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.
Sign-up to get new recipes by email and receive a FREE 5 Day Family Friendly Vegan Meal Plan! SUBSCRIBE NOW.
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).
I never comment on recipes I find, but I had to for this one. I had to make a vegan birthday cake but specifically wanted to enjoy it, as well, so gave this one a try because I figured the ingredients were simple enough. All I can say is WOW. This is out of the ballpark. Compliments were never ending, and the quality is truly fancy bakery level. And, the best part: not only were ingredients not some obscure items you’d have to search high and low for (all the ingredients were already in our pantry!), but it is SO EASY to mix up and put together. It’s a keeper, thanks !
Thank you so much, what a wonderful comment!
Is the best vegan cake recipe I tried.
Absolutely amazing job on this recipe. I’ve been baking since I was 7, and baked for orders to include cakes, cupcakes, etc., before going WFPB vegan about 4 1/2 months ago. I haven’t explored with vegan baking, because I never had a need to. However, I needed to bake a cake for a family members birthday and I thought why not make it vegan. This recipe was a godsend. I’ve baked countless amounts of chocolate cakes in the past and this is the best by a long shot. I haven’t even assembled it yet, waiting for the cakes and frosting to cool, but I’ve tried a little of each and wow. Thank you.
A few adjustments I made, to my liking/lack of ingredients:
-Hemp milk instead or almond milk
-1/2 more cocoa powder in cake
-1 tbsp of espresso powder in cake (to enhance chocolate flavor)
-1/2 cup less sugar in cake
-2 cups less powdered sugar in frosting
-omitted plant milk in frosting (because of intended lack of sugar)
-Natural Grocer’s brand of plant based baking sticks instead of Earth Balance
This cake is so amazing! We are a vegan family and I have already baked it twice and it finishes off within a day ? However, it breaks apart. I let it cool completely and then put the frosting but it still breaks apart. Do you know what might be causing that?
I’m so glad your family enjoys the cake! You might be overbaking it, leading to it breaking apart. Some ovens run hotter than others, so perhaps try baking it 5-10 minutes less and checking with a toothpick that it’s done. That’s my best guess! 🙂
I look forward to trying this recipe for my brother’s graduation! I was wondering if I could replace the all purpose flour with cake flour?
You might be able to but the cake is tender enough as it is, it might be a little too light for the recipe. I’ve never tried it so I’m not sure. Hope you all enjoy it!
This is a great vegan recipe. I’ll make this again for sure. I used monk fruit instead of regular sugar.
I’m glad you liked it!!
I just made this cake last night for my brothers birthday. He’s vegan and it’s so hard to find a good cake recipe that isn’t a rubbery mess. I made it using three 6 inch pans and put cherry jam between the layers. Not only did my brother say it was the best vegan cake he had ever had, his 3 friends devoured the whole thing in less than an hour (teenagers ha ha). My dad, who is very old fashioned and doesn’t usually even try vegan treats, said it was so impressed with how it turned out that he asked me to make it again for him for Father’s Day. So thankful I found this recipe that the whole family can enjoy!
Wow, what a great comment!! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Hey! I was wondering did you double the recipe for the 3 six inch pans?
I’m in the midst of moving and realize I only have one cake pan as the others are packed! If I cook this one cake at a time, will the boiling water cooling down have any effect? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this cake!!
I tested this recently and it worked fine for me (I actually made a triple layer cake). It can affect the cake results, but mine turned out fine so hopefully yours will too!
Amazing!!!
I have made this cake several times and it is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had… and it’s vegan!!! Definitely my go-to recipe 🙂
I’m a cook not a baker. My daughter is vegan so I wanted to make her a vegan chocolate cake to celebrate her college graduation. I googled and this recipe appeared. Absolutely, positively the most delicious chocolate cake any of us have ever tasted. Ever! Lots of ingredients but totally worth it.
I’m so glad it was great!! Congrats to your daughter!
Can i freeze this cake after baking and before icing you assemble later? My party is on saturday and i have time to bake today!
***to assemble later. typo!
Yes, that works fine!
My very first time making a cake from starch and a vegan cake if that. It was easy and SOO GOOD !
I’m so excited to hear that it was good!!
I have Bob’s egg replacer. Do you think that will work well? Or should I stick with the applesauce method?
It would probably work fine, perhaps 2 “eggs” replaced. But if you have applesauce I would stick with that.
Can I use melted chocolate instead of chocolate powder?
Kind regards
Sorry I don’t think that would work!
This is truly the best vegan chocolate cake!!! I used aquafaba instead of applesauce and coconut oil instead of canola. I also only used about 3/4 of the icing. Turned out AMAZING!!! Will definitely be making this again! Thanks Nora! 🙂
You’re welcome!! So glad it was good!
Can I make it with gluten free flour?
If you use a gluten free flour mix it should work quite well.
Can I substitute unsweetened coconut milk?
Yes, that works.
I never leave reviews on anything but feel obligated to here. This cake is truly the BEST! My non vegan family and friends have all asked for the recipe saying it’s the best cake they’ve ever had. Thanks so much for this recipe!!
You’re so welcome! And thanks for the comment!!
Hands down BEST chocolate cake! Bonus easy to make!
Thanks so much!! And thanks for the comment!
I’ve replaced the apple sauce with mashed banana, soft ripped bananas same quantities, came out great ?
Made this cake for a baby shower and it was a big hit! Even the non-vegan, gluten eaters were crazy about it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and everyone else did too. Thank you!
Delish! Didn’t have applesauce so I cooked a sweet potato in the microwave and puréed with the mixer. Also sprinkled dark chocolate chips over the batter before baking. So good that my steadfast non vegan husband and son loved it.
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for the great comment!
Made this recipe for my sisters birthday (June 5th) and everyone loved it!!❤️ It was so easy to make too!
I’m so glad to hear that!!
Amazingly good. Moist and rich. Best chocolate cake I’ve ever had
Thank you so much for the great comment!