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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!
Craving more vegan cake recipes? Try my vegan birthday cake, vegan lemon cake, and vegan carrot 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, 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
This cake was sensational.
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes?
Yes it can!
Can i use regular vinegar if i dont have apple cider vinegar ?
Yes!
Amazing!!! I added 1.5 teaspoons of instant espresso powder to the water before adding it to the mix, and it ended up tasting so fudgy / chocolatey!
I didn’t tell anyone it was vegan or gluten free until after they tried it – none of them could tell! It tasted like a normal, wonderful, chocolatey cake!
I used a different frosting recipe because I was looking for vegan vanilla buttercream but I look forward to trying the chocolate frosting recipe soon!
The best vegan chocolate cake I’ve ever made.
Can I use Almond Flour for this recipe? I am on Keto and the Flour your using has alot of carbs. Will I get the same results?
Haven’t tried, feel free to experiiment and see.
I really liked the glossy appearance after baking. I made this for coworkers, the cake was delicious. I hope to try the strawberry one as well!
Would I need to double the recipe for a 9×13 sheet cake, Arman? Is the water room temperature or is warm/hot better? I have used another recipe that uses hot water previously. Looking forward to giving it a go. Thankyou 😊
Excellent. Easy to make. A keeper recipe
Super easy. Loved it!
Incredibly moist, chocolaty and delicious. I made this cake for my husband’s birthday yesterday. My husband couldn’t stop himself from eating his birthday cake.
Hi there recipe looks good…but oil not a good food to many vegans (considered a junk food to many). Can you provide a healthier version? Thanks
Incredibly moist, chocolaty and delicious. I made this cake for my husband’s birthday yesterday. He couldn’t stop himself from eating this cake.
Hi there recipe looks good…but oil not a good foood to many vegans (considered a junk food to many). Can you provide a healthier version? Thanks
The best chocolate cake I ever made.
Easy, moist. I added orange extract. And omitted the bi carb. Used self raising gf flour. Winner!
Hi Arnman,
I made this for a dinner party for non-vegans. They loved it!
One question . .
How did you make the chocolate shavings around the sides of the cake?
Thanks for posting!
This cake was astonishingly easy and good!! I needed to make a vegan dessert, but really wanted it to taste good (i.e., not vegan). I admit to being very skeptical of the reviews saying “my non-vegan friends even thought this cake was great!” – because I have been one of those non-vegan friends, saying, “yeah… this cake is, ummm, really great… totally tastes like the real thing…” when in my head I’m like, is anything even worth eating if it doesn’t have animal products?! I digress. This cake was truly amazing – chocolatey, moist, and really really delicious. Plus, I had all the ingredients on hand already! 5/5 for sure, and I would definitely make this cake again in lieu of boxed chocolate cakes in the future. I baked in a 9″ springform for about 30 minutes and it was perfect; it was quite flat on top so would actually layer better than most non-vegan boxed cake mixes I’ve made.
The linked frosting recipe was a 3/5 IMHO – definitely not quite like chocolate buttercream or other dairy-based frosting, but pretty good. Slight coconutty flavor, but not too noticeable. I would make again if I needed a vegan frosting (since it’s only two ingredients, which were easy to find at Target, and I refuse to buy things like vegan “butter”), but would probably use “real” frosting if I don’t need the cake to be vegan.