substitute the AP flour with gluten free flour such as Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1?
Hi Bill. You could try my Gluten free Chocolate Cake, which I adapted to be gluten free. You could also use gluten free King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour or Bob’s Red Mill 1:1. Happy cooking!
Super tasty, I have made this cake two times for my boyfriends birthday and everyone loved it.
But one thing: it takes waaaay longer than 35 min to bake if you follow the recipe and make the batter as runny as it says in the instructions. Last time it took me more than an hour and it still wasn’t completely baked.
But anyway, it tastes amazing so definitely worth the work!
I’m so glad you loved the cake, Ana! Sorry to hear it took longer than expected. This can happen when the cake pans are too full or because your oven varies in temperature. Next time you can try turning the oven up to 375ºF and see if that helps!
Wow. What an amazing recipe. I made for my daughter’s birthday and while she is the only vegan in our family, EVERYONE was super impressed. Just excellent. Thank you so much. This will be my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now. on!!
my almond milk is not curdling help 🙁
Sometimes the milk and vinegar combo doesn’t look curdled but I promise you it’s still good to use in the cake after sitting for 10 or 15 minutes!
Best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted. And super easy to make!!!
Hi!
I’m wondering if I can make this with a gluten free flour? I’m not sure if someone has asked before 🙂
Hi Elizabeth. You could try my Gluten free Chocolate Cake, which I adapted to be gluten free. You could also use gluten free King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour or Bob’s Red Mill 1:1. Hope this helps!
Can you use soy or oat milk instead of almond milk?
Hi Julia. Yes, either of those milks were work!
This is my FAVORITE chocolate cake recipe. I made it for my daughter’s birthday (she the vegan in our household) a couple years ago and it quickly became my “go-to” chocolate cake for all special events. My non-vegan friends now request it when they come over for dinner at our house. It’s delicious!
Thanks so much for your encouraging and wonderful feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
Hi! We will be attempting cupcakes today.
How do we properly store the cupcakes. Room temp or fridge. And how long do you think it will Stay good for
Hi Tina. I usually store the cake/cupcakes in the refrigerator. They will last for 3-5 days, longer if refrigerated. Enjoy the cupcakes!
When I searched “vegan chocolate cake” and saw this recipe with your name on it, I knew. I just knew it was going to be amazing. Nora, you never let me down. This cake is decadent! It was perfect for my husband’s 55th birthday – and it was easy to make. Thank you!!!
I made this for the Super Bowl for guests, and it was a HUGE hit. Just WOW!
Wow! First time I make a vegan cake and it looks amazing. The frosting is a wonder! I put only 2 cups of sugar for the frosting (felt it was enough for French people’s taste). I slightly adapted it to make a Black Forest with canned sirup cherries in the middle… I can’t wait to bring it to my people and cut it and hear the “waaaaaaaaaw” and the “yummmmmmm”. Thank you for this truly amazing recipe!!
Thank you for your fun and wonderful feedback and ideas! I’m so glad you loved the cake! Enjoy your gathering!
Holy Cake !!!! THANK YOU to the author !! I was ssoooo skeptical that the pantry staple items could produce a vegan gluten free cake that tastes like the delicious ? (but terrible for you) box cakes !!! Fluffy – rises – chocolatey amazing-ness !! Her brilliant flax egg swap worked – I used Trader Joe’s gluten free 1-1 mix – and we don’t like sweet so I used 1/2 cup monk fruit sugar- next time I might use closer to one cup. Everything else I followed to a T, and cannot believe it !!! Thank you ??!!!!!!
Thank you, Dona, for your wonderful words about my cake recipe! I’m so thrilled you loved it! I appreciate you sharing this fabulous review!
Planning to make this recipe this weekend. I prefer to use coconut oil, which you included as an option, but ideally would like to make a day ahead of serving. Any suggestions for doing this and avoiding the oil hardening/losing its moistness overnight? Especially if stored in the fridge? Other ones I’ve been able to briefly pop in a microwave, but doesn’t seem like a good idea with the frosting. Thank you!
