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).
Amazing recipe! So moist, rich, and delicious! No one ever believes me that it is vegan! I’ve made it successfully GF too just by subbing with 1:1 all purpose GF flour. Thanks so much!
Hi, do you have to refrigerate the cake ??
No, you don’t have to. It will stay fresh longer if you do, but it does not need to be refrigerated.
Absolutely a-maze-ing! This turned out so good. Plus, I could just eat all the frosting and be happy. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi, can I use coconut sugar instead of the granulated sugar for the chocolate cake ?
I haven’t personally tried it but I don’t see why it would be a problem. It would just change the flavor a bit. Of course it won’t work in the frosting as that really needs powdered sugar, though you might be able to make coconut powdered sugar in a blender, I’m not sure. Thanks!
Do you have to use all purpose flour or can I use a more keto friendly flour? Like almond or coconut flour?
Sorry, almond or coconut flour will not work here. They absorb moisture much differently than regular flour, so you would basically need a whole new recipe… I’m honestly not that familiar with keto baking, but maybe you could search for a vegan keto cake and find something. Thank you!
Crazy delicious! This was wildly successful for my son’s birthday party. Vegans and non-vegans LOVED it! I had to add about 2 cups more powdered sugar than the recipe lists, probably because I used a different vegan butter. I balanced it with additional cocoa powder and a dash of instant coffee. (Seriously, it’s delicious!)
So I started eating chocolate cake last year (before that I wasn’t really a fan of chocolate) and I thought his cakes were the best being super moist and all that jazz. But THIS IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I’VE MADE/HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I’ll be using this recipe for a long time. It was so good I had to bake another one to give to my old college roommates !! THANK YOU
Thank you so much!
I made this as a layer cake and it was amazing! Will I get the same results with cupcakes and do you know if they can be frozen? Basically, I have to make cupcakes for a party on a Sunday and it would be so helpful if I could bake them earlier in the week.
Hi there, so glad you enjoyed the cake! Yes, you can make them as cupcakes. It makes quite a few which might be perfect for your party, but in case you are interested I also did a recipe for Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes that are similar. You could certainly freeze them, I would recommend freezing only the cupcakes, NOT frosted. Then frost them the day of or even the day before the party. Hope that helps!
Hi! I’m wondering if I could replace the Earth Balance with coconut oil? What do you think? Anyone tried it before? Thank you!
Have you ever made this in advance? If so, the cake and icing or just the cake? Thank you.
It is fine to make it a day or maybe two days in advance. You can do this a couple of ways. First, you could simply make the cake, frost it, and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to serve it. OR, you can make the cake layers the day before, cover and store in the fridge, then frost right before you serve it. It doesn’t really make a difference. Hope that helps!
I used the earth balance vegan butter for the frosting and mine came out with whiteish/buttery look to it. I rechecked the measurements and did everything accordingly ? where did i go wrong?
That’s really odd! Did you use cocoa powder, because if you did I don’t see how it would look white? The frosting is lighter in color than the cake part, but definitely not white.
This cake was AMAZING! I made it for my son’s birthday and then made another one for my birthday the next week! One thing that I learned on my second try was that it’s really important to use a high quality vegan butter. I used a national brand on the second cake and it just didn’t work as well. It was still awesome, but cake number one was the best. I’m making another one for my younger son tonight!!
I’m so happy you are enjoying the cake recipe for all the birthdays! Yes, that is important for the frosting to use a decent vegan butter. I have used Earth Balance, Miyoko’s and Melt and they all work great. Thank you!
hi, i’m planning to make this cake but i just wanted to clarify if the calorie count is for the entire cake?
No… the calories are for 1 slice! 🙂
Great cake. Very moist
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!
Best cake ever! I made this today for my husband’s birthday. I was looking for a vegan recipe and this one is a keeper. Thank you!
Has anyone tried making this with a different milk, like soy or rice? I thought the cake came out really well when I made it the other day, but the cake and especially the frosting had a very distinctively nutty flavor (could have to do with the particular almond milk I used). I’d like to get a more straight chocolate flavor, but I’m not sure if a different milk would behave differently in the recipe?
Also, as applesauce is hard to find where I live (Mexico), I used two tablespoons of flax instead, which worked great.
I’m glad to know it worked with flax instead of applesauce, thank you. I actually make this with whatever milk I have on hand, coconut, soy, cashew milk all work well. I haven’t tried rice milk but I’m sure it would work. Thanks!
