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).
Hi Nora. My family loves this chocolate cake. I make it often. I have raved about it to my friends and one friend asked if it could be made in a bundt pan.
Hi! So glad your family loves the cake! Yes, you can make it in a bundt pan. It will need 40-45 minutes in the oven.
Can I use eggs to replace the apple sauce?
I don’t have apple sauce, flax or egg replacement. I’m aware it won’t be vegan afterwards – I just need it to be dairy free for my daughter.
I think that will work just fine, yes. Enjoy!
Thank you so much, Nora!
Cake turned out beautifully 🙂
You are very welcome, Rhett! How fabulous the cake turned out beautifully! Thanks for your awesome review!
Hello, do the sponges freeze ok? I need to make it in advance of my sons birthday. Many thanks.
Hi Poppy. The cake does freeze well. You could freeze it with the frosting, though I actually think it’s better to freeze the cooked and cool cakes, wrapped well. Then make the frosting fresh once you thaw the cakes. If you need to freeze the whole thing, it will work. Enjoy the cake, and happy birthday to your son!
The cake is delicious but I chose to do cupcakes and they all got stuck to the liners. My suggestion is to spray the liner before baking. I will definitely make this recipe again though. The cake was so moist.
Hi Colleen. I’m so glad you liked the cake! You got the cupcake ‘must-do’ down – when making cupcakes, spray the cupcake wrappers with oil so that the cupcakes can be easily removed from the paper. Wishing you happy cooking!
The cake itself is tasty but I was following the recipe exactly (inc tin size) and after 35 min the centre was still not cooked. I left it in for another 10 min but unfortunately it was still underbaked (think brownie consistency). I took it out worried that I might overbake because of how much longer it was in than instructed. So as a warning to others maybe take that as a minimum cooking time.
Love your recipes! If I wanted to make a 9×9 square would I half this or would one recipe be good? Also how would I change the cooking time?
Hi Jamie. Thanks for using my recipes! I’m glad you are loving them! Yes, half a recipe should work well for a 9×9 pan. About a 40 minute bake time should work, however, it’s best to keep an eye on it as ovens vary. Happy baking!
What’s a good substitute for apple cider vinegar hear?
If you have white vinegar, you could sub that, or lemon juice. The vinegar can also be left out, if needed. The cake will still be good!
Hi 🙂 Can I trust the metric conversion of this recipe or is this automated somehow? I was sometimes comparing the numbers with the ‘usual’ cup to grams conversion and it seemed a bit off -?
Also can I make the dough the day before or will it dry out too much?
Thank you!
The metric conversion is correct. I would not make the batter a day before and wait to bake, but you can completely bake the cake layers a day before. Not quite sure what you meant there. They won’t dry out too much in one day.
I made this chocolate cake for my vegan neighbors without trying the recipe first. I was a little scared about serving something without trying it first – especially since I am not vegan. But it was a spur of the moment invite and I needed a vegan recipe 🙂 This recipe truly is the best vegan chocolate cake recipe. It was great! everybody loved it. I made the recipe exactly as described. Thank you!
Can I substitute Unsweetened oat milk for almond milk?
Yes that’s fine.
Is this cake suppose to rise alot. It didn’t for me, don’t know if I made a mistake with the rising agents. Although the proportion looks similar to that of the image, which is not too thick.
It definitely rises somewhat and should not be dense. It should be very moist but fluffy.
Hi Nora! Love your recipes! How can I turn this into a chocolate orange cake? X
I’d probably try adding a little orange extract (perhaps around 2-3 teaspoons) and maybe even substitute 1/2 of the boiling water for orange juice. Sounds good!
Hi Nora, I substituted applesauce with flax egg and canola oil with avacado oil. I also put in less sugar (maybe a bit more than a cup). The cake tasted nice ( some avacado oil aftertaste maybe) and while it was mostly set and moist, it was a bit crumbly with slicing. Great recipe, any advice to make it hold together when slicing? Thank you!
For cleaner cake slices, refrigerate the frosted cake for a few hours before slicing. It should not fall apart though when you slice it even when not cold, that might be because you reduced the sugar perhaps. Or maybe the cake needed to cool for longer before you frosted it.
