Whether you’re following a vegan diet or have simply run out of eggs, you’ll fall head over heels for this luscious Vegan Chocolate Cake. Two layers of egg-free chocolate cake with a creamy vegan frosting.
Meet my new favourite cake 🙌🏻
A gorgeous Vegan Chocolate Cake featuring two layers of soft chocolate cake, all covered in a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate frosting.
You won’t believe this cake has NO butter, NO eggs and NO milk and yet tastes AMAZING! 💙
Just over a year ago, I posted a recipe for an Eggless Chocolate Cake. It’s now become a reader favourite and it’s not hard to see why.
It produces a really tender cake without the traditional chocolate cake ingredients. In fact, it uses regular pantry items – most of which you probably have sitting in your cupboard right now. #justsayin
So I wanted to take that cake and make it into a beautiful two layer Vegan Chocolate Cake that could be made for special occasions, birthdays and the like!
Not only is it vegan, but it’s great if you just happen to run out of eggs or butter and need a chocolate cake stat.
And don’t even get me started on that frosting. Made using vegan butter, it comes together in minutes but pairs perfectly with the cocoa-laden cake.
How to make Vegan Chocolate Cake
- This Vegan Chocolate Cake is so easy to make. You don’t even need an electric mixer for the cake itself – just a bowl and spoon.
- Start by measuring out your plain flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, brown sugar and caster sugar.
- If you don’t have caster sugar, you can use granulated sugar instead. Read more about caster sugar here.
- Next, measure out your wet ingredients – just water, vegetable oil and vanilla.
- Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix together until a chocolate cake batter forms.
- Divide the cake batter into two 8-inch cake tins and then bake for around 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.
- Leave cakes to cool completely before frosting.
How to make Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- I’ve paired this cake with an easy vegan chocolate buttercream. I used a store bought vegan butter (Naturli Organic Vegan Butter) when testing this recipe.
- Note that vegan butters can vary greatly across the world so you might just have to find which vegan butter works best for you.
- Once you have mixed the butter with an electric beater so it’s smooth and creamy, you can add the sugar, cocoa and a little bit of almond milk.
- You can use any milk substitute here, like soy or oat milk as well.
- Frosting should be thick and creamy! Frost the middle, top and sides of your cake and serve.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Vegan Chocolate Cake
A delicious Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake made without eggs, butter or milk.
Ingredients
Vegan chocolate cake
- 280 grams (2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 60 grams (3/4 cup) cocoa powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
- 300 ml (1 and 1/2 cups) water
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Vegan chocolate frosting
- 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) vegan butter*, room temperature
- 315 grams (2 and 1/2 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 40 grams (1/2 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
- 2–3 tablespoons almond milk*
Instructions
- Chocolate cake
Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with oil spray and line with baking or parchment paper. - In a large mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and sugars and stir briefly.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add water, oil and vanilla. Add water mixture to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into prepared cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Leave cakes to cool in cake tin before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Chocolate frosting
Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. - Add sugar, cocoa and 2 tablespoons of milk and then beat on medium speed again for a further minute or two until frosting is smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- If the frosting is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk. Use a small spatula to frost sides, middle and top of cakes.
Notes
*Vegan butter: I used Naturli Organic Vegan Butter when testing this frosting recipe.
*Almond milk: You can use any milk substitute here.
Mandy says
I made a vanilla version of this cake (for someone who doesn’t eat eggs) and it turned out lovely! I substituted the cocoa powder for flour, used 300ml of milk instead of water, and added some vanilla bean paste. I baked it in two 15cm tins for about 30mins. I didnt make the icing for this cake so I can’t comment on how the icing is (I used a different non-vegan icing) but the cake was soft and surprisingly good for an eggless cake.
Jessica Holmes says
Ooh love hearing that Mandy – sounds delicious!
Sanya says
Hii can i use melted butter instead of oil??
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Santa, I haven’t tested this cake with butter since I was looking to create a vegan cake recipe. But it may work.
Bali says
Thanks Jessica
Bali says
Hi ! Can I use baking powder instead of baking soda.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Bali, no I don’t recommend it. Baking soda is much stronger than baking powder and is needed for the rise of this cake.
Joe says
Pretty good, would bake again!!!
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Joe!
Aishwarya says
Super
Ophelia Dlima says
Is it possible to turn this into cupcakes ?? How many will the exact recipe yield?
Jessica Holmes says
So you can Ophelia, my guess is it would make close to 24 cupcakes.
Olga says
Can I use milk instead of water in the batter?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Olga, I haven’t tried as I tested this recipe with vegan ingredients. But I do recall other readers trying it and saying it worked for them.
Von says
I just adore making and quickly eating this rich cake! Everyone here loves it!!!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Von!
Jess says
Can I make this cake in a 7 inch pan?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! The cake batter will just be in a bit deeper so may take slightly longer to cook.
Marion says
Absolutely love with this recipe! No one even noticed any difference.. thank you
Was wondering if this recipe could be used for a vanilla cake. If I sub out the cocoa for flour?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Marion! I wouldn’t think it would necessarily work just by adding extra flour and removing the cocoa – and I can’t recommend it without trying it myself. But I do have a vegan vanilla cake on my to-do list!
Alice Aivazian says
Do you think I could use gluten free flour instead, and olive oil in place of the vegetable oil?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Alice, I haven’t tested this cake using gluten free flour so I can’t say. But using olive oil in place of vegetable oil would be fine, I just recommend a mild-tasting olive oil so it doesn’t overpower the cake.
Nehal says
What is the consistency of the batter? Knowing the consistency really helps a lot while combining everything…. thanks for the recipe! My family doesn’t eat eggs and i struggle to find a good recipe but this seems delish!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Nehal, it is just a fairly normal cake batter consistency – not very thick. If you follow the instructions, you’ll be fine!
Sarah says
I’m wondering if you’ve tried freezing this cake? Does it freeze reasonable well? I’m hoping to make it a few days ahead of time.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sarah, yes it does! Just make sure you let it cool completely and be very gentle as it can be fragile.
Josh says
This cake tasted fantastic! Can’t believe it’s vegan.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Josh!