Hi Steph. This cake can be made a couple of days ahead. Store the cooked and cooled cakes in the refrigerator, wrapped up. The frosting can be made 2 days before, and kept refrigerated. Ensure the frosting and cake are room temperature before frosting. I usually store the frosted cake in the refrigerator. It will last about 3-5 days.
Omg this was a huge hit!!!! Thank you so much…my family said it was the best cake ever!!
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Can you make this in a Bundt pan too??
Yes, a 12 cup bundt cake pan should work for this recipe. Grease all of the crevices thoroughly in your bundt cake pan with vegan butter and/or cooking spray so it doesn’t stick! Bake for about 45 minutes. Hope this helps!
I made this chocolate cake for my 54 year old son who is a complete vegan. You would never know this cake was vegan. Absolutely delicious! and the chocolate frosting was just as tasty! Loved it !Yum yum!
I”m so glad you loved the cake! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Love this recipe. Tastes so good! Very easy recipe to follow. Will definitely make again!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback and review!
Coco powder is not vegan. It has milk, I clicked on the link you had attached to see what type you used and it took me to the Hershey’s coco powder which very clearly has milk labeled on the bottle as an ingredient.
Hi Christina, yes cocoa powder is in fact vegan and does not contain milk. Check the ingredients list. For dark cocoa, the ingredients are: cocoa, cocoa processed with alkali. Regular unsweetened cocoa powder simply contains cocoa. Hot chocolate mixes usually have powdered milk added, but not cocoa powder. Hope that helps clarify!
Can you use another sweetener in place of the sugar for the cake and frosting and not compromise on taste?
In the cake, you could use coconut sugar or maybe another sweetener. For the frosting, you need something like powdered sugar, so I’m not sure what else would work there.
Thank you so much, making this weekend!! Since my family and I have turned vegan, I rely on your site for every recipe. Thank you so much for the time you’ve taken to share with us!
Hi Karri. Your words mean a lot to me! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback! I’m glad you guys love the cake! I hope you enjoy many more of my recipes!
This chocolate cake is ahhmazing!! Made it for my best friend’s birthday, and she and her husband loved it so much they shared it with other friends the next day, and she said they raved about it also (all are non-vegans). This is my go-to recipe since it’s easy to make with ingredients readily available, and consistently turns out perfectly! I am wondering what you think of using Miyoko’s butter instead of the Earth Balance? I’m moving toward organic alternatives whenever possible.
Yes, LOVE Miyokos! Thank you.
Hi!
Can this recipe be made the day ahead of a party? Would it need to be refrigerated? I’m looking forward to trying it. Thanks!
Absolutely! Yes, keep the cake (frosted or unfrosted) covered in the fridge overnight. Happy cooking!
It was so yummy! I made this for my daughter’s birthday and she has food allergies so I was on the hunt for a great cake recipe without her allergens. So glad I chose this one! Everyone thought it was delicious!
Hi Melissa. I’m glad the cake was a hit! Happy birthday to your daughter! Thank you for sharing your great feedback!
My toddler has many allergies so i got introduced to the amazing world of vegan deserts. Everyone is always amazed how tasty they are! This one did not disappoint either, (even though i am not a fan of chocolate cakes). The dislike about it though was that the recipe asks for too much sugar (almost 850g!). I put around 400g in total, and it was sweet enough. Don’t wanna know how would it taste like with the full amount…
I love this cake as I am dairy and egg free for my son. Both times I have made it though, I have noticed flour clumps at the bottom. I use a mixer and do the boiling water. It’s strange! It still tastes great, just wondering what I could be doing wrong?
Try sifting the flour into the bowl next time! This will help you avoid clumps.
Hi Nora,
I made this cake before a while back.
Last yeah I started doing fondant cakes here and there (but always vanilla ones).
This time I am to do a chocolate one and straight away thought of this one however this time I do not have apple sauce so I’ll try with flax but is there much difference?
Also can I crumb coat with this buttercream? (as I’m covering with fondant)
TIA
Izzy ?
Hi Izzy. Use 2 flax eggs instead of the applesauce; there won’t be a noticeable difference. The frosting should also work for a crumb coat. If it isn’t stiff enough, just mix in a little more powdered sugar.