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).
Your cake looks sooooo yummy and moist. My problem is can this be made without oil?-as my husband diet will not allow oil at this time. And if so what do I change? Thank you for your help. This vegan cooking and no oil i all new to me.
Kathie
You could probably substitute more applesauce for the oil in the cake. The frosting is not going to work oil free though. You could serve it without frosting or search for some kind of oil free vegan frosting. Hope that helps and you both can enjoy the cake!
Hi Nora 🙂 I love this cake!!
I’m planning on making this cake into a 2 tier cake using a 12 inch cake pan and 9inch pan so altogether once I half the cakes there should be 4 layers. If I double the recipe would that be enough?
Thank you 😀
Brittany
I’m so glad you love it! I believe if you double it that should work. Just make sure you bake the cakes until they are done, I’m not sure how long it will take for the 12 inch cake. Thanks, enjoy!
This is the chocolate cake recipe I always use and it blows people away!
This time I’m trying to make a 3-layer cake using 3, 6-inch pans. Will one recipe of the batter be enough to fill the 3 pans? Also, any idea on how long i should bake the cakes? Your expert opinion on this would be so appreciated. Thank you!!
Hi Bridget. I’m so glad you love the cake! Yes, one recipe will work for three 6 inch pans. They will probably only need about 20 minutes in the oven, so watch them closely. I hope this helps, and happy cooking!
Thanks so much for your prompt reply Nora! I really appreciate it!! When i bake this I’ll take a photo, post to Instagram and tag you.☺️
Wonderful! Thank you!
Hi Nora, I have used this recipe for multiple times and every time it came out just perfect. Thank you so much for the full proof recipe. Wanted to add raisins in the batter this time. Do you think it would impact to its fluffiness?
No I don’t think it will affect the cake’s fluffiness, it should be just fine. Thank you!
Made this and was absolutely blown away. One of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten. Only thing is the frosting was a bit too rich for us. Any advice on how to tone it down a bit (just a little bit)?
Hi Larry, I’m glad you enjoyed the cake! You can always use less frosting if you want, just a very thin layer (you might be able to cut the frosting recipe in half).
This cake was great. It was very moist, it looks great on the plate, the texture is decadent and fantastic and it tastes really great. It pleased a room full of my family at Thanksgiving last night.
I wanted a bit more of a complex taste to the chocolate, so I added Jamaican Allspice and that made a really nice difference.
The next time I make it, I may add instant coffee.
Thanks for making this recipe available.
Hi Nora, have you ever used the oat milk instead of almond milk in any of your recipes?
Hi Marlon. Yes, oat milk will work in the place of almond milk in most of my recipes!
Made this cake a few times and it is now my staple chocolate cake recipe. No one can ever tell it’s vegan and it’s so moist. Love this recipe
I’m thrilled this is your staple chocolate cake, and so glad you are loving it! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments!
EXCELLENT recipe – easy and delicious. I’ll be making it again – my friend’s double layer birthday cake came out great. This was the best vegan chocolate cake I’ve ever had. I added 1 TB of instant coffee granules to the hot water (a hint I got from another recipe) and it worked out well. Thanks for posting. I’ll try the lighter version you posted, too.
I’m so glad you loved the recipe and the cake turned out great! Thanks for sharing your great review and comments!
Any suggestion for subbing apple cider vinegar? I have both rice and white vinegar- thoughts?
White vinegar is the best choice. Enjoy!
The recipe is absolutely delicious! I’ve made it twice now in cake and cupcake form. But both times the icing is where I ran into the issue. It is sooooo runny. It doesn’t hold its form. Any idea on what it could be?
I’m glad you are loving the recipe! Make sure your vegan butter is not too melty when you start, just barely softened at room temperature is all that is needed. Then, add less liquid if needed, or more powdered sugar until you reach the right, thick consistency. But if you start with already melty butter, you are going to have trouble. Hope that helps!
Hi Nora, would you have any advice for substituting granulated sugar in the cake and powdered sugar in the frosting? Would I be able to substitute it with coconut or brown sugar for both? (will try to get it to a fine consistency for the frosting)
Hi Sun. In the cake itself, you could sub coconut sugar (maybe brown sugar, but I’m not sure). For the frosting, I suppose it’s possible if you were to blend coconut sugar to become powdery and fine, it might work okay. But I don’t know, I haven’t tried it. Hope that helps!
