This easy vegan chocolate cake is moist, rich and decadent but also so simple to make! It’s also extremely versatile for different pan sizes.
This recipe was originally published in 2015 and was one of the first recipes published on our blog. We have given it a makeover with some new photos and lots of extra tips and tricks. The recipe itself is unchanged.
This easy vegan chocolate cake is the bomb diggity!
Not only is it super easy to make, but I’m actually convinced it is flop proof. You’re going to love the simplicity of the ingredients and how well it turns out.
It’s rich, moist, mega-chocolatey and topped with the simplest chocolate frosting that also really brings it with the chocolate flavor.
This is the easy route to popularity right here! Just whip up one of these babies for your friends and you’re it.
It’s also really flexible and you can make this cake in a variety of different cake pan sizes, as a layer cake or as a sheet cake. So basically, this cake has got a whole lot going for it.
What You Need To Make This Cake:
Ingredient Notes
- Soy milk – this can be replaced by another non-dairy milk such as almond milk.
- White vinegar – the white distilled vinegar reacts with the baking soda and causes the cake to rise. You can also use apple cider vinegar.
- Flax egg – making a flax egg is as simple as mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of hot water and letting it sit until it becomes gloopy. If you don’t have any flaxseeds on hand, the same method can be used with chia seeds, or you can replace the flax egg with 3 tablespoons of applesauce.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with any vegetable oil.
What You Need To Make The Frosting:
Frosting Notes
We used our super simple recipe for vegan chocolate frosting on this cake. It makes the perfect amount to frost this cake in pretty much whatever size cake pans you use.
The other option for frosting is to make a half batch of our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. The main difference in the recipe (the basic ingredients are the same) is a larger quantity of vegan butter.
The reason I recommend a half batch of the chocolate buttercream is because this is a fairly small cake, and our chocolate buttercream was created for a large two-layer 9-inch cake. So a half batch is usually sufficient for this recipe, no matter what cake pans you use.
If in doubt though you can make a full batch of the chocolate buttercream and just freeze whatever frosting you don’t use.
How To Make Easy 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.
- Sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of hot water and let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, vanilla extract, oil and vinegar to the mixing bowl and mix into a batter. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter between two 7-inch cake pans (see below for adapting this cake to different cake sizes) and smooth down.
- Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost with our vegan chocolate frosting or a half batch of our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting.
Adapting For Different Cake Sizes
This cake can be adapted for different cake sizes as follows:
- Three 6-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes.
- Two 7-inch round cake pans – bake for 25 minutes.
- Two 8-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes.
- One 9-inch round cake pan – bake for 30 minutes.
- 9×9 square cake pan – bake for 25 minutes.
- 9×13 sheet cake – bake for 15-20 minutes.
For a two layer 9-inch cake it’s best to double the recipe, and in that case the bake time will be 30 minutes.
Tips For Success
- Measure the flour correctly. Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level method – spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. Alternatively weigh it on a food scale.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the batter until it’s just mixed and then stop mixing. Tiny lumps are fine. Overmixing can cause your cake to be dense or to not rise properly.
- Bake immediately. As soon as your batter is mixed, transfer to your cake pans and bake immediately. This is not a batter that should rest. If you don’t bake right away it can cause your cake to not rise.
Recipe FAQ
If you want to adapt this cake for gluten-free then we’ve done all the heavy lifting for you already. Check out our gluten-free chocolate cake that adapts this recipe beautifully to create a perfectly moist and delicious gluten-free version.
This recipe adapts beautifully to 12 perfect cupcakes. Bake them for 20 minutes. Or check out our classic vegan chocolate cupcakes.
Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay perfectly fresh for a couple of days, or covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week, though it’s at its absolute best in the first couple of days when it’s ultra fresh.
Yes, it’s freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Vegan Pound Cake
- Vegan Apple Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the Vegan Chocolate Cake:
- 1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (188g)
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder (43g) Unsweetened
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseeds + 3 Tbsp Hot Water*
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil (80ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
Frosting Options:
- 1 Recipe Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- ½ Recipe Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 7-inch cake pans (see notes for different cake pan sizes*) with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing one tablespoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of hot water and leave to sit for a minute or so to become gloopy.
- Add your flax egg, soy milk (or other non-dairy milk), vanilla extract, oil and vinegar to the mixing bowl and mix in. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
- Place into the oven to bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the cake pans for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost with our vegan chocolate frosting or a half batch of our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level method – spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. Alternatively weigh it on a food scale.
- Flax egg. You can replace the flax egg with 3 Tablespoons of applesauce.
- Cake Sizes: This cake can be adapted for different cake sizes as follows:
- Three 6-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes.
- Two 7-inch round cake pans – bake for 25 minutes.
- Two 8-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes.
- One 9-inch round cake pan – bake for 30 minutes.
- 9×9 square cake pan – bake for 25 minutes.
- 9×13 sheet cake – bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Gluten-Free: If you want to adapt this cake for gluten-free then we’ve done all the heavy lifting for you already. Check out our gluten-free chocolate cake that adapts this recipe beautifully to create a perfectly moist and delicious gluten-free version.
- Cupcakes: This recipe adapts beautifully to 12 perfect cupcakes. Bake them for 20 minutes. Or check out our classic vegan chocolate cupcakes.
