Fudgy, moist and beautifully textured dairy free chocolate cake. Perfect as a 2 or 3-layer cake smothered in vegan chocolate buttercream.
This dairy free chocolate cake is three layers of awesome! Or two layers if you like, and it can be done in 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans so it’s flexible and versatile but most importantly, it’s utterly delicious.
It’s made with homemade dairy free buttermilk – made by mixing lemon juice with soy milk or almond milk – and it’s next level moist, loaded with chocolate flavor and just an all round winner.
Of course this cake is dairy free but it’s also eggless because really, you don’t need eggs to make this cake amazing. It is undetectably dairy-free and egg-free, i.e. no one will guess and everyone will think you’re awesome for baking this cake!
How To Make Dairy Free 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.
- It’s so easy to make this chocolate cake, you are going to totally love it.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray three 8-inch cake pans for a three layer cake, or two 9-inch cake pans for a two layer cake, with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Then sift all purpose flour and unsweetened cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix together.
- Prepare dairy free buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk or almond milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line and letting it curdle.
- Add the dairy free buttermilk, oil, applesauce and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix it into a thick batter.
- Add in 1 cup of hot coffee and whisk it in briefly with a hand whisk.
- The batter will be thin once the hot coffee is mixed in, and this is how it’s supposed to be for this recipe.
- Divide the batter evenly between your prepared cake pans and then bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the pans before transferring to wire cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting & Decorating
The frosting is a delicious vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s silky smooth and glides onto the cake like velvety perfection.
Sprinkle dark chocolate shavings over the top and you have a gorgeous dairy free cake.
Ingredient Notes
Dairy free buttermilk. This creates a deliciously moist crumb. The acid from the lemon juice in the buttermilk also reacts with the baking soda to give the cake rise. You can use either soy milk or almond milk to make it, but soy milk tends to give better (richer) results. Other non-dairy milks like coconut milk, oat milk, cashew milk etc may not curdle with the addition of the lemon juice, but can still be used in this recipe if that is what you have on hand.
Canola oil. You can use canola oil or switch it for any vegetable oil. If you want to use coconut oil then make sure it’s melted first. Coconut oil does tend to result in a denser texture.
Applesauce? You can use flax eggs instead of applesauce if you prefer, you would use two flax eggs to replace the applesauce in this recipe.
Hot coffee. This just enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake. If you don’t want to use coffee then you can just use hot water instead.
Recipe FAQ
Can I make this into cupcakes? Yes, this will make 18-24 cupcakes. If you’re looking for a gorgeous cupcake recipe that makes a perfect 12 cupcakes, then check out our classic vegan chocolate cupcakes recipe.
Can you make this cake gluten free? You can switch the regular flour for a gluten free all purpose baking blend. Or check out our vegan gluten free chocolate cake.
Storing and Freezing
Store your dairy free chocolate cake covered at room temperature where it will stay good for 3-4 days. You can also keep it covered in the fridge where it will stay fresh for up to 7 days.
It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months! Thaw it in the fridge overnight when you’re ready for it.
More Delicious Chocolate Cake Recipes
- Vegan German Chocolate Cake – the coconut pecan filling will blow your mind!
- Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake – you’ll never know there is zucchini in here!
- Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake – the easiest recipe!
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake – probably tied with this one for the ‘best’ cake award.
- Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake – dreamy!
- Vegan Oreo Cake – this one you’ve got to see!
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Dairy Free Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- ¾ cup Cocoa Powder (63g) Unsweetened
- 2 cups White Granulated Sugar (400g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Dairy Free Buttermilk (240ml) 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice + Soy Milk or Almond Milk up to the 1 cup line
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 6 Tablespoons Applesauce
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Hot Coffee (240ml)
For the Frosting:
- 1 Recipe Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare three 8-inch cake pans or two 9-inch cake pans* by spraying with non-stick spray and lining the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift the all purpose flour and unsweetened cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix together.
- Prepare the dairy free buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk or almond milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line and letting it curdle.
- Add the dairy free buttermilk to the mixing bowl along with the canola oil, applesauce and vanilla extract and mix into a thick batter.
- Add in 1 cup of hot coffee and whisk it in with a hand whisk. The batter will be thin and this is correct.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the cake pans for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost with vegan chocolate buttercream frosting and decorate with vegan chocolate shavings (optional).
Notes
- Flour. Weigh your flour for accuracy or make sure you measure it correctly using the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife.
- Dairy Free Buttermilk – is ideally made with lemon juice + soy milk or almond milk. Other non-dairy milks like coconut milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc may not curdle when mixed with lemon juice but can still be used if this is what you have on hand.
- Applesauce. The applesauce can be switched for 2 flax eggs (6 Tablespoons of Ground Flaxseed Meal mixed with 6 Tablespoons of hot water).
- Coffee. You can either use filter coffee or just add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee to a cup of boiling hot water. If you want to omit the coffee altogether then you can just use a cup of hot water.
