Vegan Chocolate Cake

With a few swaps, we’ve turned a layered chocolate cake recipe into a just-as-glorious plant-based version.  This vegan chocolate cake has two deeply chocolaty, tender layers of cake assembled with an ultra-fluffy milk chocolate frosting that is spreadable, pipeable, and so unctuously rich and delicious that you may want a glass of nondairy milk nearby.

We use a few secret ingredients to make sure this vegan chocolate cake recipe is every bit as tasty as our best chocolate cake. So, grab your favorite vegan butter from the store and let’s get started!

Ingredients for Vegan Chocolate Cake

• Nondairy milk: Use your favorite nondairy milk alternative here. Oat, almond, cashew, hazelnut or coconut milk would all work just fine.
• Apple cider vinegar: The ACV is mixed with the nondairy milk to get that touch of tang we’d normally get from buttermilk.
• Canola oil: A neutral-tasting oil, like canola oil, adds moisture to the cake without adding an oily flavor.
• Sugar: To keep this chocolate cake veg, avoid buying refined white sugar since it’s bleached with animal bone char. We recommend cane sugar, as it’s one of the most widely available vegan sugars.
• Applesauce: Along with the oil, applesauce acts as a replacement for butter and eggs by adding moisture and tenderness. And, no, you can’t taste the applesauce.
• Vanilla extract: Feel free to use vanilla extract or vanilla paste in this recipe for chocolate vegan cake.
• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour yields the most tender cake layers. Be sure you know how to measure flour the right way so you’re not adding too much and baking dense cake layers.
• Baking cocoa: Chocolate is the main ingredient in this cake, so it only makes sense to splurge on the best cocoa powder for a high-quality outcome.
• Instant coffee granules: The best chocolate cake recipes all have the same secret ingredient: coffee. That’s right! Coffee deepens the taste of the chocolate without imparting any buzzy coffee notes.
• Leavening agents: We want our cake to rise nice and tall, so we use both baking soda and baking powder in this vegan chocolate cake recipe.
• Frosting: To make the frosting, you’ll need vegan butter, vanilla, more cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar and more nondairy milk. It all whips up beautifully.

Directions

Step 1: Create the “buttermilk”

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of two greased 9-inch round baking pans with parchment, then grease the parchment.

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the nondairy milk and the apple cider vinegar. Set this mixture aside.

Step 2: Make the batter

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the canola oil, sugar, applesauce and vanilla extract until well blended.

In another large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking cocoa, instant coffee if desired, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the applesauce mixture, alternating with the milk/vinegar mixture. Beat until the cake batter is nice and smooth.

Editor’s Tip: Try not to overbeat the cake batter or your cake can come out tough and dense.

Step 3: Bake the cakes

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Pop the cakes into the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and place the cakes on wire racks. Remove the parchment from the cakes and let the cakes cool completely to room temperature.

Editor’s Tip: Once cool, feel free to cut off any domes on the cake layers so your cakes can stack and sit nicely once assembled. The best way to level a cake without a cake leveler is with a serrated knife and a cake turner.

Step 4: Whip up the frosting

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Sift the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa together to remove any tight clumps. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the vegan butter and vanilla extract until blended. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar mixture alternately with the nondairy milk to reach your desired frosting consistency.

Step 5: Frost the cake

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Using a mini offset spatula, butter knife or the back of a spoon, spread the frosting on top of one of the cakes, then stack the next layer on top and make sure they line up as perfectly as you can get them. Then, spread additional frosting over the top and sides of cake.

Editor’s Tip: If you’re new to frosting cakes, check out our guide on how to frost a cake for more fleshed-out directions with tips and visuals.

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Voila! Your vegan chocolate cake is ready to serve. If you’re nervous about making the first cut, here’s how to cut a round cake like a pro.

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Recipe Variations

• Add a filling: Instead of filling the entire cake with frosting, pipe a frosting ring on the top perimeter of the cake and fill it with vegan-friendly jam, fresh fruit, vegan ganache or vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread. The frosting ring prevents the filling from oozing out the sides of the cake.
• Finish with plant-based decorations: I love arranging edible flowers on my cakes. Strawberries, raspberries or cherries also look nice against the chocolate hue. Lots of easy cake decorating ideas can be suited for a plant-based diet.

How to Store Vegan Chocolate Cake

Place your vegan chocolate cake in a cake dome or in an airtight container and stash it in the fridge. The cake needs to be stored in some type of container because its porous nature is prone to absorbing nearby smells, especially any lingering funky fridge smells. The cake can be refrigerated for up to four days.

Can you freeze vegan chocolate cake?

Absolutely! Place your vegan chocolate cake uncovered in the freezer until the frosting is frozen, 30 to 60 minutes. Then, wrap the cake tightly in a few layers of storage wrap. Pop it back in the freezer where it can last up to two months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before removing the storage wrap and enjoying it again.

Vegan Chocolate Cake Tips

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Can I bake these into cupcakes?

Yes, you can bake the cake batter into cupcakes, or you can just follow our vegan chocolate cupcakes recipe. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners and fill each one with cake batter until it’s half full. Bake the cupcakes in a 350° oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely to room temperature before decorating with the frosting.

What other pans can I use to bake this vegan chocolate cake?

According to our baking pan conversions guide, you can bake the cakes in three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch square pans.

Can you make this vegan chocolate cake gluten-free too?

We have not tested any gluten-free flours with this vegan chocolate cake recipe, so please proceed with caution. If you do experiment, try it with one of the best gluten-free flour blends on the market. Just double-check that the flour blend is vegan-friendly too.