This vegan chocolate cake is ultra rich and moist with a delicate crumb. Top it with silky smooth buttercream for the perfect sweet treat everyone will love. It's a nearly fail-proof dessert.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
This post was sponsored by Bob's Red Mill. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
One of the lessons we take with us from 2020 is that sharing baked goods with others can make a huge difference for those who need a boost. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, now is the perfect time to make something special for your loved ones. I promise it will go a long way. And choosing the best ingredients is one way to show how much we care. That is why, when it comes to baking, I only use Bob's Red Mill flours.
This vegan chocolate cake is the perfect way to celebrate love. Unbelievably moist and rich with chocolatey goodness in every bite, this is indulgence in its truest form.
Better yet, it is super simple to make; it's nearly fail-proof with no unnatural ingredients or vegan egg replacers. Even the most novice vegan baker could master this cake.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
This easy fool-proof cake is made with simple, straight-forward ingredients for a rich and delicate dessert. AND best of all, the ingredients are easy to find and likely ones you already have on hand!
Here is everything you need.
Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour – Bob’s Red Mill is my go-to brand of flour and the only one I recommend. They offer a great selection of gluten free and organic flours to help make recipes taste better and fit all lifestyles. Read all about why I love Bob’s Red Mill below.
- Powdered & Granulated Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements. For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
- Oil – I recommend coconut oil. If you want to eliminate the oil altogether, swap it out for the same amount of applesauce.
- Non-Dairy Milk – I recommend soy milk because it curdles the best, making a perfect plant-based buttermilk. Almond milk will often curdle too but not as well.
- Vegan Butter – Look for a high-quality non-hydrogenated vegan butter. I recommend either Earth Balance or Miyoko’s.
My Go-To Baking Flour
I use Bob’s Red Mill products in almost all of my baked goods. They offer the largest selection of vegan, paleo, and gluten free flours that fit well with everyone’s dietary needs.
Bob’s Red Mill is an employee-owned company with the largest lines of organic, whole grain foods in the country.
For over three decades, the company has been committed to providing people everywhere with the best quality foods available. All of their products are certified Kosher and made with ingredients grown from non-GMO seeds. And their products are minimally processed which means the grains are about as close to nature as possible before hitting your table.
And you can taste the difference! Find Bob’s Red Mill at your local grocery store and you’ll see why I am such a huge fan!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One – Prepare the pan
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
As the oven heats, line (1) 8” or 9" cake pan with parchment paper. To get an even circle, place the bottom of a cake pan on top of a large piece of parchment paper. Trace around the bottom of the pan and carefully cut out the circle so that it neatly fits inside. Spray the pan with cooking spray and set it aside.
Step Two - Make the Buttermilk
In a small bowl combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Whisk together and set aside for 5 minutes to let it curdle. This vegan buttermilk gives your cake its light texture.
Once it is curdled, whisk in the melted coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla extract and set aside.
Step Three – Make the Cake
In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. That’s the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Pro Tip: The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix to combine; a few lumps are okay. Once your cake batter is well hydrated, add the warm water and whisk until fully incorporated.
Transfer the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Step Four - Make the Buttercream
Gently melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in 15-second increments in the microwave. Let it cool for 5 minutes. This is important. If you add the chocolate while it's still hot, it will break the buttercream.
Meanwhile, in a stand-up mixer, cream the vegan butter on high for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extra and beat for another 5 minutes, scraping down the sides again.
Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the melted chocolate into the buttercream. Increase the speed to high and mix for another 2-3 minutes.
Pro Tip: Use chocolate chips when making chocolate buttercream rather than cocoa powder. This gives the buttercream a complex and delicious flavor. Melted chocolate also improves the texture creating a creamy silky buttercream that you can just sink your teeth into.
Step Five – Decorate the Cake
Once the cake is ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool for at least 30 minutes in the cake pan before flipping it out onto a wire cooling rack. This is very important as the structure of the cake is still firming up. If you flip it over too early, it may fall apart or stick to the pan. Let the cake continue cooling on a wire cooling rack until it is completely cool. At this point, you can place the cake in the refrigerator to cool it faster.
To assemble the cake, carefully cut it in thirds. Here's a helpful video tutorial on how to trim and cut a cake.
Place about 1 cup of buttercream on the bottom layer of the chocolate cake, smooth oven evenly with an offset spatula, and top with a second layer. Repeat one more time and then coat the entire cake in frosting.
Pro Tip: To make your cake extra special, add a thin layer of pourable chocolate ganache over the top of the cake once it is assembled.
