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Vegan chocolate cake on a white cake stand.
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4.96 from 85 votes

Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake

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. 
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Cakes, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegan
Servings: 10
Calories: 234kcal
Author: Alison Andrews

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:

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

  1. 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. 
  2. Flax egg. You can replace the flax egg with 3 Tablespoons of applesauce. 
  3. 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.
    • 9x9 square cake pan - bake for 25 minutes.
    • 9x13 sheet cake - bake for 15-20 minutes. 
  4. 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.
  5. Cupcakes: This recipe adapts beautifully to 12 perfect cupcakes. Bake them for 20 minutes. Or check out our classic vegan chocolate cupcakes. 
  6. 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. 
  7. Nutritional information is for the cake only and excludes frosting. Nutritional information for the frostings can be found on those separate linked recipes. 
  8. 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. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 37.9g | Protein: 3.6g | Fat: 8.5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 271mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 20.2g