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).
Excited! Could you freeze it for another use without the frosting on top? Thanks!!
Yes, it freezes well! Thanks.
My son has several food allergies, making parties and birthdays not always a fun experience. This cake recipe radically changed gatherings for us. Everyone raves when I make this cake and I’ve had multiple people tell me it’s the best cake they’ve ever had (I completely agree). Thank you for helping make birthdays a joyous experience for us and my son no longer has to feel left out.
Hi Meredith. I love hearing how those who have food allergies are able to enjoy a yummy chocolate cake! Thanks for taking time to share your wonderful review and feedback! Wishing you lots of happy baking!
Can I make this cake with soy milk as well or will it alter the flavor? Thank you so much!
Yes, soy milk works well here. I use it often.
Made this cake for a baby shower and it was the best cake I ever had. Super moist and delicious. For a non-vegan, I am definitely making it again. Also, I just remembered we didn’t have any almond milk so we used a tbsp of coffee and mixed in hot water as a replacement still turned out amazing!!!
Best recipe ever.
5 stars for this cake 100%
I was set up with 2 spring form cake pans and as I filled the first one (definitely cheeper quality)the thin batter pour out the bottom! So I quickly shifted and dumped it into the other pan! I had to cook it for 55mins or so. Then after letting it cool I cut it in half to end up with the 2 cakes! It didn’t look pretty but the chocolate buttercream covered that up! I topped it with fresh raspberries!
It was a hit!
Making it again right now! This time I’m intentionally using one pan!
I made this cake the day before my Labor Day party. I didn’t do anything special for storage. I simply placed in a covered cake stand and let it rest on the counter for 24 hours. The cake was still soft and moist once served the next day. It was an absolute hit for the vegans and non-vegans. Everyone asked me for the recipe! Thanks so much, Nora!
You are welcome, Kyla! I’m thrilled the cake was a hit at your party! Thanks for taking time to share your wonderful review and feedback!
I love this recipe it’s absolutely delicious my question is do you think it’s stable enough to use to as a stacked cake?
I have stacked it into 3 layers before and it works well.
Have you tried this with oat milk?
I’m making it for a kids birthday party and would prefer to leave any type of nut out of it. Thanks!
Yes, oat milk works well here. Hope everyone enjoys!
Hi Nora. I made this cake last weekend and will be doing so again on Friday. It was certainly delicious but it didn’t rise very much. I’m wondering if you have any suggestions. Thanks so much. I make alot of your recipies. You are my first stop when trying something new. So thank you.
Are you making any substitutions at all? Using all purpose flour? If it didn’t rise, check all your ingredients and that you are measuring everything accurately. And consider getting fresh baking powder and soda, in case yours are old or not working for some reason. And thank you, I’m glad you enjoy my recipes and I hope this helps!
No substitutions but I like your suggestion of new baking powder and soda. I will try that. Thanks so much!
You bet! Happy baking!
Since finding this recipe a couple of years ago, I make it for EVERY occasion that calls for a DELICIOUS chocolate cake! Make this cake and you will be amazed!
Every year I make this cake for my son’s birthday and every year it turns out perfectly and every year his friends say it is the best chocolate cake they have ever eaten, moist yet light and cannot believe it is a vegan recipe. This year was no different. Thank you Nora. As it’s name says, it is the best chocolate cake ever!
Can I use cake flour instead of AP flour?
Cake flour is too light to use for this particular cake recipe, but I love using it in most other cakes.
I just made the cake but totally forgot to add the boiling water! It’s in my fridge and i plan to frost tomorrow. Fingers crossed it won’t be too dry. How important is the boiling water??
The boiling water really makes the cake incredibly moist and fluffy, but I have forgotten it before and it turned out pretty good anyhow. Hope you enjoy it!
This is the vegan version of the best chocolate cake recipe on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa container. Absolutely delicious and a simple recipe!!
Yummy
The recipe name is no joke. This really is the best, i made them as cupcakes for my kids but i cant stop eating them they are sooooo good. Will be using the recipe to make one of my kids birthday cakes next month.