Serving And Storing
Serving - Serve immediately or place it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Storing – Store for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This cake can also be store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, simply pull out and let thaw at room temperature.
Tips And Tricks
- Do not overmix. Overmixing allows the gluten strands to develop making the cake gummy. Mix until just combined to ensure a light, delicate crumb.
- Do not open the oven door while the cake is baking. This causes the structure to fall leaving you with a dent in the middle of your cakes. You can check for doneness after 50 minutes.
- To prevent the cake from sticking, use parchment paper and generously spray the cake pans before filling them with batter.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the cake starts to get dark around the edges, you can cover it with tin foil to bake for the last 10 minutes.
- Let the chocolate cool for at least 5 minutes before adding it to the buttercream. If your chocolate is too hot, this may cause the buttercream to separate.
- Let the cake cool for at least 45 minutes in the cake pans before turning it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Let the cake cool completely before frosting. Otherwise, the buttercream frosting will melt off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This vegan cake can be made in advance. To do this, bake the cake according to the instructions. Once the cake is cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. This cake can be frozen for up to 2 months. When ready to frost, let the cake thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
The chocolate buttercream can be made up to 5 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yes! This recipe will make 24 cupcakes. When making cupcakes, line the muffin tin with baking cups generously spray the cups with cooking spray. Bake the cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Yes. I have had a lot of luck with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. In fact, when it comes to gluten-free baking, this is the only 1:1 flour I recommend.
More Vegan Cake Recipes
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 ½ cup soy milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup warm water
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 cup (2 sticks) vegan butter
- 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips, melted
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. line (1) 8” or 9" cake pan with parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix together and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the milk to curdle. Once curdled, add coconut oil, vanilla extract, and granulated sugar to soy milk mixture and whisk together.
- In a large bowl whisk together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix to combine; a few lumps are okay. Once your cake batter is well hydrated, add the warm water and whisk until the water is fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before removing it from the cake pan. Let the cake continue to cool on a wire cooling rack.
To make the buttercream
- Gently melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in 15-second increments in the microwave.
- In a stand-up mixer, cream the vegan butter on high for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extra and beat for another 5 minutes, scraping down the sides again, as necessary. Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the melted chocolate into the buttercream. Increase the speed to high and mix for another 2-3 minutes.
Decorate the Cake
Notes
- Do not overmix. Overmixing allows the gluten strands to develop making the cake gummy. Mix until just combined to ensure a light, delicate crumb.
- Do not open the oven door while the cakes are baking. This causes the structure to fall leaving you with a dent in the middle of your cakes. You can check for doneness after 50 minutes.
- Let the cake completely before decorating to prevent the buttercream from melting.
- For a helpful tutorial on how to trim and cut a cake, here’s a helpful video tutorial.
- Make sure to let the melted chocolate cool for at least 5 minutes before adding it to your buttercream. Otherwise the heat from the chocolate may cause your buttercream to break.
- For a gluten-free option, use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Amanda says
I am going to try this on Thursday!! "National Chocolate Cake Day". Quick question...saw a yummy looking Chocolate Bundt cake recipe I wanted to try. Have you ever replaced up to 3 eggs in a recipe? I rarely go beyond 2.
Thanks!
Erika says
Easy to throw together, but may want to make sure you have two pans prepared. The way the recipe is written indicates one pan only, but I made a dozen cupcakes and an 8” square layer, with the square layer almost overflowing. I normally would use my Fat Daddio 3” tall round pans, so maybe it could all fit into one of those?
Regina says
Hi! Do you think this recipe could make 3 6in cakes? Or should I double the recipe?
Paula says
In the frosting recipe you said 2 cups butter but also you said 2 sticks which is only a cup of butter. So is it 2 cups of butter or 2 sticks. Thx
Sarah McMinn says
Where are you seeing 2 cups? I see 1 cup of butter on the recipe card.
Jenn says
Can this be baked in two 8 or 9 inch pans, instead of one? If so, how much time would you recommend to bake?
Sarah McMinn says
Yes, for sure. I would bake for 30 minutes and then check.
Jesse says
What can I use in place of the oil so I can have it oil free?
Archanaa Mignet says
I used Coconut Butter in place of Oil and it came out amazing...
Teresa says
I haven't tried it but maybe you can use apple sauce instead of oil. I made vegan cupcakes where apple sauce is used and there's no oil. (My cake is baking as I type this....but I used the coconut oil. If I like this recipe I will try it with the apple sauce because my one daughter is allergic to coconut. If I do, I'll let you know!