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.Â
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.
Recipe inspired by Add A Pinch.
The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond
- 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, not the tub
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 8 or 9-inch cake pans (8 inch pans will result in taller cakes). I also line them with parchment rounds for easy removal of the cakes later.
- Measure 1 cup unsweetened 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 milk/vinegar mixture. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer (or stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until well combined.Â
- 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 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.
- 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).Â
I actually never leave comments/ratings on recipes but for this one I just had to. SO GOOD. And came out just like the photos!
I actually did use vegan butter from the tub(much easier to find here in Australia) and it all came out perfectly.
I baked it in a 9×13 and halved the frosting recipe and it was the perfect amount.
I am thrilled that you loved the chocolate cake, and it came out perfect for you! Thank you for taking time to share your glowing review and recipe feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking in Australia!
This is the 3rd time I’ve baked this cake.
DEEEEEEELICIOUS! SCRUMPTIOUS!
FYI — my oven takes at least another 25 minutes of baking until a clean toothpick.
I’d like to make this as a 6 inch 2 layer cake. Do I need to adjust the ingredients?
Yes, the recipe as written would make 3 6-inch layers, so way too much batter for only 2 small pans. I would simply use about 1/3rd of the batter to make a few cupcakes, and then make your 2 6-inch round cakes. Hope you enjoy!
Do you think this cake will freeze well? I want to make it, freeze it, package it with dry ice and ship to my son.
It does freeze very well, so I imagine that will work well. Hope your son enjoys the cake, that is so kind.
Can I add coffee to this cake to make it taste more like chocolate if I use carob instead of real chocolate
Sure, you can use hot coffee instead of boiling water if you’d like.
This cake was delicious! I made it with stabilized whipped cream frosting and make it into cupcakes. The only problem I had was that the middle of the cupcake sank. I’ve used the same recipe to make a normal cake in the past and I had the same sinking issue. Any idea how to fix that?
Could I make this in a loaf tin?
It’s too much batter for a loaf pan, but you could make a few cupcakes and use the rest for a loaf cake, if you want. It should work pretty well! The loaf version will take much longer to bake, likely around an hour.
Can it be made the day before
Frosting tastes great but it came out grainy. Is there a way to fix this?
Did you use all ingredients called for, and in the correct amounts? Was your powdered sugar grainy instead of fine and powdery? What butter did you use? There isn’t anything called for that should let the frosting become grainy, so I think it’s likely something is off with the ingredients. Hope I can help!
Can I use almond butter in place of oil?
I’ve never tried it, but I don’t think it will work super well. Likely your cake will come out dense. You could always try it though, you may enjoy it!
I just love this recipe!
I’ve been revisiting it for years and have come back yet again this birthdaytide !
Thankyou for this absolute classic 🙂
Hi Holly. I am so glad that you are enjoying the cake! It is definitely a popular cake and loved by many! Thank you for sharing your fantastic feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Asking for a friend. 😉
Have you tried monk fruit instead of sugar? Maybe Stevia? If so, what amounts would you use? Would just reducing the sugar by half + a substitute work for type-2 diabetics?