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).
Hi , can we substitute whole wheat flour to all purpose flour?
You might be able to but it will definitely taste “wheaty”, and won’t be as good.
This cake is so delicious. I made it for my friends birthday last year – big hit! Now Im going to make it tomorrow for my boyfriends bday. Can’t wait :p Yum!! Thanks for creating and sharing, Nora!
Hi Nora,
I want to make this cake today for my daughter’s birthday but without cocoa powder. What would you recommend as a replacement/addition? Of course a vanilla cake may be an option but I was thinking adding some pureed mango for example. What do you think?
Thanks!
I’ve tried it and it was not good unfortunately. I would go make my vanilla cake instead. I’m not sure why but it just comes out gummy and strange without cocoa powder.
Made this chocolate cale for my daughter’s birthday. An absolute WINNER!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️
I made this chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, it was perfect!! Always looking for good vegan dessert recipes, Thank you!!
Peanut butter icing…oh yum! I’m glad you loved the cake! Thanks for sharing your review and comments!
Can you sub hot coffee in place of the water? I typically make chocolate cake with coffee to enhance the flavor but I’ve never made a vegan dessert and don’t want to screw it up!
Yes, it works great! Hope you enjoy the cake.
Can i substitute apple cuder vinegar with rice vinegar?
You probably could but I’ve never tried it.
This cake is amazing!!! I am not much of a baker so was a bit worried but was thrilled how the cake turned out, made this for my boyfriends birthday and he absolutely loved it. So moist, and the frosting is addictive haha. Thanks for a great, easy recipe!
Hi Stephanie! I’m glad the cake turned out wonderful for your boyfriend’s birthday! Thank you for sharing your comments!
I love this recipe. I boil a cup of coffee and add instead of water The cake comes out so Rich and chocolatey I love this recipe it’s my go to when I want something chocolatey ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Dreita! I’m thrilled this is your go to chocolate cake recipe! I agree it is so good with coffee! Thanks for taking your time to share your review and comments!
The BEST cake recipe. I have so many non vegan friends who prefer this cake over anything else!
Thank you for sharing! Glad you are loving the cake!
My kids are allergic to nuts. Can I substitute coconut milk for almond milk?
Thanks!
Yes, no problem. Enjoy!
I ALWAYS use this chocolate cake recipe! It’s the very best and most delicious cake!!
I don’t often have apple sause so I just used vegan butter instead. And it’s still perfect!!
Thanks 🙂
Hi Lucy. I’m so glad you are loving my cake! Thanks for sharing your review and comments!
I love this recipe, just one question, i pre heat the oven at 350 F, which temperature shall i keep while cooking?
Thank you
350, same temperature you preheat the oven to.
This is by far the best chocolate cake recipe, vegan or not. Took it to a birthday with non vegans and everyone had seconds!!!
Thank you for sharing your review! Glad you love the cake!
I’ve been vegan for over 15 years and I’ve made a lot of vegan chocolate cakes. This is absolutely the best chocolate cake ever and it happens to be vegan!!! The cake is super moist and the frosting is outstanding!! This is the first recipe I tried from your blog, but I will definitely be trying a lot more! Thanks so much !!
Hi Debra. Welcome to Nora Cooks! I’m thrilled you love the cake! Enjoy your journey through my recipes, and let me know how they go for you, or if you have any questions. Thank you for taking your time to share your review and comments. I appreciate you!
My wonderful in-laws started making this cake for me (the only vegan) and we all love it so much I started making it whenever I need a cake. It’s such a hit with non vegans, I even made a gf version and my coworker couldn’t believe it was vegan and gf. (I work at a restaurant so high praise coming from chefs)
Thanks for making such a reliable, awesome vegan cake recipe!
Thank you for sharing your comments! Glad you love the cake!
Hi what gf flour did you use?! 🙂
This is amazing! My family is very hesitant when it comes to vegan goodies that I bake, but they adored this cake. It was moist, yet firm and all the while incredibly rich in taste. My family is also not a fan of chocolate, but they thoroughly enjoyed this cake!
I’m glad the cake was a hit! Thank you for sharing your review and comments!
Can I use plant based butter instead for the frosting?
I used vegan/plant based butter in the frosting. Any brand you like should work just fine. Thanks!
This is truly the best vegan cake I have ever tasted. Indeed, when I go to places like “My Vegan Sweet Tooth” I am not satisfied with the results. In this cake you can’t taste the applesauce and the cake is moist and fluffy. One thing I will say is to cook it for the full 35 minutes because if not then the cake will come out a tad bit gummy and undercooked. Nora? I think that you should start some kind of vegan shop or start selling on Etsy because all of your deserts are really delicious.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you like the cake!
Another thing is that I think you should look into making a vegan Hummingbird cake.
I’ve thought about that! Thanks!
Looking forward to making this for a dairy-free friends birthday! I only have cans of coconut milk, would that work instead of almond? Thanks!
Canned coconut milk would be too heavy, but the kind in the carton is fine. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
hello. I am making this for the first time. I plan to use 8″ cake pans. When baked will the layer fill the pan? I cannot tell from the post how tall the cake is? Trying to decide if I need to make 3 8″ layers. Thank you
I actually use 8 inch pans most often now, and it works fine. The cakes just may need a few extra minutes in the oven. 2 8-inch layers is perfect.
Can I freeze the cake before icing it? I’ve made it a few times, but used it within a day or two. It is an amazing, moist cake!!!
Yes, I would wrap the cake layers well before freezing. Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe. My dairy free and gluten free son was super excited that he could have this for his birthday.
I do have one question. The frosting began to melt when the cake was left in the covered cake container over night. Easy fix~just sat in refrigerator the next morning. Was wondering if adding vegetable shortening to the frosting would solve the problem?
If you house is rather warm, that is a possibility. A few tips – start with vegan butter that is not super melty or TOO soft. And make sure the frosting is not too thin when you ice the cake. But yes, you could use half shortening and half vegan butter for a more stable frosting, though it will change the flavor just a little bit. Hope that helps!
Delicious sake, moist and flavorful. Icing is just the right sweetness.
I’m glad you loved it! Thanks for sharing your review!
Fantastic! Fantastic Fantastic! No one at the party knew it was Dairy free! And no one cares once they tasted it!