Hi Brittany. I’m thrilled you are loving the cake! Thanks for sharing your great review and feedback! Early happy birthday to your child!
I rarely leave comments on recipe blogs– usually because they never turn out quite as good as I hope or expect. But not this time!! THIS WAS DELICIOUS!
I made this as a surprise cake for a potluck for a coworker who is vegan AND also tries to avoid refined sugar! Her husband is diabetic so she is very accustomed to eating cleaner in general. So I did make a few tweaks! As far as the sugar, I added slightly less than 1 full cup of white sugar and then I added a loose 1/2 cup of Truvia brown sugar. (Important to note: Truvia brown sugar specifically is not as sweet as regular brown sugar, unlike other sugar substitutes products which taste oftentimes more sweet in comparison to real sugar.) So that’s how I accomplished lowering the refined sugar ratio in this. And honestly I think I could have put slightly less white sugar and it still would have been enjoyable.
The rest of the recipe I followed as instructed, until right at the end. When adding the boiling water. I did not add the full cup. I added a little at a time while mixing and stopped just shy of 3/4 cup of water. It was really watery!! I did read the notes about expecting it to be watery, which it was, but I was nervous to add any more. Plus since I had put slightly less sugar, I wasn’t sure how much that would affect the consistency.
I am so happy to say the cakes baked and rose very nice and evenly. I used two 8-inch pans. And the cakes baked in about 25 min. I let them cool and iced them. I could tell at that point that the cakes were soft. I iced it with a vegan vanilla buttercream, which was just equal parts margarine and shortening with some powdered sugar & vanilla. I didn’t go crazy with the powdered sugar, (again because the bday girl doesn’t like a lot of sugar) just enough to make it slightly sweet, mask some of the saltiness of the margarine, and make the icing spreadable. It was a semi-naked cake and everyone LOVED IT! Birthday girl & coworkers! They couldn’t believe it was all vegan!
I will definitely make this again and will make it the exact same way! Delicious!
The best chocolate cake I ever made!!!!
Even non vegans love it!!!! Thank you for sharing all your incredible recipes.
Can I use gluten free flour? Same measurements?
You can, but I recommend making this Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cake instead. It’s nearly identical to this cake, with tiny adjustments to make it gluten free and still incredible.
Made this for my daughter’s birthday, and people could not stop raving about it – and eating it. It’s a great recipe! I froze the layers after baking and cooling but before frosting. Then thawed them in the fridge for about 36 hours. I think freezing helps lock in the moisture. Non-vegans said it was the best cake they’d ever had!
Best cake ever! I made it for our family dinner that we are fasting for and everyone was amazed that it didn’t seem like it was missing a thing! It was delicious, moist and just absolutely perfect. I started adding some cherry pie filling in the middle layer and it just brings it to another level. Love this recipe!
My go to cake. I made it for my vegan daughter’s birthday last year and I use this recipe every time I need a chocolate cake. Can I sub 1 cup of coffee for the water? I know that can compliment a chocolate cake. Thank you so much!
Yes, you can. I do this sometimes, and I love it! I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipe.
Made this for my mom’s birthday! She and everyone else loved it. Delicious, moist and chocolatey
Hi Daniel. Happy birthday to your mom! I’m thrilled the cake was a hit! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
Wow oh wow, you weren’t kidding. This IS the best chocolate cake ever. Delicious, vegan or otherwise! My icing was a bit runny (I put 4 cups of confectioners sugar in) so next time I’ll add more of the confectioners sugar. This is SOOOOOOOO good.
This cake is amazing – I’m not vegan but it’s the best chocolate cake recipe I have. Does it freeze well?
Thank you! It freezes very well, yes.
This cake got me laid. Delicious and moist.
Can I make frosting 2 days before frosting cake?
You could; store it in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use. Then you’ll need to let it warm at room temperature for a while, until it’s spreadable as it will become very thick in the fridge.