This is the most amazing vegan chocolate cake ever. It is extremely rich and moist, loaded with chocolate flavor and topped with a fabulous vegan chocolate buttercream frosting.
You simply will not believe how moist and chocolatey this vegan chocolate cake is. It’s actually more like a chocolate mud cake in that respect.
It’s so moist and delicious that NO ONE would ever guess this is a vegan cake. You will just be told over and over how it’s the best cake ever! Because it is.
The recipe is based on the classic Hersheys chocolate cake recipe and with a few small changes it was easy to veganize.
So it’s basically just that classic American style ultra moist fudgy chocolate cake that is to. die. for.
For more amazing vegan cakes check out our vegan coffee cake, vegan oreo cake and our vegan white cake.
Ingredients You’ll Need For The Cake:
Ingredient Notes
- Cocoa powder – should be natural unsweetened cocoa powder, something like Hersheys will work great.
- Instant espresso powder – can be replaced with instant coffee powder. It doesn’t make the cake taste like coffee, but it brings out the chocolate flavor beautifully. You can leave it out though if you prefer.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with vegetable oil or any other mild flavored oil that you like. If you use coconut oil then melt it first.
- Flax eggs – this recipe uses two flax eggs which consists of 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds mixed with 6 tablespoons of water. This can be replaced with 6 tablespoons of applesauce or any egg replacer provided it is replacing the equivalent of 2 eggs.
- Hot water – should be boiling hot water from a freshly boiled kettle. It’s added into the batter at the very end and makes for a thin batter, but this is exactly how it’s supposed to be.
- Vegan buttermilk – this works with the other ingredients to make this cake super moist. We mix apple cider vinegar and soy milk and let it curdle into a thick buttermilk. You can also use almond milk. Almond milk isn’t as thick and rich as soy milk so soy milk is the best option. Alternatively you can use any non-dairy milk but just keep in mind that some non-dairy milk won’t curdle when mixed with the apple cider vinegar. You can still use it though.
Ingredients You’ll Need For The Frosting
Frosting Notes
The frosting is our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting and works beautifully on this cake. It’s smooth and luxurious and matches perfectly with this rich, luxurious cake.
Another option would be to top the cake with our delicious vegan chocolate ganache. If you’re not a fan of sweet frostings like buttercream, then the vegan ganache is a good option as it’s just a mix of two ingredients: coconut cream and chocolate. So it’s not super sweet at all.
How To Make This Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe
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 white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and instant espresso powder. Mix together.
- Prepare your vegan buttermilk. Add apple cider vinegar to a measuring jug and then add soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Let it curdle into vegan buttermilk.
- Prepare the flax eggs. Add 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed to a bowl and add 6 tablespoons of hot water. Let it sit for a minute to thicken and become gloopy.
- Add the vegan buttermilk to the mixing bowl along with the flax eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Stir into a thick batter. Don’t over-mix.
- Add hot water and whisk it in with a hand whisk. The batter will be thin but this is exactly how it is supposed to be.
- Divide the batter evenly between two 8-inch cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper circles at the bottom).
- Bake for 35 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 removing from the cake pans and transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost with a delicious vegan chocolate buttercream frosting.
Recipe Tips
Spoon and level or weigh the flour. If you accidentally use too much flour then this cake won’t be as moist as it is supposed to be. So it’s ideal to measure the flour correctly. You can use the spoon and level method, which is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top (don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup) or weigh it out on a food scale for the best accuracy.
Baking pan sizes. This cake can be made in either two 8-inch cake pans or two 9-inch cake pans. Both options work great, the 9-inch layers are just a little thinner. Bake for 35 minutes for two 8-inch cake pans and bake for 30 minutes for two 9-inch cake pans. For a 9×13 sheet cake, bake time will be 35-40 minutes.
Recipe FAQ
To make this cake gluten-free simply swap out the flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. Or check out our fabulous vegan gluten free chocolate cake recipe.
This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Alternatively check out our recipe for classic vegan chocolate cupcakes.
Keep this cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge (covered) for up to a week.
You can freeze the frosted or unfrosted cake for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
More Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cake
- Vegan Victoria Sponge
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Biscoff Cake
- Vegan Coconut Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
The Most Amazing Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- ¾ cup Cocoa Powder (63g) Unsweetened
- 2 cups White Granulated Sugar (400g)
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Instant Espresso Powder
- 1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (240ml) 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar + Soy Milk up to the 1 cup line*
- 2 Flax Eggs 2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal + 6 Tbsp Hot Water*
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Boiling Hot Water (240ml)
Frosting:
- 1 Recipe Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray two 8-inch cake pans (*see notes) with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and instant espresso powder. Mix together.
- Prepare your vegan buttermilk. Add apple cider vinegar to a measuring jug and then add soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Let it curdle into vegan buttermilk.
- Prepare the flax eggs. Add 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed to a bowl and add 6 tablespoons of hot water. Let it sit for a minute to thicken and become gloopy.
- Add the vegan buttermilk to the mixing bowl along with the flax eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Stir into a thick batter. Don’t over-mix.
- Add hot water and whisk it in with a hand whisk. The batter will be thin but this is exactly how it is supposed to be.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared 8-inch cake pans.
- Bake for 35 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 removing from the cake pans and transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost with vegan chocolate buttercream frosting.
