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    Home » Desserts

    The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake

    Published: Jan 5, 2019 Updated: Feb 11, 2022 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake

    The best vegan chocolate cake topped with the richest silkiest vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. Perfectly moist and totally decadent. 

    Chocolate cake with one slice cut and ready to serve on a white cake stand.

    I can’t get enough of vegan chocolate cake. It’s definitely a favorite. 

    And I got all arrogant with this one and called it ‘the best vegan chocolate cake’ you know, as you do.

    It’s mega-chocolatey, wonderfully moist, and supremely simple using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Crazy simple with a spectacular outcome.

    And the frosting – oh my word – the frosting. 

    It’s the silkiest creamiest vegan buttercream I have ever made. And paired with this two-layer decadent dream cake and topped with chocolate shavings you’ll make every chocolate lover a very happy camper with this cake. 

    I have already tested this cake on some non-vegans who had no idea that it was a vegan cake and they were freaking out over it. Now that’s what I like to see. 

    Chocolate cake with one slice cut and ready to serve on a white cake stand.

    Cake Pan Sizes

    What I love about this cake is that it’s a 9 inch two layer beauty that can also be made in 8 inch pans. 

    And since I get a lot of questions from readers asking for different size cake recipes, I was thrilled to discover that this is an either/or situation for 8 or 9 inch pans with absolutely no other adjustments. 

    If you make it in 9-inch cake pans, as we did for this photoshoot, it is totally gorgeous. If you make it in 8-inch cake pans, it’s just taller but every bit as gorgeous. 

    Chocolate cake with one slice cut and ready to serve on a white cake stand.

    How To Make the Best Vegan Chocolate Cake

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • This is a simple 10-ingredient recipe that takes very little time to prepare.  
    • Sift the all purpose flour and cocoa powder (unsweetened) into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, baking soda and salt. 
    • Make up some vegan buttermilk by adding some lemon juice to a measuring jug and then pouring in soy milk, or almond milk, and letting it curdle into vegan buttermilk. 
    • Add the vegan buttermilk to the mixing bowl and some vanilla, vegetable oil, vinegar and applesauce and mix in. Use a hand whisk briefly to get rid of any big lumps. 
    Vegan chocolate cake batter in a mixing bowl.
    • Spray two 9-inch (or you can use 8-inch) baking pans with non-stick spray and then line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. 
    • Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and then bake for 30-minutes. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the cake pans and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
    Two photo collage showing vegan chocolate cake before and after baking.

    That Vegan Chocolate Buttercream!

    The frosting is an ultra rich vegan chocolate buttercream. It’s only 6-ingredients and ridiculously simple to make, but it’s extremely impressive.

    You can just add all the ingredients – vegan butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla and non-dairy milk to a mixing bowl and then use your stand mixer to whisk it into a smooth and creamy vegan chocolate buttercream. 

    Vegan chocolate buttercream frosting in a stand mixer.

    It makes quite a lot of frosting, but as you can see from the photos, probably the perfect amount really.

    Unless of course you’re not a fan of frosting in which case, I don’t even know what to do with you?

    Only joking. If you’re not a frosting fan, this is a cake that can be served plain or with just a sprinkle of powdered sugar or with some vegan whipped cream. 

    When the cakes are completely cool, spread on the frosting.

    Two photo collage showing chocolate cakes cooling on a wire cooling rack and then frosting the cake on a white cake stand.

    And decorate with vegan chocolate shavings.

    Collage of two photos showing frosting and decorating a chocolate cake on a white cake stand.

    Just a note that if you’re making this as an 8-inch layer cake, then it’s almost too much frosting. So you might want to reduce a little bit, or just have it on extra thick, which is what I did when I tested this for 8-inch pans. 

    Chocolate cake topped with chocolate shavings on a white cake stand.

    Ingredient Tips

    Vegan buttermilk. This creates a super moist and tender crumb. It’s a little more moist than the average sponge cake, but not overly so. It’s rich and decadent and exactly how you want it to be. I prefer soy milk for making vegan buttermilk because it’s thicker and richer. Almond milk is more watery, but you can use almond milk if you can’t use soy. 

    Take a look at our vegan buttermilk post which also features a video where you can see the difference in texture between vegan buttermilk made with soy milk vs almond milk.  Coconut milk won’t curdle but can be used in a pinch. 

    Canola oil. I use oil rather than vegan butter in most of my cakes and I really love the result. For this cake I used canola oil, but I have also tested this with my other, rather unusual favorite, which is extra virgin olive oil. You can also use vegetable oil. If you want to use coconut oil then make sure it’s melted first. 

    Applesauce. This creates moisture without needing to use more oil and is also an ‘egg replacement’ of sorts. 

    Flour. Regular all purpose flour is my flour of choice for this cake. I recommend you weigh it for the best accuracy.  Flour measures are tricky, and even for experienced bakers using the spoon and level method (the correct method when using cup measures for flour) it is possible to get it a bit wrong. And baking is very precise and can be a little unforgiving in that respect. 

