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).
Best cake I have ever made! My daughter is vegan and gushed about it. Best bday cake ever!!
Hi! I saw this recipe and I loved it, I would like to make this cake for my daughter’s 1st birthday! She probably won’t eat much of it, just a tiny slice. But can u tell me if it stays very bitter without the sugar and if I need to replace the cider or can I do without it? And if I should replace the cocoa powder for carob flour? I’m sorry for so much questions! Thank u already!!!
Hi there! I don’t think it would taste good with no sugar at all, probably would be quite bitter. You can leave out the vinegar if needed. And I don’t know how it would turn out with carob instead of cocoa, it will taste quite different. Hope that helps!
Yummy perfectly moist cupcakes with this recipe
How much aquafaba should I use if don’t have applesauce?
I would try it with the same amount, but I have never tested it with aquafaba. Pretty sure it will work fine though!
So happy with the way this cake turned out. The recipe was really straight forward, and I stuck to the recommended ingredients. It’s by far the best cake I’ve made in a long time! It’s a keeper – thank you!
You’re so welcome! Thanks for the great comment!
My sister just came out of brain surgery and requested this cake as her “coming home gift”! Thank you for sharing these wonderful recipes with us.
Wow, that’s so great!! I wish her a speedy recovery!
My daughter has an egg white allergy, and I tried this recipe because she was tired of banana nut birthday cakes and wanted chocolate cake. This is one of the best tasting chocolate cakes I’ve made. I can’t wait to try the other cake recipes.
Forgot to mention, I replace the boiling water with STRONG coffee… sooooo good!
Hello, I would like to give a coffee flavor twist to the cream. Do you think that replacing 1 cup of cocoa powder for 1/2 cup of cocoa and 1/2 cup of coffee powder will work?
It probably would, yes, but I haven’t tried it. Let me know how you like it!
The whole family and kids loved it.. I add 1_1/4 of sugar instead of 1_3/4.
Turned out perfect.
That’s so great to hear!!
I’m no vegan, but made this for someone in my office that is. I thought this would be my first and last vegan cake. This is such a great chocolate cake and such a hit with everyone (only 1 person is vegan) that this will be made many times more.
I love to hear that!! Thanks for the comment!
Just made it, looks amazing but curious. How do I sure it if we’re not eating it until tomorrow? Fridge or counter. Thanks
Either is fine, I generally store it in the refrigerator though.
Hi Nora!
I only have sweetened applesauce. Will this make a difference, do you think?
Thank you!
It will probably work just fine. I don’t think it’s really a problem.
Love this cake recipe ! Can I use unbleached all purpose flour instead of all purpose flour? Does coconut oil make a difference instead of canola ? Thanks, love all your recipes 🙂
Yes, I usually do use unbleached flour. Coconut oil should work fine. Thanks so much!
Wow, a brilliant cake. It worked exactly as you said. It was light, fluffy but moist and luxurious! Magic!
Thanks so much!!
Seriously, this is an amazing cake! I made it for my daughter for her birthday and everyone loved it!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for the comment!
Awesome!! So moist, chocolaty and sweet. Perfect birthday cake optio
Thanks!
This is just the best cake ever. It is so rich and tasty and gooey. I have ended up making it again because so many people who got a slice of the last one keep talking about it and honking on for me to make. Never need another chocolate cake recipe again. Thank you :):)
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad it was a hit!
Absolutely delicious. I made this for my daughter for her birthday. Moist and delicious. No weird ingredients i didn’t already have in my pantry. This is a keeper. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
hello Nora, this is absolutely a very tasty and healthy recipe. We enjoyed it much. If I want to have a 3 layer 8 inch cake what will I do with the recipe? Add half?
Thank you so much =)
Yes, I would do 1.5 times the recipe. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind reply. May I further ask if how tall the 3-layer cake would be using this recipe? Thank you
If you were to 1.5 times the recipe, it might be around 6 inches tall all together, but I’m not exactly sure. Thanks!
Can I substitute the flour in this for gluten free flour?
I have used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour with pretty good results. I think many other people have commented using a gluten free mix as well. It’s slightly different but it works.
Is it possible that beating too long or not long enough could make the cake flat/not rise? The only other thing I would have to check is my oven temp; I’m sure my baking powder and soda are fine because I use them quickly.
It’s possible but I have never had that problem simply from beating too long or not long enough. It’s pretty forgiving in my experience making it probably hundreds of times. Did you make any other substitutions with ingredients?
This cake was so delicious! Even my entire non vegan family loved it! Thank you so much this will definitely be a birthday staple for me in the future. Sooo moist
Ugh! I’m out of baking soda! Can I substitute with thing?
I haven’t tried this, but it may work fine by substituting more baking powder instead of the baking soda. I would try using 1.5 tablespoons baking powder. Hope that works!
It was one of the best chocolate cake I ever eaten in my life. Can not believe it is vegan cake. loved it !!!
Hi Nora,
I just baked them but they are very flat. Maybe 1cm thick. Is that normal? I used the metric system.
Nope, that doesn’t sound right at all! Did you make any substitutions with the flour or anything else? What size pans did you use? When followed exactly and made in two 8 or 9 inch round pans, the cake layers are a good few inches thick.
That just happened to me too. I’ve made the cake before and I love the taste, but it doesn’t usually rise a lot for me. Today, the cakes look like they really didn’t rise at all. I used 9″ pans. The only substitution I made was using oat milk rather than almond but I can’t imagine that affecting the rise. Maybe?
I don’t see why oat milk would make a difference, but perhaps it’s a bit heavy for the cake. Try it with almond or soy milk, I have used both without problems. And make sure your baking powder and soda are not old or a bad batch.
Amazing cake! I’ve made many cakes before and this one was THE BEST! (Whether vegan or otherwise). My entire non-vegan family was obsessed with it too. I had my doubts when I saw how runny the hot water made the batter look, but holy-moly! What a perfectly moist cane which held together perfectly. I’ve bookmarked this recipe. Thank you!!
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad everyone liked it!!