Notes
- Spoon and level or weigh the flour. If you accidentally use too much flour then this cake won’t be as moist as it is supposed to be. So it’s ideal to measure the flour correctly. You can use the spoon and level method, which is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top (don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup) or weigh it out on a food scale for the best accuracy.
- Cocoa powder – should be natural unsweetened cocoa powder, something like Hersheys will work great.
- Instant espresso powder – can be replaced with instant coffee powder. It doesn’t make the cake taste like coffee, but it brings out the chocolate flavor beautifully. You can leave it out though if you prefer.
- Vegan buttermilk – this works with the other ingredients to make this cake super moist. Mix apple cider vinegar and soy milk and let it curdle into a thick buttermilk. You can also use almond milk. Almond milk isn’t as thick and rich as soy milk so soy milk is the best option. Alternatively you can use any non-dairy milk but just keep in mind that some non-dairy milk won’t curdle when mixed with the apple cider vinegar. You can still use it though.
- Flax eggs – can be replaced with 6 tablespoons of applesauce or any egg replacer provided it is replacing the equivalent of 2 eggs.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with vegetable oil or any other mild flavored oil that you like. If you use coconut oil then melt it first.
- Baking pan sizes. This cake can be made in either two 8-inch cake pans or two 9-inch cake pans. Both options work great, the 9-inch layers are just a little thinner. Bake for 35 minutes for two 8-inch cake pans and bake for 30 minutes for two 9-inch cake pans. For a 9×13 sheet cake, bake time will be 35-40 minutes.
- Gluten-Free: To make this cake gluten-free simply swap out the flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. Or check out our fabulous vegan gluten free chocolate cake recipe.
- Cupcakes: This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Alternatively check out our recipe for classic vegan chocolate cupcakes.
- Storing: Keep this cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge (covered) for up to a week.
- Freezing: You can freeze the frosted or unfrosted cake for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Nutritional information is for the cake only and excludes frosting. Nutritional information for the vegan chocolate buttercream frosting can be found on that separate linked recipe.
The title says it all really! This is my go to website for anything vegan, straight forward recipes with picture steps (which massively helps when you have ASD). I made this cake recently for a friend who’s a baker & you know if you impress a baker then it’s a good recipe! Her 2 autistic kids who either don’t particularly like chocolate or cake ate it up, one even giving it an 8/10!
That’s awesome Amber! Thank you so much for your great review!
Thanks for yet another lovely accurate recipe Alison. I used 1/2 cup less sugar for the cake. I iced one half with vanilla icing that I already had in my freezer.(made from your vanilla cup cake recipe!).
It was delicious so I will use vanilla icing topped with dark chocolate shavings on the other cake half, that I froze, and try the chocolate icing another time.
Awesome! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipes!
Hello Alison! This recipe is everything! Please is it possible to make this same recipe in a 10inch pan? Thank you!
Hi Elijah, you would have to double the recipe to make thicker layers.
Oh my goodness, this cake is absolutely amazing. The very best chocolate cake ever..
I’m usually useless at baking but loving it vegan recipes are easy to follow and always come out just the same as the photos.
My non vegan friends are my biggest cake fans..
I just love this website
So glad to hear you enjoy the recipes Denise! Thank you so much for your amazing review!
I want to make a bundt cake using this recipe and top it with a vegan Nutella-type glaze with chocolate shavings. What do you think? Suggestions? Guidance? It’s for a big birthday celebration. I trust your recipes. I have always had great luck!
Thanks.
This came out really good. I used chickpea egg as the binder rather than flax (1/2 cup chickpea flour added to dry ingredients + extra 1/2 cup of soy milk) and baked it as one big cake, which took about 45 mins of baking. Delicious just by itself! I topped it with some chocolate ganache, for what it’s worth. Thank you very much for this recipe.
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Amanda!
I baked this cake for a vegan friend’s birthday. I bake often but had never made a vegan cake. I used applesauce for the eggs but otherwise followed the recipe. I appreciated all the notes and specific info included in the recipes. The cake and the frosting were delicious! The cake was tender and chocolatey and the frosting was creamy and fudgy. Thank you for helping me make a friend’s day special.
Thanks so much for the awesome comment and review Debbi! So happy it was a success.
This cake was delicious! So amazingly rich and moist WOW! But most importantly it was a lot of fun to make! The frosting inside the two cake layers turned dark brown although the outside stayed light brown, not sure why. The inside layer of frosting turned into a Chocolate mousse- fudge like consistency, it was wonderful! Thank you for this recipe!
So happy you enjoyed it Jen! Thanks for the great review!
I made this cake for Boxing Day. It was absolutely delicious, so easy to make and definitely a a triumph if I do so myself. It didn’t last very long.
So happy to hear that Tina! Thanks for sharing!
can I use real eggs and if so, will i need to alter the ingredients? also i plan to use almond milk. will i need to change ingredients for that also?
Hi there Denise! We only tested this recipe using flax eggs. You can use Almond milk as a substitute for the soymilk though.
Hello,
I’m baking this cake using 2 18 cms round cake pan, what should be the baking time?
Thank you
I’m not sure Ivon, it will definitely be a longer bake time, but exactly how much longer I don’t know. For future reference our easy vegan chocolate cake is a recipe perfectly suited to smaller cake pans.