I have been a vegan for more than 3 years now and it gives me great pleasure in sharing this vegan chocolate cake recipe that I have been perfecting for quite some time and I think I have the right mix for this classic recipe.
The recipe is 100% vegan and 100% tasty! If you are not trying a vegan, plant-based solution for cakes, you should be. You will be delightfully surprised at how easy it can be.
This vegan chocolate cake can also be soy-free if you use the right plant-based milk and prepare your own frosting with soy-free butter. I have included directions for that too! The butter and egg alternatives that I have used here are nothing new. I am still getting a lot of questions about it, so I have included the procedure in the recipe notes.
Once you have the egg and butter alternative figured out, the rest is a lot easier. You will be well on your way to a simple, but delicious and decadent chocolate cake
The ingredients are simple and easy to find. Not just for the cake, but for the frosting as well. You would be surprised how easy preparing a frosting can be and how much you can save by preparing it yourself. It turned out so good that my friends that are not vegans like it too!
This two-layered cake filled with homemade buttercream frosting is just what you need for your next family reunion or a birthday party as long as you don’t end up overeating it 🙂
I made this vegan chocolate cake with an 8-inch pan, but you could use a 9” pan or a square pan, or even cupcake molds. The baking time will vary depending on what you use, but the procedure is largely the same.
Vegan chocolate buttercream frosting
To prepare your own homemade frosting you have to add all the ingredients noted, in a bowl and whisk them together using an electric mixer into a smooth and creamy consistency. If you are not a big fan of frosting, sprinkle a little bit of powdered sugar.
This buttercream frosting stores in the refrigerator for up to a week. Preparing a little extra comes in handy if you are planning to make more batches of cake in less than a week. Store the frosting in a refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Egg substitute
As I said, I used flax egg for this recipe, but you could also use applesauce as a replacement. Just be sure not to skip this part because this is the reason behind the fluffy and soft texture.
Between the two options for egg substitute, I prefer using a flax egg option because that is one good way of adding flax to our diets.
Be sure to check the procedure below and also read the notes that accompany it.
Check out my other vegan cake recipe here...
Chocolate cake loaf
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe
Process Shot
Check above for step-by-step pictures (most of my recipes include pictures)
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 flax eggs - see notes
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup almond or soy milk
- ½ cup corn oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
For the chocolate frosting
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 Grease and place parchment paper under the 8 inch round baking pans.
- In a bowl stir together sugar, cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl add flax eggs, milk and vinegar mixture, oil and vanilla. Mix well.
- Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and beat on medium speed of mixer 2 min.
- In the end, add one cup of boiling water to the batter. As the batter thins, pour them into prepared pans.
- Bake 30 to 35 min at 350F
Direction to prepare frosting
- In a large bowl add sugar, cocoa powder, almond milk, vanilla extract, vegan butter and whisk into a smooth and creamy frosting.
- Once the cake is cool down apply the cake frosting
Notes
- Do not melt the vegan butter for the frosting.
- Mix the almond milk and vinegar before pouring into the batter.
- For flax egg use 2 tablespoon flax meal with 6 tablespoon warm water.
- If you are using apple sauce use 5 tablespoon of it as an egg replacement.
YOUR OWN NOTES
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
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Tiya Gustaveson
Hey,
I am planning to demo this recipe for my Home Economic class, but I have one question. In the instructions(number 3), you mention oil. I do not see oil in the list of ingredients. I was hoping you could get back to me regarding what type of oil and how much.
Thank you so much, I am looking forward to making this cake. I make a non-vegan cake very similar to this and I just love it. I would love to have a vegan chocolate cake to share with my students, family, and friends as well.
Take care,
Tiya
Uma Raghupathi
Hi Tiya. Thank you for using this recipe for your class. You can use any type of oil. I added 1/2 cup of corn oil.
Ann
Hello, Uma! Thank you for your blog, it's one of my favourite food blogs. I really like cooking and especially baking. I was in search of an ideal recipe of vegan chocolate cake and I've found it here! I cook it every month now and each member of my family is mad about that cake!
Stephanie
I see Is the applesauce 5 Tbsp per flax egg or 5 Tbsp total?
Uma Raghupathi
Hi Stephanie
If you are using apple sauce use 5 tbsp in total.
Jennipher
This looks amazing, but I wonder if you've ever used any other sweetener, like maple syrup in this recipe? Any suggestions if you're trying to stay away from processed cane sugar?
🙂
thank you
Uma Raghupathi
Thank you, Jennifer! I never used maple syrup or any other sugar alternatives for this recipe. I am not much help with this question.
Linda
This chocolate cake looks so beautiful and no one would believe it's vegan. Love how moist and how you add flax eggs into it. This needs to happen asap!
Uma Raghupathi
It's vegan and it's yummy too. Thank you.
Leslie
You can tell just by looking at the pictures that this recipe is perfectly moist! Great recipe for ALL!!!
Mahy
What I really like is how simple it looks yet how flavorful and flavor-complex it must be when you try it. Definitely the recipe I would love to try!
Uma Raghupathi
Thank you, Mahy! Hope you will like this cake.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
That cake looks gorgeous and love the texture of the cake. We are not a big fan of frosting and like you mentioned, I might just sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
Uma Raghupathi
Thank you Sandhya!