The best vegan chocolate cake topped with the richest silkiest vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. Perfectly moist and totally decadent.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
And decorate with vegan chocolate shavings.
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.
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.
Recipe FAQ
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.
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.
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.
Sure, you can try this with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend, in the same quantity as the regular flour.
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.
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.
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!
More Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan White Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Apple Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
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*
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
- You can also use almond milk to make vegan buttermilk.
- 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.
- 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.
- This cake will keep covered at room temperature for 3-4 days and in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- Nutritional information includes everything, frosting, chocolate shavings, all of it!
Made this for my sons birthday and it was amazing. Used apple cider vinegar and coconut sugar and it was a big hit. I served it with simple mills vanilla frosting and fresh cut strawberries. Absolutely the BEST chocolate cake I have ever had. Thank you!
So happy to hear that Anne! Thanks for posting! 🙂
I don’t really bake but I’ve tried the chocolate chip cookies a few times and they’ve come out amazing so I decided to try this cake for my sister’s birthday. I’m so glad I did, this is the best cake I’ve ever made and it was so simple! So rich and moist and delicious! We all really really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for working on this recipe and sharing it so we can all enjoy lovely vegan cake <3 My sister likes raspberries so I pureed a handful or so through a colander for the mix, and then used raspberry jam between the layers, the tartness was a nice contrast to the decadent sweetness of the chocolate
Fantastic! Thanks so much Javi!
This was one of the best cakes I’ve made better than non vegan chocolate cake I make and went down a storm at a party for a mix of people who were not all vegan
I will definitely be making again and going to try with almond or oat milk ads I’m allergic to soy and only had a small mouthful jyst to taste
Simply sensational you will not regret making this
It was also very straight forward to make
Thank you for a fab recipe
Thanks so much Shaz!
Hi there! Can I use a flax egg in this recipe instead of the applesauce? Thanks!
Yes, but you would use 1 and 1/2 flax eggs. We answer this question in the blog post. 🙂
Brilliant cake, thank you.
The GoTo cake recipe I always used for birthdays had disappeared off the internet. Whilst I was frantically looking around for a similar recipe, I found yours! It was such a relief.
Instead of 1/2 cup of oil, I put 1/2 cup (about one medium apple worth) of apple sauce. And it came out perfect. Thank you. This time I’m printing the recipe so it doesn’t disappear on me again.
Awesome, so glad it was a success! Thanks so much for sharing!
Could I half the recipe and bake in a rectangular pan? Thank you!
I’m not sure. It would depend on the size of your pan. This article from Food52 details how to adapt recipes for different pan sizes.
This recipe is INCREDIBLE! You made me a HERO- thank you so much. My family was blown away by This cake! My brother in law criticizes every food- and he sang my praises. It was soft and fluffy and deliciously chocolatey. Thank you so much for your recipes and blog.
So happy to hear that Vicki! Thanks a million!
Mmmm ~ this cake looks absolutely YUMMYLICIOUS!!! I’m sure I’ll be making it at some point very soon!!! Can’t wait to taste it. ????????????????????
It’s amazing and delicious! Such a delicate, light cake!
How long do you need to leave the cake to cool before adding the frosting? 🙂
It just needs to be completely cool to the touch. If it’s even slightly warm then the frosting will soften too much and slide off. It takes as long as it takes and differs according to room temperature. But you can speed it up in the fridge if needed.
i just made this cake for my daughters birthday! OMG (am i too old to say “OMG” i’m 59) any way, it was delicious, a beautiful cake, moist,chocolatety and held together well. I didn’t have apple sauce! also, i added a teaspoon of coffee. It turned out amazingly well.
Awesome Lori! Thanks for sharing!
Hi I’m in the UK.
What is baking soda, is it bicarbonate of soda or baking powder?
Thanks
Bicarbonate of soda.
Amazed on how well your recipes turn out.. and this one was no exception!! Though I’ve adapted to the ingredients I had at home (used flax eggs as you suggest, carob instead of cacao and 130g of coconut sugar) and invented on the frosting to make it a bit lighter (used coconut cream, powdered sugar, a touch of xantham gum and juice of fresh squeezed blueberries), its incredibly chocolaty! ! Thank you for creating it and sharing it! ???? sending you a big hug ????
Awesome Tamara! Thanks for sharing!
Hi
Can I use Oat milk instead of Soy milk?
Will that make a difference on the final outcome?
Yes, you can, it should be fine! 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Hi Alison,
Hope you are well.
I wanted to make this cake for my bfs birthday but I wanted to do only one 8 inch cake. How would I do that with your ingredients? How long would it have to be in the oven for? I also wanted to cut the cake in half to have the buttercream frosting in the middle (so each half is 4 inches). How much of the ingredients would i need for the butter cream icing?
Hi Sonali, it would work best to halve the recipe in that case.
This was truly the best vegan chocolate cake! I made it for my non-vegan family and they all loved it! I used 8″ cake pans and made about 4/5 the amount of frosting, which ended up being exactly perfect. Cheers!
Fantastic! Thanks so much Christina!