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).
What can I use to sub apple cider vinegar?
Lemon juice or white vinegar.
Ok, thank you so much! Love your recipes! 🙂
This is really the best chocolate cake recipe – it doesn’t’t need the vegan stipulation. Originally, I made this cake because my son is allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, peas, flax,…the list goes on. I use rice milk instead of soy or almond because of that. I will NEVER make a different chocolate cake. This one turn out perfect every time. My very non-vegan extended family raves about it every time. Delicious!!
I am thrilled to read that everyone loves my cake recipe! Thank you, Cassie, for taking your time to share your wonderful review!
Can you make and freeze this ahead of time?
Yes, the entire cake freezes well, or you can freeze the cake layers ahead of time, then make the frosting another day. Both work well.
I made this with cake flour instead of AP flour and it turned out beautifully! Super fluffy and the perfect amount of moisture. Will probably skip the simple syrup on this as I feel it’ll disintegrate if you added it. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Does the 1 cup of boiling water work added with every cake recipe?
No, unfortunately it does not. I have tried it with other cakes but it only works for chocolate cake! 🙂
Absolutely amazing. This is the first time I have rated a recipe but couldnt help myself. Vegan or not, truly the best chocolate cake I have ever made.
Hi Mary. I thank you for taking your time to share your review! I’m glad that you loved the cake!
Can you make and freeze this cake? I’ll need to make it about three days beforehand…thank you!
Yes, you can freeze it. Works great!
I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday today. It was super moist and delicious!!! I would definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thank you for taking time to share your review, Angie! Happy birthday to your daughter! I’m glad your cake turned out delicious!
The name says it all: it’s the best vegan chocolate cake! Thank you, Nora! I think you have the best food blog right now.
Hi Kenna. I am honored by your kind review! Thank you for sharing, and I’m glad you love the cake!
Thank you so much for this. My LO has MSPI and I am avoiding dairy, egg, soy and peanut. This is going to be his first birthday cake.
Hi Karma. I’m so glad he’s getting a birthday cake! Thank you for sharing your review, and happy cooking!
Delicious! Thank you for this great recipe!
This recipe is amazing. I had to make a death by chocolate vegan wedding cake so found your recipe. The only change was I added a tablespoon of instant espresso to the boiling water before adding to the cake batter. It added an extra rich flavor. I used your vegan chocolate ganache recipe with dark chocolate to make a think layer filling with the buttercream and added the rest on top for decoration. Super easy to make!
Note: The cakes came out to be a little over an inch high using the 9 inch pans. I cut the cakes in half to make 4 thin layers with 3/4 inch of butter cream in between so I did need to double the frosting recipe.
Thank for sharing your great review! It’s always fun for me to learn the cake recipe is being used for a wedding cake!
My partner and I made this cake for 16 portions and ate the entire thing ourselves in 4 days. It’s DELICIOUS but I would suggest cutting the icing by half and adding a little coffee to the icing for a richer flavour.
It’s also perfectly doable to hand mix everything but the icing will come out slightly lumpy (still delicious).
Thanks! So glad you both enjoyed it!
My niece (who is not vegan quite yet) made this gorgeous chocolate cake for me for my birthday, and I’m hooked! I must admit, my own baking failings had me bracing myself for the worst, but this cake matches the best at the local vegan bakery. She told me it was a surprisingly easy recipe and had fun making it.
Hi Michaela! Happy birthday to you! I’m so glad you loved the cake, and ventured out to make it yourself! I appreciate you taking your time to share your review! Happy cooking!
Absolutely delicious. My very picky son loved it. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your review, Jill! I’m glad you and your son liked the cake!
Hi there, I have made this for my vegan best friend and it has made enough for 2 cakes (luckily another friend has her bday this week too!) but there’s still lots of icing left over. Can I freeze the icing (fronsting)?
Thanks for a great recipe
How nice of you, I hope she loves it! Yes, you can freeze the leftover icing. Thank you!
Hi Nora,
just to give you a heads up – it probably comes as no surprise to you… but I made it yesterday… (drum rolls) and the cake came out superbly!
Fantastic texture! And really spot-on flavours.
It’s incredible how good it comes out, especially considering what a poor baker I am!
I ended up following your note .2 and making it into a 1 layer cake. I added some fruits (strawberries, blueberries & raspberries) on the top, along with a few chocolate coffee beans. My friends and I really enjoyed it. Will definitely make it again.
I used only half of the ingredients for the frosting and there was leftover so I’ll make a note for next time to make even less.
P.S: I will follow your advice on using the same pan twice for next time.
Thanks for sharing this recipe <3
Hi Manon. Thank you for taking time to share your fantastic review! I’m so glad you and your friends enjoyed the cake! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I have only one cake pan. Can I use it and later cut the cake instead?
Thanks! Xx
I would not bake it in one 8-9 inch cake pan. Instead, bake one at a time, keeping the cake batter in the refrigerator until the pan is free. It will not bake right and will be a mess to cut. Thanks!
This cake is amazing! Vegans and non vegans love it when I make it. Absolutely delicious!!
Thanks for sharing, Moira! I’m glad everyone loves the cake!
Omg !! Amazing cake. Had a really time baking this cake. Subbed rice vinegar for ACV, tasted amazing! Maybe even too sweet, considering using 1/2 beet purée 1/2 apple next time. And a bummer was that the cake did not come out and some stuck to the pan.. maybe could have cooled longer and greased better. But overall wow! I love how plant based ingredients can achieve similar chemistry to animal products <3
So glad you enjoyed the cake! I always place a round of parchment paper in the bottom of my cake pans and spray them very well with oil. It helps a lot!
This is the best chocolate cake I have ever made! Because I have food allergies to wheat, dairy and eggs I have a difficult time finding good recipes for cake. I had to substitute Bob’s 1:1 gluten free flour, and I didn’t have applesauce so I added a bit more oil. This recipe is so forgiving, and it turned out fantastic! My family who usually passes on my food/dessert options LOVED this too.
Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so thrilled you found a cake you can eat, Pam! Thank you for sharing your review! I’m glad you and your family love the cake!
Everyone loved it and couldn’t believe it was vegan (and gluten free – oops I didn’t see the gluten free version until it was in the oven but it was still great!)
Thanks for sharing your review, Tina! I’m glad the cake was a hit!
Can you make this a white/vanilla cake just by omitting the cocoa powder?
No, it doesn’t work, I’ve tried it.
The cake was fabulous! Can I use gluten free flour?
It works quite well but for best results go make my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, which is based on this cake but made perfect gluten free. 🙂
This is the BEST chocolate cake I have ever tasted! My rating is a 10, hands down. Looking forward to making your lemon cake. I love lemon also.
Thank you for sharing your review, Rusty! I’m glad you love the cake! Enjoy the lemon cake as well! Happy cooking!
This cake is so incredibly good! It is easy to make and comes out so fudgy and tasty. Big hit in our house! Now our dairy free kid can eat cake without pain. So SOOO good!
How great that everyone can enjoy the cake! I’m glad you guys all love it! Thank you for taking time to share your review!