    Cocoa Powder. I use natural unsweetened cocoa powder. This works great in the cake and the frosting. 

    Chocolate cake on a white cake stand with one slice cut and ready to serve.

    Recipe FAQ

    What is the egg replacement in this vegan chocolate cake recipe?

    Applesauce! But I don’t find ‘egg replacements’ to be crucial in vegan baking, though I do use them for flavor/moisture. Really it’s more the vinegar/baking soda combination that is crucial in this cake. The applesauce is more for moisture than anything else.

    What can I use instead of applesauce?

    You can use 1 ½ flax eggs. So you would mix 1 ½ Tablespoons of ground flaxseed meal with 4 ½ Tablespoons hot water and let that sit until it becomes thick and gloopy.

    What is the vinegar for in this recipe?

    The vinegar reacts with the baking soda and helps the cake to rise. I used distilled white vinegar, but you can use apple cider vinegar too, they are interchangeable. 

    Can I make it gluten-free?

    Sure, you can try this with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend, in the same quantity as the regular flour. 

    Can I make cupcakes with this recipe?

    This recipe as is will make 18-24 cupcakes. If you want to make a perfect batch of 12 cupcakes though then check out our classic vegan chocolate cupcakes recipe.

    A slice of vegan chocolate cake on a cake lifter.

    Storing and Freezing

    This cake will keep covered at room temperature for 3-4 days and in the fridge for up to 7 days. It is definitely at its best in terms of taste and texture the day of baking and the following day.

    Unfortunately, you can’t make the batter in advance and let that sit in the fridge for a few days as that can cause the cake to not rise. It’s a make and bake immediately situation but the cake itself does last a fair while. 

    You can also freeze this cake, either frosted or unfrosted, for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge when you’re ready for it. 

    A slice of the chocolate cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    This Is The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake Because:

    • It’s wonderfully moist! Yes, I keep saying it but it really is. 
    • It’s extremely chocolatey. The chocolate flavor really pops.
    • It’s so rich and decadent. You’ll be super satisfied after a slice of this. 
    • It’s really quick and easy. The hardest part about this cake is having the patience to wait for the layers to cool so you can frost it and eat it! 
    • Vegans and non-vegans are mad about this cake! Tried and tested and definitely true. 
    • It can be made in 8-inch or 9-inch pans! I have tried it both ways and it worked great. The photos are of the 9-inch cake, but 8-inch works perfectly as well the cake is just taller. 
    • The vegan chocolate buttercream is totally divine. It’s really the perfect topping for this cake, oh and don’t forget the chocolate shavings! 
    A slice of vegan chocolate cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    More Vegan Cakes

    1. Vegan Lemon Cake
    2. Vegan Vanilla Cake
    3. Vegan White Cake
    4. Vegan Carrot Cake
    5. Vegan Apple Cake
    6. Vegan Red Velvet Cake 

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan chocolate cake on a white cake stand.

    The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake

    The best vegan chocolate cake topped with the richest silkiest vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. Perfectly moist and totally decadent.
    4.98 from 86 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 584kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    For the Chocolate Cake:

    • 2 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour (281g)
    • ¾ cup Cocoa Powder (63g) Unsweetened
    • 1 ½ cups White Granulated Sugar (300g)
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
    • ¾ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 ½ cups Vegan Buttermilk (360ml) 1 ½ Tablespoons lemon juice + soy milk up to the 1 ½ cup line*
    • 3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
    • ½ cup Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil
    • 1 ½ Tablespoons Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 5 Tablespoons Applesauce

    For the Vegan Chocolate Buttercream:

    • 1 ¼ cups Vegan Butter (284g)
    • 3 ½ cups Powdered Sugar (420g)
    • ¾ cup Cocoa Powder (63g) Unsweetened
    • ¼ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1-2 Tablespoons Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk*
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 9-inch* baking pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. Set aside.
    • Sift the flour and the cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, baking soda and salt.
    • Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding 1 ½ Tablespoons lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 ½ cup (360ml) line. Leave it for a minute to curdle.
    • Add the vegan buttermilk, vanilla, oil, vinegar and applesauce and mix in. Use a hand whisk briefly to remove any large lumps. Don't overmix.
    • Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans.
    • Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
    • Let the cake layers cool for a few minutes and then remove them from the cake pans and transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
    • Prepare your frosting by adding your vegan butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla and 1 Tablespoon soy milk to the bowl your stand mixer. Start off at slow speed and gradually increase speed until your frosting is thick and smooth. If it's too thick, add the remaining soy milk until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
    • Frost the cooled cakes and decorate with chocolate shavings.

