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 is quite truly the most amazing Vegan cake recipe ever! Incredibly moist, light and fluffy and beyond decadent! I added orange zest to the batter and frosting because I’m obsessed with the chocolate orange combination. This recipe will leave you drooling for more!!
Thanks for the great comment! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
Should be called THE BEST DAMN VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER because it actually is!!!!!!everybody that’s tried this cake has LOVED IT!!! Vegan and not OMG you will not go wrong..Nora I love allllll of your recipes and even though I haven’t tried them all, girl I am so happy I found you! Makes my vegan lifestyle that much more exciting !!! Yayyyyy don’t ever stopppp
Wow, thank you so much for such a kind comment!
You are sooo welcoming and so deserving !!!! Xoxoxo
Hi, i wanted to know if you can substituent the almond milk for soy milk? im dealing with a milk and nut allergy, so we cant use almond milk. Would the soy have a weird reaction with the ACV?
Yes that’s no problem. Enjoy!
One of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had. I am not vegan but this cake may turn me! I will be making it time and time again. Amazing!
Thanks so much for the comment! I’m glad it was amazing. 🙂
If I wanted to make a day ahead, does it need to stay refrigerated until eaten?
It doesn’t need to be refrigerated. Sometimes I refrigerate it because I think it tastes pretty darn good cold, but it’s not necessary.
I just have a quick question. Does adding the water not alter/dilute the taste of the chocolate and/or sweetness of the cake? Is the amount of sugar listed enough to counter the water? I’m assuming it all works out just fine based on the tons of positive reviews but my anxiety wouldn’t let me go without inquiring lol
Nope, it works perfectly as you can see from the reviews. Give it a go! 🙂
Can this be baked in a single 9 x 13 pyrex dish? Am excited to bake this as a surprise for my vegan husband! Thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipes!
Yes, it could, it just needs to cook for a bit longer, maybe an extra 10-15 minutes. Hope you both enjoy the cake!
Do excited to try this. I am so thankful for the work you put in to creating options for those of us who have to avoid dairy. Makes my heart happy
Thanks for the comment! It’s my good pleasure. 🙂
I made this for a vegan friendsgiving. I’m not vegan and this is my new favorite chocolate cake. It’s amazingly moist. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out amazing. My vegan friend LOVED it. I used the canola oil instead of coconut oil because I don’t like the coconut taste in my chocolate. I used the vegan butter to grease the sides of the pan before flouring. It was a little ‘crusty’ looking but tasted fine. I’ve read you can also ‘flour’ with cocoa powder so I may try that next time. I’m making this again for Christmas and going to try to sub in a gluten free flour for my friend with celiac’s disease. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
I’m so glad you like this cake! Thanks for the wonderful comment. 🙂
THE. BEST.
Thanks!
Absolutely love this recipe. I made it for my son’s 2nd birthday party. He is allergic to eggs and dairy. It received rave reviews from everyone. My nephew said “this was better than regular cake”. I typically use vanilla oat milk instead of the almond milk. I have made it several more times and it evens works great with Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free baking mix instead of regular flour. This recipe is a keeper!!
Thanks so much for a great comment! I’m glad it turned out great!
Hi, what can I substitute vegan butter with if I can’t find it?
Vegetable shortening works pretty well for the frosting, or some sort of non-dairy margarine.
Delicious and super moist. Everyone raved about this cake and frosting.
I’m so glad everyone liked it!
Every year I am forbidden from cooking anything for Thanksgiving, because quite frankly I can’t cook. Well this year i wanted to contribute so I googled vegan cake recipes and came across yours. I was so nervous and feared I would be teased for bringing something no one liked. Holy Smokes! My cake( your recipe) was a HIT! Everyone loved it…even my mom! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Kendra
What a wonderful comment! I’m glad it came out great!
It looks absolutely delicious !
Very good. I was nervous because it was different. I made it for my vegan daughter birthday. Thank you
I NEVER comment on posts but I’ve made this three times now and every time it’s perfect! Everyone loves it! It’s more moist than any other cake recipe I’ve made!
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoy the cake recipe!
Hi, can I make this as cupcakes? Does the cooking time change?
18-22 minutes should do it. Thanks!
Excellent! Super easy recipe. The cake was a big hit! This is my new go-to chocolate cake recipe.
This cake was absolutely delicious! I’m wondering if it could be adapted at all to be gluten free?
Many people have made it with a gluten free flour mix with great results, so yes! Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
Could I use vegan Becel instead for the butter? I can’t find the vegan butter sticks and wondering if you think that would work as well for the icing? 🙂
I think it should work just fine, I’ve never personally tried Becal but it looks very similar to vegan butter.
I am interested in making this cake into cupcakes. Would anything need to be adjusted? Thanks
They work well as cupcakes. You just need to adjust the baking time, cupcakes will only take about 18-22 minutes to be done. Thanks!
Could I use oat milk?
Yes oat milk will work.
Can this batter be frozen?
I’m not sure I have never tried freezing it, sorry!
This was every bit as good as you describe! Fabulous recipe!