- Storing and Freezing: Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay perfectly fresh for a couple of days, or covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week. It’s freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
- Nutritional information is for the cake only and excludes frosting. Nutritional information for the frostings can be found on those separate linked recipes.
- This recipe was first published in September 2015. It has been updated with new photos and lots of extra tips but the recipe itself is unchanged.
Emily says
I have spent over a year-and-a-half trying to find the perfect recipe for cake for my egg allergic daughter and I finally found it! I just made these as cupcakes and they’re perfect. We aren’t vegan, so I just used regular buttermilk and they were amazing. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen my 4 year old eat an entire cupcake. Thank you thank you!! Are there any other cake recipes you recommend? I could really use some go to for white or yellow and lemon cake. Or anything else really! I’m so excited!
Emily says
I just realized I posted this on the wrong recipe, it should be on the best vegan chocolate cake recipe. Sorry!
Heather says
I am looking for a dark choc cake recipe. Do you think I could use your recipe and use dark cocoa in place of reg to get the dark choc results?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Heather, yes I think you could do that, swap the cocoa for dark cocoa and the color would be much darker and the taste would be more dark chocolate. All the best! 🙂
Nat says
This was my first time making a vegan cake and it turned out so moist and delicious. I used oat milk and didn’t include the any vinegar and it still turned out great. Will definitely make it again. Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Nat! Thanks so much for the wonderful review. 🙂
RRS says
Thanks for the recipe. I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday. Made few changes. Replaced soy milk with hot water with added 1/2 tsp of instant coffee, replaced vinegar with lemon juice and added 1/2 tsp of baking powder too. It turned out just great. Thank again.????
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the wonderful rating! 🙂
Beverly A Hopkins says
I have made this chocolate cake many times and it always comes out so tasty. My Vegan son always requests this for his birthday cake and he is 29 years old. In fact one is baking in the oven at this moment.
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic to hear that! Thanks so much for the wonderful review Beverly!
Danielle says
Thanks for the recipe! Seems EXTREMELY straightforward! Going to try make it this weekend for my mum’s birthday. One question: will chia seeds instead of flax work as a substitute? Thanks!!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Danielle, you can make a chia egg the same way you make a flax egg and it works the same way, so if that’s easier for you, you can do it that way. All the best! 🙂
Satin says
Another winner! This is so good. My family have recently turned vegan so this was going to be our first attempt at a vegan birthday cake. My daughter and I made this for my husband’s birthday (he’s a chocolate lover). I didn’t have any flaxseed so I used vegan egg replacement powder with the same amount of water you suggested. I also made only a quarter of the frosting and used it in the middle of the cake, as we don’t like things too sweet. It turned out perfectly. We served with homemade blueberry compote. This is going to be our family’s celebration cake from now on! Thank you so much. We really are loving it vegan too ?
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the fantastic review! Thanks for sharing your adjustments, so happy to hear it was a success. xo
Don says
This recipe has a lot of wiggle room. I used water rather than the soy or almond milks, no flax egg, and I only had 3 1/4 cups of powdered sugar. I baked at 375 for until a toothpick came out clean. It tastes just like a chocolate cake to me. There was enough frosting to cover. Thanks. It is for a neighbor’s birthday.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad it worked out, thanks for sharing. 🙂
Sara Smith says
Also will this work in a bread loaf pan? I want to try your recipe because yours calls for soymilk (the other uses water) and just like 2 other measurement differences for a couple of the ingredients. and while the other is really really good, yours sounds like it had more richness to it! I’m excited to give it a try!
Alison Andrews says
If you leave out the flax egg, you will need to replace it with something, even some extra soy milk. It has not been tested that way though, so I don’t know. Should be fine though I reckon. In a loaf pan, the baking time will be longer, even up to an hour. You’ll have to keep a check and perhaps tent with foil in the last 20 minutes or so to prevent over-browning on top.
Sara says
I cant wait to make this! It’s similar to one I’ve made before. The one I made before tho had all the same ingredients except for the flax egg. Have you tried it without the flax egg (and w/o the applesauce)? Do you think it will hold up ok without it?
FallynFont13 says
I haven’t even made this yet, but I have high hopes. I recently became vegan and am really pumped up to use this, because I loved to bake! I’m happy there are so many cruelty-free recipes online and was thrilled to find this! Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Hope you’ll love it! Thanks for posting. 🙂
Jigna Shah says
I m not a professional baker but the recipe is soo easy and soo good that I just can’t go wrong with this one..
Superb results.. lovely cake ..
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Sandra says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve made it many many times for my non-vegan friends and they all love it and keep talking about it!! Will make it again this weekend for some other friends!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear! Thanks Sandra! 🙂
Luz says
Loved it! After trying your vanilla cake recipe I had high hopes for this one, and it was bomb. Flavour and texture on point. 😀
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So happy you liked it, and thanks for the amazing review! 🙂
Shiana says
I’m testing a bunch of vegan recipes to cater my daughter’s birthday as we have a number of little friends who are vegan or have egg allergies. This recipe is AMAZING. I made the following subs and made this as cupcakes and mini cupcakes : water instead of soy milk. Malt vinegar. Coconut oil.
This cake is the perfect texture. I think it will become my go to cake in future! I’ll be making the sheet cake quantities to make a layer cake. Can’t wait for everyone to try it! Thank you for such great recipes!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much for the amazing review Shiana! So happy you enjoyed it! 🙂