You can make this beginner level FLUFFY Vegan Chocolate Cake right at home and no one will even know it’s vegan! It’s made in one bowl bowl with simple and easy to find ingredients. Even my non-vegan friends love this recipe!

piece of chocolate cake this recipe

The Vegan Chocolate Cake I’ve been talking about on Instagram for WEEKS is FINALLY HERE. If you watch my insta stories at all then you’ll know that I’ve been testing this recipe for a couple of months. I’m happy to say that I have perfected it and it’s sooooo goooood.

This cake is decadent and fluffy while being a bit dense (the way that I prefer my chocolate cake) and the frosting is creamy and delicious!

chocolate cake on a white plate

My goal when making vegan desserts is to keep them as close to the original recipe as possible. While I like a healthier dessert, I always like to offer a variation that’s simple and classic. Maybe we’ll make a healthy vegan chocolate cake in the near future.

BUT FOR NOW, you’re stuck with this RICH chocolate cake that I promise will not disappoint. Seriously the best vegan chocolate cake ever (and I’ve tried quite a few of them).

slices of chocolate cake on white plates

If you’re looking for a good eggless chocolate cake recipe, this one is your girl!

How to make this vegan chocolate cake recipe:

This whole chocolate cake comes together in one big bowl and I LOVE IT for that.

The apple cider vinegar and milk are stirred together and left to sit.

Then the dry ingredients are stirred together before all of the wet ingredients are added in and mixed together. I’ve found that the cake turns out best if all of your ingredients, including the milk and applesauce, are at room temperature.

chocolate cake on a marble cake stand

The batter is poured evenly into 2 baking pans, I used 8×8, and baked for about 35 minutes.

That’s it! Simple, right? I always overthink baking recipes but this is pretty basic, even for a vegan desserts recipe.

Slice of chocolate cake being pulled from the cake

Can I make this vegan chocolate cake gluten free?:

Inevitably, every time that I post a baking recipe, I always get a ton of questions from people asking how they can make the recipe gluten free. Making a gluten free vegan chocolate cake is on my to do list but so far, the only way that I have ever tried making this recipe gluten free is by using a 1-1 gluten free flour.

I’m a big fan of Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 gluten free flour as well as Cup4Cup gluten free flour.

I’ll definitely update this post once I’ve made a gluten free version. In the meantime, here’s a delicious paleo chocolate cake that’s I’ve tried. It does have eggs in it fyi.

slices of chocolate cake on a white plate

Vegan Chocolate Frosting:

I plan to create a whole separate post on this vegan chocolate frosting in the near future but in the meantime, I wanted you to have the recipe now.

Just like with the cake, I wanted to keep this vegan frosting very simple and classic. So, we’re working with powdered sugar, vegan butter, cocoa powder, vanilla, and a bit of milk (whatever kind you prefer). All of the ingredients get whisked together until you have a light and fluffy chocolate frosting that’s decadent and creamy and DELICIOUS!

slice of chocolate cake on a marble cake stand

See how to make the easy vegan chocolate cake here:

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Vegan Chocolate Cake

★★★★★

5 from 10 reviews
  • Author: Food with Feeling
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 10 servings 1x
Print Recipe

Description

This is THE BEST Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe that you will ever find! It’s rich and decadent and perfect for holiday baking.

Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 2 ½ cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups of organic cane sugar or granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup of cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of espresso powder
  • ⅔ cup of melted coconut oil (get unrefined if you want it to be virtually tasteless), vegetable or coanola oil also work
  • 1 ½ tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon of almond extract
  • 1 1/2  cups of milk, any kind works here (I tested it with almond milk and regular dairy milk), at room temperature*
  • ½ cup of apple sauce unsweetened, at room temperature*

For the frosting:

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup vegan butter
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 4 tbs milk

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F and generously spray 2 cake pans with cooking spray. I used 8×8 pans but 9×9 will also work.
  2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together the apple cider vinegar and milk. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with an electric mixer or even just a whisk), combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Mix.
  4. Add in the oil, milk/ apple cider vinegar mixture, vanilla, almond extract, and apple sauce. Mix until just combined (be careful not to over mix), scrapping down the sides as needed.
  5. Pour the batter evenly between your 2 cake pans and bake for 33-38 minutes. Mine were perfect around 35 minutes but you’ll know they’re done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting. Optional: cut the dome off of the cake so that the top is flat.
  6. Make the frosting by combining all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk (I used an electric mixer) until it becomes lighter in color and is fluffy and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
  7. Layer the cake by placing one of the cake rounds on a cake stand and icing the top. Place the other cake round on top and ice the entire cake with a thin layer of the icing to create a crumb layer. Using the rest of the icing, spread it out evenly all around the cake.
  8. Slice and ENJOY!

Notes

*I’ve found that putting cold milk and apple sauce into the mixture makes it so that the cake sinks down in the middle just a little. It will still taste great though.

  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: cake, vegan, baking, chocolate