The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake made with simple ingredients in one bowl. It’s incredibly delicious, rich with chocolate flavor, and can be made gluten-free. The perfect dessert for any occasion!
For some reason, I could never imagine a world without chocolate! To me, personally, it’s always perfect – no matter which time of the day. You can have it for dessert, or just as a snack, or even for breakfast. For me, chocolate will always be something that lifts my spirits! Do you feel the same? If so, this Best Vegan Chocolate Cake is perfect for you, because is so chocolatey that it’ll definitely satisfy any chocolate cravings!
The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe
Actually, I’ve been making this recipe for years, but for some reason, I’ve never shared it on my blog. Anyways, to me, it’s just the Best Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe ever, and I’m also convinced it is definitely fail-proof, so it will never let you down. It is intensely chocolatey, rich, soft and has a creamy frosting (but it also tastes super yummy without the frosting). I‘m pretty sure no one will ever suspect it’s vegan and even healthier than other chocolate cakes because it tastes like a classic homemade chocolate cake!
Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
To make this Vegan Chocolate Cake, all you need are just a few simple basic ingredients that you may already have on hand. You do not require eggs or any dairy ingredients, so it’s dairy-free and egg-free. A combination of baking soda, baking powder + apple cider vinegar helps the cake rise, and also keeps it delightfully fluffy. All you need to do is to combine the wet with the dry ingredients. Simply melt chocolate, mix and bake. It couldn’t be simpler.
Use your favorite baking dish
There are several things you can do with this recipe. You can bake this cake in a round tin to make a layer cake as I did, however, this recipe works just as well in a loaf pan or in cupcake and muffin pans. The only thing you should pay attention to is the baking time. For chocolate cupcakes or muffins, it only takes about 15 minutes. A chocolate loaf, however, takes about 50 minutes. I always recommend doing a cake test during baking to check if the cake is done. Baking for too long is not good either because it dries out the cake.
Chocolate Cream Frosting
I like this cake best when it’s topped with a fluffy and creamy chocolate mousse and rich chocolate ganache, but you can also top it just with the ganache, or enjoy the cake how it is. When serving, you can decorate it with healthy berries, cherries or other fruits of choice. By the way, if you make this cake without the frosting, it also tastes delicious when you add some vegan chocolate chips on top and then serve your piece with a big scoop of vegan ice cream, dairy-free yogurt, or whipped coconut cream on top.
Anyways, this vegan chocolate cake tastes totally delicious! It is:
- Dairy-free
- Soy-free
- Egg-free
- Quick and Easy to make
- Fail-Proof
- Rich in Chocolate flavor
- Frosted with Chocolate Cream
- Can be made Gluten-free
- Can be turned into Cupcakes, Muffins
- Also, perfect to make a loaf
- My Best Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe
Want more Chocolate Cake Recipes?
If you want to try more tasty chocolate cake recipes, you can check out my
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
- Raspberry Chocolate Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Best Vegan Brownies
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- Best Chocolate Cheesecake
If you try this Best Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe, please leave me a comment below letting me know how you like it! And if you take a picture of your yummy Cake and share it on Instagram, please make sure to tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka , so I won’t miss your post! 😊
Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my new Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 cup non-dairy milk 240ml
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240g, or gluten-free flour*
- 1 cup cocoa powder 120g
- 1 1/2 cups sugar 300g, or to taste
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1-2 tsp instant coffee granules optional
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3/4 cup neutral oil
- 1/2 cup apple sauce 120g, or 2 (flax)eggs (*see recipe notes)
Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup non-dairy whipping cream or full-fat coconut milk, 240ml
- 12 oz non-dairy bittersweet chocolate chopped (I used 60% cocoa)
- 2-4 tbsp maple syrup or powdered sugar
Chocolate Mousse Filling (optional)
- 1/3 cup non-dairy whipping cream 80ml, room temperature
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup of the chocolate frosting 80ml
Instructions
(step-by-step pictures are in my blogpost)
Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 8-inch (2x20cm) cake pans.
- Stir the apple cider vinegar into the non-dairy milk and set aside to curdle into vegan buttermilk.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and mix to combine.
- Stir the coffee granules, if using, and vanilla extract into the boiling water.
- Pour the vegan buttermilk, oil and hot water mixture over the flour mixture. Also, add the apple sauce and stir with a spatula or handheld mixer on low speed just until combined and no large lumps remain (please do not overmix). (Adjust sugar to your desired taste).
- Fill the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. (If you want a moist chocolate cake, make sure not to overbake it.)
- Remove from oven and let cool completely. (Optionally, you can place the cakes in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight, as they will be easier to work with when well chilled.)
Frosting
- In a small pot, heat the coconut milk until just boiling (or microwave for about 2 minutes).
- Pour it over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted.
- Reserve about 1/4 cup of the chocolate frosting (to use in the chocolate mousse filling). Let cool remaining frosting until thickened into a spreadable frosting.
Chocolate Mousse
- Stir the reserved 1/3 cup of the frosting into the non-dairy whipping cream until you have a smooth chocolate cream. Then place in the fridge to cool.
- When the chocolate cream is well chilled, you can beat it with a hand mixer until fluffy and creamy. Also, add the powdered sugar while beating.
