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).
This is now my go-to chocolate cake recipe. Thank you!
One more thing – I just printed out this recipe and noticed that “Nora Cooks” does not appear on the printed out version. You might want to fix that to make sure that everyone knows that they’re eating YOUR fabulous food.
Aw thanks! I did not realize that! 🙂
You’re welcome!
wow just wow, it makes me feel like I am a pro baker…and it is my second time making anytype of cake.
Neighbor brought this cake over; we all went nuts over it! I’m going to make it for a friends birthday next weekend.
Can you use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder?
Sure, that’s not a problem! So glad you enjoyed it!
Can I make the frosting a day ahead?
Yes, you just might need to let it sit out at room temperature until it softens a little for spreading.
OH MY GOODNESS! This chocolate cake is the best and was a big hit. My friend asked me to make a wedding cake for their party. I made this chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. One batch was two 9in. layers and the second batch made two 6 inch layers plus 8 cupcakes. It came out beautiful and most importantly the bride and groom were so happy and pleased with this cake. I did chill the cake to firm it up as it was a warm day. It served up beautifully and held its crumb. Delicious.
Hi Nora! I’m about to do your cake for the second time as the first was an absolute success. It’s the birthday of one of my colleagues on Wednesday: the problem is I work very late during the week and even one hour cooking after work might be too long. Do you think I could bake the cake on Sunday and keep it in the fridge until Wednesday? Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
Thank you!! I think Sunday to Wednesday would probably be okay in the fridge, but I might stick the whole cake in the freezer just to be sure it stays fresh. Then, just thaw it, perhaps Tuesday night in the fridge so it’s not frozen when you serve it.
I only have unsweetened soy milk on hand and I need a last minute birthday cake..(and there were no eggs in the fridge!) …Let’s hope it works!!
That will work fine! Enjoy!
can I substitute the all purpose flour with almond flour or combo of almond/coconut flour. I have a gluten allergy and need the conversion . Thanks for your help.
Almond flour and coconut flour will likely not work here, but you can use a gluten free flour mix! Many have commented that they had success with doing this. Thanks!
Whew made this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday and it’s the best chocolate cake we have ever had including non-vegan cake. SO moist!!!! so DELICIOUS. We shamefully ate the whole thing together lol there will be a yearly limit on how many times this is made.
I’m so glad to hear it was great!
I made this cake yesterday for my daughters birthday. She has recently begun a vegan diet- so it’s totally new to me. I’m an experienced baker, but a vegan cake and frosting seemed to me that it couldn’t come close to the “real thing” I WAS WRONG!!! It was super moist and fudgy, and was easy to make! I put a raspberry filling in the middle layer to break up the chocolate, but that was the only change I made. The cocoa frosting was smooth and very fudgy as well. My daughter was very happy and so was I! THANK YOU NORA!!!!!
You’re so welcome! Thanks for the comment!
Second time I’m making this cake and everyone loves it. Only thing I did differently was made peanut butter frosting. It’s the absolutely the best cake ever! Thanks Nora!
You’re welcome!
So easy to make and absolutely delicious!!!!
Hello! Would it be okay if I didn’t use applesauce and instead substituted it with extra milk and oil (half and half)?
That should be fine. I made it the other day using vegan yogurt instead of applesauce and it worked well. Thanks!
Hi. I made this for my husband’s bday. The milk did not curdle. It wasn’t moist. Taste was good.
Something must have gone wrong because this cake is about as moist as it gets. But it’s hard to know what went wrong without more information. Did you forget to add the boiling hot water?
Hey Nora! I made this cake a few times and it’s so good. I love everything about it. My aunt has a birthday coming up and I want to make this for her but she’s allergic to gluten. Do you think I can replace the flour with gluten free flour or a nut flour?
Thank you!
Thank you! A good gluten free flour mix is your best option, not almond flour or another nut flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur brands. Hope that helps!
Do you use dark chocolate cocao powder or normal chocolate?
Just regular cocoa powder, not dutch processed. Though either works fine!
Thank you Nora for this incredible recipe. This is by far the moistest tastiest chocolate cake I have EVER made (vegan or otherwise). This will be my “go to” chocolate cake recipe from now on. We stored it in the fridge and for some reason it gets better each day (I’m eating a slice right now as I’m writing this review haha). The batter is very runny when you pour it into the tin as per the recipe which I wasn’t used to, but it TOTALLY WORKS! The only change I made was using Cacao instead of Cocoa because that’s what I had in my pantry. So glad I have this recipe now and I’m sure I will make it time and time again.
Thank you so much! I totally agree it gets better the next day somehow!
Can the sugar be replaced with stevia?
I’m not sure, generally you use a little stevia for a lot of sugar so the texture will be off. Perhaps a 1:1 sugar alternative though.
This cake is amazing!!! Its moist and lovely, and everyone in our house loves it. I’m not vegan but my son is allergic to eggs and this is my new go-to recipe. The only problem is that its sooooo good you want to eat the whole thing in one go ?
This was truly fabulous. I made cupcakes for my son-in-law‘s birthday. Super easy recipe. Moist and delicious. I cut the recipe in half for the frosting and still had more than enough. There was enough batter for 30 cupcakes. Topped them all with the raspberry in the middle.
How much ahead can I make this recipe? Would the day before be ok?
Yes, even 2 days ahead would be fine.
Better on day 2 than on day 1 haha!!
I’m vegan and wanted to make a vegan cake for my 18th birthday that my non vegan family wouldn’t be able to tell was vegan. They ended up loving it and said it was even better than traditional chocolate cakes. Overall, the cake is amazing!! Great recipe ☺️
That’s so great to hear!
Can this recipe be made with Dutch processed cocoa? The only cocoa powders I have are that and one that may vegetarian friendly, but not vegan and I don’t really want to have to buy more cocoa powder.
Yes, I do this sometimes, it works perfectly well. Your cake and frosting will be darker than mine in the photos here.
Soooo much better than traditional chocolate cakes I agree!!
Hi Nora, I only have a avocado oil or earth balance sunflower oil spread. Can either be used in place of the canola or coconut oil?
Either is totally fine here.
Delicious recipe! Made this for my (non-vegan) father’s birthday and he was very happy with it! Turned out perfect. I did find even with halving the icing, there was still a bit much but I guess that depends on your preference 🙂
I made this recipe for the first time today, and everyone loved it. In fact, one person told me it was the best cake she had ever had in her life! I too, thought it was delicious and will definitely be making it again. Thank you!
You’re welcome!