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.
Could you confirm the baking times listed for 7-inch and 8-inch round cake pans?
I am confused that the 7-inch needs more baking time than the 8-inch?
My cake pans are 8-inch round.
7-inch pans are smaller, so the cakes will be thicker, therefore they need more baking time. Everything there is correct. 🙂
Another great cake recipe. This baked perfectly. Only change I made was to add peppermint extract to the frosting, skipping the vanilla to make a mint chocolate cake. It was divine!
Thanks again for all the hard work you put in to providing us with the best vegan recipes!
That sounds amazing, I LOVE mint everything! Thanks for the awesome review!
I have made the ginger loaf cake which was divine! and filled my apartment up with amazing smells 🙂 I fed half the people in the block with it lol. I am going to try the chocolate cake today – my son and his new wife are arriving back home in NZ from France. I am sure it will be delicious, and I will let you know how it goes! 🙂 Thank you so much for these recipes 🙂 Xxx
Wonderful to hear the ginger cake was a success! Hope you will love this one too! 🙂
Can I use coconut sugar in place of granulated?
Yes that should be fine!
Your cake recipes look great and I’m about to go on a spree trying them over the holidays. I tend to try and cook with whole wheat flour vs white flour. Can I sub in white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour for any of your cakes? I guess whole wheat pasty flour could be an option as well. Please let me know your thoughts.
Definitely plan to come back and provide feedback upon making the cakes as well.
Awesome thanks! All the best!
Hi Christine, whole wheat pastry flour should work, regular whole wheat will have a coarser texture.
I can’t believe how delicious this cake was. I halved the recipe for two 6-inch pans. I also used a chocolate ganache frosting instead of buttercream. It was incredible, better than any I’ve ever had even before going vegan. This is definitely going to be my go-to dessert. Thank you for this recipe, Alison!!
Awesome! Thanks so much Deeksha!
Hii, great recipe! Is it possible to substitute the all purpose flour for a wholemeal alternative?
Hi Sophie, I haven’t tested this with any whole meal flour but I think you could, it would change the texture though.
Alison I am a chocolatier and can’t live without chocolate. Your cake was beyond delicious and five star. The only modification I did instead of chocolate butter cream frosting I made a vegan chocolate ganache with an addition of 10 percent fat( I used cocoa butter) to cut down on the amount of sugar since I am borderline type 2 diabetic. I also used 1/2 cup of Truvia ( instead of granular sugar) to lower my sugar intake. It turned out awesome. Sending you a big hug.
Hanna Baroncelli AKA: Fuchsia chocolatier
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing Hanna!
I made this for Father’s Day today and it turned out great! Thanks for sharing your amazing vegan baking recipes!!!
Hi Alison I tried with egg replacer powder n turned out so perfect thanks for sharing this recipe to your blog
Hi Alison! Thank you for this fantastic recipe! I made this for my birthday (it was my first time baking!!) and it came out great! 😀
Awesome! So happy to hear that, and happy birthday! 🙂
Hi Alison,
My Mom taught me to always sift flour before measuring it with dry measuring cups, and then be gentle with it afterward.
I don’t see recipes even mentioning sifting flour any more.
It seems like sifting it and then using a measuring cup will result in a totally different amount of flour than if I sift it and weigh it.
Your thoughts?
Thanks!
-Lisa
Las Vegas, NV
Hi Lisa! Yes, I think that could make the flour settle more and therefore more would fit into the cup. So I think if you’re not weighing it then it could cause you to use too much of it. I usually do sift flour for cakes but always after measuring it. 🙂
Hey Alison,
If I put the cake in the fridge would it still be moist and soft when we eat it? Also would the icing be soft as well?
As long as it’s kept covered it will still be perfectly moist. The frosting does get firm, but in a good way!
Would a net cover do? I do not have anything else unfortunately
It might be best to keep it at room temp in that case!
Hi Alison,
Hope your well!
What can I use instead of Flax eggs?
You can use 3 Tbsp of applesauce instead. 🙂
Hi Alison,
I am planning to make this cake. Can I use wheat flour instead of all purpose flour? Will the quantities change? I am new to baking but would like to try.
Cheers,
Anjali
Hi Anjali, do you mean whole wheat flour? I don’t think that will work well, the texture is much coarser. If you mean ‘cake wheat flour’ then that is just another name for all purpose flour in certain parts of the world.
Hi Alison,
Thank you so much for the response. Yes it is whole wheat flour. I will try with all purpose flour and will let you know 🙂
Cheers,
Anjali
Hi! Could I use a regular egg in place of the flax egg? Been looking for a dairy-free cake for my sister and this looks great!
Sure! 🙂