Assemble the Cake
- Place one cooled cake on a serving plate. Spread the chocolate mousse filling over the cake. Then top with the next cake, and spread the chocolate frosting all over your cake (top and sides).
- Decorate with fresh fruits if you like and enjoy! 😊
Notes
- To make this cake gluten-free, you can use a gluten-free flour blend 1:1.
- Instead of apple sauce, you can use 2 flax-eggs (stir 2 tbsp flax meal into 6 tbsp hot water. Set aside for 5 minutes until jelly), or use 2 regular eggs if you're not vegan.
- If you want to make cupcakes or muffins with this recipe, bake for approx. 25 minutes.
- You can freeze the un-frosted cake for up to 1 month. Just make sure to wrap each cake layer in a double layer of foil before putting into a ziplock freezer bag.
- I used this non-dairy whipping cream for the mousse because it gets perfectly creamy and stiff but coconut cream will do too.
- If making this cake without the chocolate mousse and chocolate frosting, you can top it just with vegan chocolate chips or enjoy the cake as it is.
- Please read my blog post for additional Information about this recipe.
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made this cake last weekend for a vegan friend’s birthday and it turned out so delicious. So much flavor, perfectly moist and soo chocolatey! used a wider pan (28cm) so I had just one layer and no filling but I added lots of fruits on top as a healthy replacement 😉 I reduced the amount of sugar by up to a half and it was just perfect, still sweet but not too sweet. Thank you Bianca!
ps: I love that you provide the ingredient amount not only in cups but also in grams, so important!
So glad you love this recipe! 😊 I try my best to share my recipes as exact as possible!
Thank you for your amazing feedback! ❤️
Hi, Can you use only Almond meal?
No, sorry.
Will dairy milk also work instead of the non-dairy milk?
You can use any milk for this recipe! 😊
Hi!
I’ve made this cake twice now. Once as a 2 layer and once as a loaf. They taste is outstanding and super moist! Definitely the best chocolate cake (Vegan or otherwise) I’ve ever made. It took about 70min to cook in the loaf pan but I did sub rice malt syrup for the sugar so that may explain the time difference.
Bianca, thank you for a truly wonderful recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for your wondeful feedback! ❤️
Ich habe dieses Rezept als Geburtstagskuchen gemacht. Alle waren begeistert. Das Rezept ist mega easy und einfach himmlisch lecker. Dankeee ❤
Dankeschön, das freut mich sehr! 😊
This is hands down the best vegan chocolate cake I’ve made. Soooo good. Thanks Bianca!
Thank you so much for your amazing feedback! ❤️
Your recipe is soo good…..
Thank you 🙂
Hi Bianca, will Bob’s Red Mill “ Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour“ , work well for this recipe?
You can try it! 🙂
Sososo incredibly moist, almost brownie like and the taste? Aaah… I used only like 60 g cocoa and subbed the rest with flour, because I don’t like to overchocolate, you know 😉 Aaand I used one mold for the whole batter, baking for like 60 to 75 minutes and it turned out fine as well! Okay enough now, I need to go and get another piece..
So glad you love this chocolate cake! Thanks for your feedback, Maja! 🙂
This recipe looks delicious! Can you sub raw cacao powder for the cocoa?
Yes! 🙂
Glad to have meaningful and innovative stuff online. Helped us serve !
Thanks
So glad you like my recipes! 🙂
Okay, so I made Bianca’s vanilla cake for Christmas and everyone loved it. I decided to make this one for tomorrow’s family dinner. I made two layers and one fell apart. Meaning that this cake is so soft and moist and fragile, I love it. I cannot wait to assemble it tonight when I get home from work. All her recipes are amazing.
Hi Raisa, thank you so much! I usually leave the cake in the fridge overnight to set. It’s easier to cut into layers and assemble the next day! 🙂
This is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had! So moist and fudgy and delicious. The mousse filling didn’t go as fluffy as I expected but doesn’t matter too much, it’s lovely! I used full fat coconut milk instead of a whipping cream for the mousse so maybe that was why?
Definitely recommend this recipe. I’ll definitely be using it for the next family birthday cake. This is my new favourite blog!
Hi Fiona, so glad you love this chocolate cake so much! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Please make sure to use dairy-free whipping cream OR coconut cream (just the solid part of coconut milk without the watery part) or you won’t be able to whip it up 😛
Ah okay thanks, I’ll do that next time! My tin of coconut milk was all runny, none of it was solid, sometimes it is but I think it depends on the temperature of my kitchen. So just a warning to anyone else that might do it, it’s fine but will run out the sides when you put the top sponge on 😂
Hi Fiona, please make sure to leave a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight without shaking so the solid part will set on the top! 🙂
Ah will do thank you so much!
🙂
Is there a taste or texture difference with applesauce vs flex eggs in the recipe?
Honestly, I find there’s no difference! 🙂
Can skip this apple sauce step?
Yes, you can sub flax-eggs or one mashed banana or simply use a bit more non-dairy milk 🙂
I did that, and the cake is just superb and delicious. One mistake, i did not leave coconut milk in the fridge and also used whole can instead of just the solid, but still good. I used an electric whip and whip it a bit linger and it holds. Nice one x
Hi Hema, so glad you love this recipe! Please make sure to use just the solid part of the coconut milk next time! 🙂
Lots of love, Bianca <3
Why did the cake sunk in the middle?