I am excited to try this. Could I use avocado oil instead of coconut or canola oil?
Yes, I like using avocado oil in baking.
This cake is perfect! Made it for a party and it was a hit and definitely will make again! Thanks for the recipe!
hello, could you please advise, What gluten free flower I can use instead?
You can simply substitute a quality gluten free flour like Better Batter or King Arthur Measure for Measure, but I prefer to make my Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Cake, which is almost identical but gluten free.
Hello Nora, can’t wait to make this. My grandchildren are not vegan but they are allergic to eggs and tree nuts. Can I make this cake with regular whole milk and butter? If so, with the same measurements? Thank you so much!
I think you can, but I’ve never tried it myself. The same measurements should be just fine. Hope you enjoy it!
The BEST! My non-vegan parents and brother couldn’t stop saying how good this was, I think they were genuinely blown away. Thanks for another winner, Nora!
You are welcome, Deborah! I’m thrilled the cake was a hit! Thanks for sharing your awesome review and feedback!
Absolutely love the vegan chocolate cake! I actually used gluten free flour to address a gluten allergy and it was delicious!
This is what I needed to know. I have a wheat allergy. Thanks for that info!
SO GOOD! I was a pastry chef for seven years so I am really picky and this cake was delicious!
I have a vegan guest in town so I made it without testing it first and everyone loved it. I would definitely make it again.
I did use 8” cake pans because that’s what I have and it still turned out great, just a little bit thicker.
I am so excited to try this recipe out for my nephews birthday!! Would it be the same measurements to substitute monk fruit sugar? I know it’s a bit more sweet, which is why I ask.
Hi Glory. This is a well loved cake, and I think you guys are going to really enjoy it! Happy birthday to your nephew! I have never substituted monk sugar for this cake, however, others have and said it turned out well. One user indicated they used 1/2 cup, however, would use 1 full cup next time. I hope it works well for you! Happy baking to you!
Hi Nora, have you made this with any other egg alternatives besides applesauce? Does it have the same taste and texture? I’ve made cakes with each alternative before, but I like applesauce better and I’m all out. And I’m. It sure how it turns out with this cake with bananas or flax.
Thanks!!
I’ve used flax eggs before and it worked well. I’ve also used vegan yogurt. I wouldn’t use banana just because I think it will add too much banana flavor to the cake. I hope that helps!
Wow!!! You never disappoint, Nora!! This was SO easy, SO moist & delicious!! Used a 9 X 13 and baked for 50 minutes. Pure perfection!! Thanks so much for this!!
It really is the best vegan chocolate cake recipe 😋
Thanks for your awesome review! I’m thrilled you are loving the cake!
Hi Nora,
I have made this cake for a 21st birthday celebration and it was great! Rave reviews from vegans and everyone else. Have you ever frozen the cake? I would like to make this and do half as cupcakes and maybe half in a round cake pan. Could I freeze the round cake, no icing? Does it freeze well?
Yep, the cake freezes great, frosted OR unfrosted. Just make sure to wrap it well.
Quick question – can this frosting be piped (e.g. if I tried to pipe some rosettes onto the top after icing it) or is the consistency too soft?
Yes, I usually do use some of the frosting for piping on top or on the sides of the cake.
Question, have you ever tried this recipe with a springform pan? Or would the batter be too runny. I love this recipe, have made it dozens of times to perfection each time!
I’ve never tried it personally. I think it would be too much batter for one springform pan. I’m so glad you love this recipe!
It is the BEST chocolate cake recipe in my arsenal, hands down. And I always share the link, because this deliciousness should be known by all! I made it again this weekend for a birthday party and it was a smashing success. 💖
Hi Diana. Thank you for sharing my recipe, as well as your awesome review and feedback! I am thrilled you are loving the cake!
I have made this recipe over 15 times (I’ve lost count) over the past few years for cakes and cupcakes, for vegans and non vegans! It’s my go to chocolate cake because it’s so incredible! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Hi Nora, I’m making this cake for my little brothers birthday and i was wondering if you have any tips for stopping the cake from getting stodgy?
Have you made it before? I think stodgy means dense, right? It never comes out dense for me, so if you follow the instructions exactly, it should be fluffy and moist. Hope everyone enjoys it!