- Cake pans. This cake is very versatile, you can make it in three 8-inch cake pans OR two 8-inch cake pans, if you’re doing two 8-inch pans the cake layers will just be thicker. You may need an extra 5 mins baking time if you’re doing it in two 8-inch pans. If you’re making it in 9-inch cake pans then make it in two layers.
- Storing. Store leftover cake covered at room temperature for 3-4 days or covered in the fridge for 7 days.
- Nutritional information is for the cake only, the nutritional info for the frosting is listed on the frosting recipe page.
- Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.
Hi Alison, I tried it using oatmilk instead. Im excited for the result! I love the vegan frosting thank you for sharing.
Hi Alison, I will try to make the cake tomorrow and got all ingredients, but just found out that it needs to be gluten free too. What will be the best substitute for the flour for this cake. I do have on hand tigernut flour but not sure if that will work?What you think? I am making it for my daughter birthday tomorrow and she is not vegan or GF or Df but the roommates have special dietary needs and I want them all to have a piece.
Hi Jo, I would just do a simple swap of the regular flour for a gluten free all purpose flour blend. Something like Bob’s Red Mill brand, but as long as it’s a blend meant for baking it should work in this recipe. I wouldn’t use tigernut flour.
I am starting my journey on becoming diary free! I wanted to make a cake for the family who are not df. They were annoyed it was vegan but that was after they had tried some and enjoyed it! When making the cake, I did not have applesauce or flaxseeds so instead I used half a banana mashed. Didn’t want to use an egg incase it messed it up! For the buttermilk I added apple cider vinger to oat milk and it seemed to work! We did find it to be chocolately especially the buttercream so I only added a thin layer. I think it was because I used normal coca powder instead of unsweetened. Overall very good and excited to try other recipes!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for sharing!
Most amazing delicious chocolate cake I’ve had in a long time! As a twist for the frosting I swapped out a 1/4 cup of the butter for peanut butter. Yum!!!
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing Jane!
Wow, this recipe was UH-MAZ-ING! So moist, soft, and absolutely wonderful!
Thanks Lulu!
Fantastic!
Thanks Louise!
Hi Alison, made this cake last week and it was amazing. I’m vegetarian not vegan but this recipe was no compromise, the cake was so moist and the frosting was gorgeous. I have tried other vegan cakes before and haven’t loved the texture but this one was fantastic, a big hit with all the family. I will definitely be trying some more of your recipes. Thanks.
Made this as a layer cake before, want to try it in a 13×9, has that worked for you before?
Hi Maisie, yes you can make it in a 9×13 pan. The baking time will be different, about 35-40 minutes but just keep an eye on it. 🙂
I made this recipe last week, only change was using vinegar instead of lemon for the buttermilk – it was amazing! I also made your chocolate buttercream, layered it all up and topped with swirls of chocolate ganache, chocolate hazelnut spread, and sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts. One of the nicest chocolate cakes I have made, really rich chocolate flavour without being too dense in texture. Plan to use it as the base of my kids’ birthday cake this weekend!
That sounds awesome! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review! 🙂
Hi Alison, wow wow wow.. the best vegan chocolate cake! My husband baked your wonderful recipe a week ago.. it is now gone! We comment each time that it is the absolute best chocolate cake… and it is cruelty-free!! Thank you for this, and all of your fantastic vegan recipes…
Thanks so much for the awesome review Carol! 🙂
Fantastic! Amazing! Delicious! And super light and moist! I really didn’t expect a vegan cake to be this delicious— even after being a vegan for 2 years! I baked it to share but ended up… oops… eating it all by myself! I’m baking this cake again and bringing it to work tomorrow for my birthday. Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review Liza. 🙂 And happy birthday for tomorrow! ????
Hi there, is there a substitute for the oil? I’m WFPB no oil…….
You could try replacing the oil with applesauce (same quantity) and see how you go with that. 🙂
Can you use coconut milk instead? I can’t use soy or almond milk in my diet.
Thanks
Coconut milk won’t curdle but you can still use it. 🙂 Even though it doesn’t curdle, don’t omit the lemon juice as it’s needed in this cake.
Try rice milk.
Seriously, incredibly delicious!!!
I was given 3 bags of plain flour a little while ago and have been wondering what to do with them as I had only gotten through one half of one pack, and don’t want to waste. I enjoy your site and thought I’d have a go at making chocolate cake. I’ve tried baking eggless cakes before but for some reason they just do not seem to turn out quite right. So I baked this last night, refrigerated and frosted today. This was delightful! Lovely and light, not overpowering on taste, and totally enjoyable!! I used flaxseed egg as no applesauce, and worrying about chocolate content I used your vanilla buttercream instead but honestly I shouldn’t have need worry. Beautiful cake. Going in my repertoire to make again. Thank you, and thank you Ina too 🙂
Thanks so much Amanda! So glad you enjoyed it! xo
Your recipes are right on! They are so delicious, my family is not vegan as I am, and they enjoy, especially that chocolate cake. It truly is amazing.
Thanks Patti! 🙂