Can I make this cake 2 days before? Will it still be moist?
Hello Jameson. Yes, 2 says should be fine.
Can I frosting and freeze this cake ?
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 have made this twice and my family loves it! I am planning to make it again next weekend for a birthday party (lots of October birthdays!) I typically make it in 9″ round pans, but this time I want to make a 2-layered sheet cake. I have 9x13x2″ pans. Do you think doubling the recipe should work?
Hi Nova. I am so glad you love the cake! You would need to double the recipe to get two 13×9 cakes. I suspect the cake may break in a two layer 13×9. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!
Oh dear! Is that because it’s so moist? Do you have any suggestions for ways to prevent that?
This is amazing! I made a 3 layer cake, 2 layers of this chocolate and one of vegan vanilla with chocolate buttercream between and vanilla buttercream on outside. All recipes from Nora. Made it for my son’s birthday (he has food allergies) and everyone loved it! They couldn’t tell it was egg and dairy free! A new favorite!
That sounds like an amazing combination – vanilla and chocolate! I’m so glad that it turned out great for your son’s birthday, and that it was a hit! Thank you for taking time to share your great and fun review! Happy birthday to your son!
Hi so I have soy milk can I use that instead
I also have sweetened applesauce can I use that ? And I have Veg oil can I use that please can you advise?
Yes, all of those are fine to use. Enjoy!
Hey Nora!
If you don’t own an electric beater, would whisking by hand work for the cake mixture?
Thanks!
Hi Sarah! I think a hand mixer or standing mixer is necessary to get a light texture on the cake. Others have mixed it by hand and commented that the cake itself turned out ok. The icing mixed by hand was lumpy. I hope this helps!
I prepared this recipe without any modifications and it was so amazing! Even my non-vegan friends loved it!
I’m glad the cake was a hit! Thank you so much for sharing your review and comments!
I made both the cake and the frosting for my sister’s birthday today. Absolutely the best vegan recipes I’ve found. Everybody raved about how good it was!
Happy birthday to your sister! I’m glad the cake was a hit! Thank you for taking your time to share your great review ad fun comments!
Wow, this is an amazing recipe!
I substituted the sugar with honey, as my daughter can’t do sugar & we were all thrilled at how moist & delicious it was!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad the cake turned out wonderful for you!
Listen….THIS CAKE IS THE BOMB you hear me!!! I’m sorry these other recipes I’ve came across on google have NOTHING on you.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Joy!
hi would love to make this cake for my daughter’s birthday but we have no vegan butter here…we have “coconut butter” a sort of vegan butter spread… any ideas? thanks
Hmm, I don’t know if coconut butter would work well in frosting or not, as I’ve never tried it. If you have vegetable shortening, that works okay, or even a margarine (vegan friendly) spread. Or maybe go make my Vegan Chocolate Ganache and use it as frosting instead.
I subbed all the oil for apple sauce and still a wonderful cake. I used a peanut butter, tofu, chocolate chip and a little sugar frosting: melted the 3T brown sugar in with the cup or so of chocolate chips and a scant cup peanut butter then poured it into my stand mixer with the whisk attachment and a block of silken tofu and a shot of vanilla
I used this recipe for my son’s birthday cake. He is allergic to Dairy and Eggs. It gave the best chocolate cupcakes ever! Better than the non vegan recipes. So moist and rich.
Can’t thank you enough. Our family lovessssss lovesssss it!! I keep eating it all day 🙂
I’m so happy you guys loved the cake recipe! Happy birthday to your son! I appreciate you taking time to share your wonderful review and comments!
This cake is absolutely delicious. I made this for my husband’s birthday and he said it tasted better than the bakery vegan cake his sister bought for him the day before. Love love love it!!
Hi Alison, and happy birthday to your husband! I’m thrilled that you guys loved the cake! Thank you for sharing your great review and comments!
Made this cake for my daughter and followed all the directions as suggested. It was amazingly moist and the frosting was very good, not overly sweet as I thought it would be. The cake was presented at her birthday party and she was the only vegan in the room. Luckily, she took 2 slices and put them to the side because the cake was devoured shortly afterwards. Raved reviews from a 6 years vegan and every non-vegan in attendance. This is my go to cake.