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This vegan chocolate cake recipe features a moist, fluffy cake with dark chocolate flavor, all hidden beneath a sheet of creamy chocolate frosting. No one would guess it’s vegan!
If you are craving more vegan cake recipes, try my vegan birthday cake, vegan lemon cake, and vegan black forest cake next.
Everyone needs a staple cake in their repertoire. Yes, even vegans.
If you’re looking for a foolproof chocolate cake recipe that satisfies the vegans in your family but doesn’t taste like anything’s missing, my recipe is exactly what you’re looking for.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Made in one bowl. We’ve got cake-making down to a science!
- Simple ingredients. No flax eggs, no vegan butter, and no niche or hard-to-find substitutions.
- Ready in 30 minutes. Seriously, you can have the cake ready in no time. Then, once it’s cool, just frost, slice, and serve.
- The perfect flavor and texture. Trust me, even the vegan skeptics in your group will find it hard to believe there’s no dairy or eggs in this cake.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“I’ve made this cake several times, and we love it. I highly recommend trying it.” – Morgan
Ingredients needed
- All-purpose flour. Also known as plain flour. Be sure to sift the flour very well, to ensure there are no clumps throughout.
- Sugar. Use raw white sugar, which is the best sugar to use on a vegan diet. White or brown sugar can often be made using bone marrow, so use the purest forms.
- Cocoa powder. Dutch processed and 100% unsweetened cocoa powder. For a richer flavor, you can use dark cocoa powder.
- Baking soda. The leavening agent is used to give the cake some fluffiness and rise. It also reacts with the vinegar to replicate eggs.
- Salt. Balances out all the sweet ingredients.
- Apple cider vinegar. Or white vinegar. Reacts with the baking soda.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any delicious cake!
- Vegetable oil. Or any neutral-flavored oil. Keeps the cake moist and fluffy in the middle.
- Water. To mix everything together. You can also use plant-based milk if you prefer.
- Vegan chocolate frosting. What is a vegan cake without some of my dairy free frosting?
How to make vegan chocolate cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line an 8-inch springform pan or cake pan with parchment paper.
Step 2- Make the cake batter. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and whisk until a smooth batter remains.
Step 3- Bake. Pour the batter into the lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out just clean.
Step 4- Frost. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, frost the cake.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Want a double or triple-layer cake? Simply double or triple the ingredients.
- Use a stand mixer. I usually don’t mind stirring the cake batter by hand, but I’ll admit using a stand mixer does make it a speedier process.
- Don’t overbake the cake. The cake continues to bake while it is cooling in the pan, so remove it from the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted is ‘just’ clean.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting. Otherwise, it’ll slick right off the cake.
- Add more chocolate flavor. Swap two tablespoons of water for freshly brewed coffee or a shot of espresso. No one will be able to taste the coffee, but it’ll enhance the chocolate flavor.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to two weeks.
To freeze: Place leftover cake slices in a shallow container and freeze for up to 6 months.
Frequently asked questions
Although vegan cakes don’t use dairy or eggs, they still contain plenty of sugar and/or oil. Because of this, it doesn’t make it any healthier than a regular cake.
To make this an oil-free chocolate cake, sub the oil for unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana.
To make this cake suitable for celiacs, swap out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free blend (with added xanthan gum).
More vegan dessert recipes to try
- Vegan strawberry cake
- Vegan ice cream cake
- Vegan German chocolate cake
- Snickers cake
- Or any of these vegan desserts
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour use gluten-free, if needed
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon vegetable oil * See notes
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup chocolate frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line an 8-inch springform pan or cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda, and mix well. Add the vanilla extract, oil, apple cider vinegar, and water, and mix until a smooth batter remains.
- Transfer to the lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out just clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, frost the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published September 2022, updated and republished July 2024
Unbelievable. I make with brown sugar. Just so moist and chocolatey
Thanks, Sally!
The best recipe I’ve ever tried. Thank you!!
Delicious and moist!! Thank you for sharing this recipe TBMW.
Amazing! I just did it today for Christmas and what should I say? Exactly like a chocolate cake has to taste! I did it with the chocolate frosting which is linked in the recipe as well and it couldn’t taste any better and so so easy! Thank you for such great recipes!
I absolutely love this cake. It is SO easy to make, and it tastes superior. It’s very fluffy (if you make it correctly) and the fact that that is dairy free is just- wow.
This cake is The BOMB and is so easy to make and has no crazy ingredients. I didn’t have the right pan so baked in 9inch for 30 min and used only 1 cup of chocolate chips for frosting. Was too lazy to ice it so scooped it on top of my cake. It was delicious. Thank you. Million stars ⭐️
Amazing recipe!!! I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday last year and I’m coming back to it again because the cake was so delicious!!
Can I substitute flour for someone with a wheat allergy?
I haven’t had chocolate cake in almost 11 years. Among other things, I am allergic to wheat and eggs so making a decent tasting cake is hard to accomplish. I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour and (almost) followed your recipe precisely, my only changes were using white vinegar rather than apple cider vinegar and using warm black coffee instead of water. Also, since I have no dairy allergy, I made a traditional chocolate buttercream.
The cake is beautiful, dark and chocolatey and tender with a nice rise. It holds its shape when sliced.
Thanks for a great recipe.
That was so delicious and I don’t generally like chocolate cakes.
Thanks, Kelly!
Looks so tasty.
It is vegan because of gluten free flour?
This cake is beyond great. Both my kids are allergic to eggs and milk and this has been my been my go to to cake for everything and where ever I take it they love it. Very easy to bake simple ingredients you have in ur kitchen and tasted like heaven.
Excellent recipe. I substituted Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour and it turned out great. I also used white vinegar rather than cider. Since I don’t have an issue with dairy, I made a conventional chocolate buttercream. The cake was outstanding.
Made this cake tonight. Not because I am vegan, but because he wanted chocolate cake and I had no eggs or milk. This was phenomenal. I used coconut oil instead of vege oil. So good.
The Vegan Chocolate Cake sounds easy to make! Where can I find the vegan frosting recipe? Thanks in advance!
I’ve made this cake several times and we love it. I highly recommend trying it.
needing to make for someone with milk allergies,, was a little reluctant since the easy vanilla cake seemed doughy and didn’t care for, but this is close to the best chocolate cake ever made! I did dissolve 1 1/2 heaping teaspoon instant expresso in water and used avocado oil! With the Dairy Free Frosting (1/2 recipe for 12 cupcakes)