Just a few tips: I’ve just tried with oat milk and it worked fine, both in the cake and in the frosting. I also subbed the apple sauce with pumpkin puree, very moist and fluffy cake still (I’m making a pumpkin pie spice frosting instead of the chocolate one, so pumpkin puree was what I had on hand). Today I’m baking the cake for the third time 🙂 Btw, if you don’t have 2 pans, it works just as well to bake one after the other. It rose a lot the last time I baked it, and I’m freezing the upper parts (that I cut off to even out the cake) to make vegan cake pops for a birthday in a few weeks 🙂 Thanks again for a great recipe!
Thank you! I’m so glad you are enjoying the cake!
Where in Mexico? I am in San Miguel. I have found apple sauce in the can food section here and in Acapulco. Hope that helps.
The name says it all! The Best Vegan Chocolate cake ever!
I made it for a work party, doubled the recipe and followed it exactly!
I cannot believe how delicious it was—I am on this website again, because all of my co-workers are asking for the recipe!
Thanks, Nora!
Hi there!
I cannot wait to make this cake! I looked through a good amount of comments to see if you had already answered this, but have you tried avocado oil instead of canola? I’ve been using it lately for baking and I was wondering if it would yield the same results here.
Thank you much! Your recipes are the best. Please make a cookbook!!!! 🙂
I don’t think using avocado oil would be a problem at all! I use melted coconut oil sometimes as well and it’s always fine. Hope you enjoy the cake! Thank you so much, I really want to make a cookbook one day!
im a chocolate addict and my sister made this cake for her own birthday! ive had many chocolate cakes in my lifetime but this one is the BEST ever!!! i couldn’t believe when she told me what the ingredients were. i told her that i need to always have one in the fridge ready to dig in and one in the freezer ready for back up!! this cake calls to me in the middle of the nite… my midnite snack!! thanks nora for the recipe and thanks to sandy for making the cake for her birthday!!
The best chocolate cake I have ever had!! I love this recipe. This is my third time making it with my 9 year old daughter. It is so moist. Thank you so much for creating this recipe. You are awesome!! We will be making this cake years to come!
Hey Nora!! I LOVE this chocolate cake so much. And I’m actually going to make it for my cousin’s daughter this weekend for her 3rd birthday party. But I have to make it completely sugar free because her kids can’t process sugar at all. Not even fruits. I’m replacing the regular sugar with monk fruit sweetner. But I just don’t know what to replace the applesauce with in this recipe. Do you have any ideas? Or what the applesauce does in this recipe? Like an egg replacer or something? I’m not sure! Lol thank you!!
Hi! Thank you so much, I’m glad you love the cake! I would substitute the applesauce with 2 flax eggs instead, so 2 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 5 tablespoons water. That should work quite well! Hope it turns out and everyone enjoys the cake!
Thanks so much!!! I’ll let you know it goes!! 🙂
Hi Nora! Forgot to let you know how this recipe went going completely sugar free for my cousin’s daughter and it was AMAZING. I did your suggestion with replacing the applesauce with two flax eggs and it worked so wonderfully well. Everyone loved them! Thanks so much!!
I’m so glad, thanks for letting me know!
While the cake tasted delicious, it just sort of got fissures straight through the middle and fell apart! where did i make a mistake?
It could be several things that caused this to happen. Your oven might run hotter than others, which can cause a cake to crack like that. You also may have needed to bake it longer, as it may have been undercooked. It’s kind of hard to know without being there, but those are some ideas! Sorry that happened to you, the cake recipe is well-loved so I hope it turns out right next time!
This cake is incredible. I halved the recipe, used unsweetened oat milk, used a little less sugar in the cake batter, added some chocolate chips, and made cupcakes. They turned out perfectly! SUPER light, chocolate-y, and with just the right amount of sweetness.
Thanks for this amazing recipe!!
Hello,
The cauliflower wings was one of the best things I have ever ate. I used gf flour and I apprehensive on how it was going to be as I’ve tried different cauliflower wing recipes before but this was SUPERB!!!! I can’t wait to look at your site for other recipes. Bravo ?…one talented cook you are. Thanks for sharing your gift.
Cheers
Thank you so much! Happy you enjoyed!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad they turned out, even with gluten free flour and that you enjoyed them so much!
This cake was AMAZING! I made it for a b-day celebration with my family, since my brother and his wife are vegan, and I really wanted to make something out of the ordinary for the entire party. Well. I did! Everyone loved it, many said it was the best cake they’d ever had. I made 1.5 x batch of the cake bottoms and 1 x batch of the frosting – that ratio was perfect actually. I didn’t put any frosting on the sides and I decorated with fresh berries on top. Absolutely amazing cake. Thank you!
That sounds wonderful! So glad you enjoyed the cake!
Hi, can i used vegan egg replacer instead of applesauce?
i think you have used applesauce to replace eggs. So i have egg replacer lying around, is it ok if i use it to replace 2 eggs as i think u might have done with the applesauce?
I think that will work okay, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t be sure. Thanks!