    Video

    Notes

    1. You can also use almond milk to make vegan buttermilk.
    2. This cake works in both 9-inch pans (as in these photos) or 8-inch pans. If you use 8-inch pans you just get a taller cake, everything else remains the same for the cake.
    3. If you make this cake for 8-inch pans then the frosting may be too much. You could reduce the frosting recipe slightly, or just have it as a thicker frosting than what you see in these photos. Leftover frosting can also be frozen. 
    4. This cake will keep covered at room temperature for 3-4 days and in the fridge for up to 7 days.
    5. Nutritional information includes everything, frosting, chocolate shavings, all of it!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 584kcal | Carbohydrates: 86.5g | Protein: 5.6g | Fat: 26.3g | Saturated Fat: 7.8g | Sodium: 473mg | Fiber: 4.8g | Sugar: 60.5g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sajida says

      October 05, 2024 at 11:06 pm

      absolutely LOVE this recipe!!
      so quick and easy to make and so so delicious!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        October 24, 2024 at 4:14 pm

        Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Sajida. Thanks so much for your great review!

        Reply
    2. Paula Wells says

      August 07, 2024 at 3:49 pm

      My daughter requested a really really chocolately cake for her birthday, so I made this. She was thrilled!! and her boyfriend too! I shall definitely be making this again :o) I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed – The lemon cake is amazing to. I’m off to find a fabulous cookie recipe now.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        August 09, 2024 at 9:04 am

        Woohoo! So glad to hear you enjoy the recipes Paula! Thanks so much for your great review!

        Reply
    3. Gabry says

      June 10, 2024 at 12:37 pm

      This cake is so good!! I always make a double dose for a 3 tiers cake. The left over makes always a great breakfast treat!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        June 11, 2024 at 12:06 pm

        Awesome Gabry! Thanks for sharing your tip and for the great review!

        Reply
    4. Kelly says

      May 13, 2024 at 1:58 pm

      This cake is so delicious it can be served at any occasional! My first time making a vegan cake and I was thrilled w the results.

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        May 30, 2024 at 12:58 pm

        Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Kelly! Thanks so much for your great review!

        Reply
    5. Sue MacRae says

      April 23, 2024 at 4:11 pm

      Hi Alison
      Having used this recipe several times and everyone loving it! I am planning on using it for a wedding cake for September.I know you have had several queries regarding cake tins and I have used both an 8 inch and 9inch tins previously.I am aiming for possibly 3 tiers
      Although I haven’t decided yet.Have you used other round tins or can you advise me?It is my third wedding cake but I tend to follow recipes so am not sure re. quantities! I am thinking a ten inch ,8inch and 6inch.I will do a separate gluten free small cake from your site hopefully although I have not tried that yet!Also have you frozen the un iced cakes?
      Thank you

      Reply
    6. Amanda S. says

      April 13, 2024 at 11:17 pm

      I don’t like American buttercreams so I’ve never made this frosting but this really is THE BEST vegan chocolate cake recipe. If you’re reading the reviews to help you decide, I promise you this is the one. I use this recipe frequently and I get rave reviews every single time. The only change I make is to add a teaspoon of a espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor and I go just a teeny bit light on the oil because it’s crazy moist.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        April 18, 2024 at 9:40 am

        Wow thanks so much for your amazing review Amanda! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!

        Reply
    7. Julia says

      March 16, 2024 at 11:32 pm

      Thanks, once again, for a reliable and delicious recipe. I usually use your vanilla cake recipe but my daughter wanted chocolate. Simple ingredients, easy to make and delicious!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        April 18, 2024 at 9:41 am

        Thanks so much for your great review Julia! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!

        Reply
    8. Edel says

      February 01, 2024 at 6:21 pm

      it’s says 1/2 cup of oil. what mls is this please?

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        February 06, 2024 at 2:25 pm

        Thanks for pointing that out Edel. It’s 120ml.

        Reply
    9. Goda says

      January 19, 2024 at 7:42 pm

      I made this cake over Christmas and it was very popular amongst my non-vegan family! They couldn’t believe it was vegan. Absolutely delicious, I added a few tablespoons of soya yoghurt for a bit more moisture, couldn’t fault it at all, fantastic recipe. Highly recommend!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        January 23, 2024 at 2:06 pm

        Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review!

        Reply
    10. amanda says

      August 22, 2023 at 6:19 pm

      Hi! I was just wondering if I could make the frosting in advance? I was thinking of baking the cake and making the frosting and assembling and then doing a crumb coat the day before decorating but want to make sure the extra frosting for decorating can be kept in the fridge along with the assembled cake? So excited!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        September 26, 2023 at 2:27 pm

        Hi Amanda, you can keep the frosting in the fridge overnight. Be sure to whip it up again to soften it up a bit before frosting your cake.

        Reply
    11. Chris says

      March 09, 2023 at 4:39 pm

      This is the best cake I’ve ever made. I’m not even the biggest chocolate cake fan, but it turned out perfectly. I’ve made several of the cakes from this blog over the last couple of years (including the lime cake for my birthday and the strawberry cake for my partner’s), and they’re always amazing. I don’t even bother looking for vegan cake recipes on other sites anymore, because they’re never as reliable, easy, and delicious as Loving It Vegan’s.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 14, 2023 at 12:22 pm

        Thank you so much for your kind words! So happy to hear you enjoy the recipes!

        Reply
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    4.98 from 86 votes (13 ratings without comment)

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    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

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