This moist, decadent vegan chocolate cake is the perfect ending to any dinner night! Made 100% from scratch and topped with a rich yet light chocolate whipped cream, it requires just one bowl for the batter and one for the frosting.
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If you love chocolate as much as I do, your mouth will certainly water for my other easy chocolate desserts. Try my brownie cupcakes, fudgy vegan brownies, chocolate peanut butter muffins, and frosted sweet potato brownies!
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❤️ Why you’ll love it
You will love how moist and delicious this homemade vegan chocolate cake is. The cake and the vegan chocolate frosting are made 100% from scratch, which means you will not find any boxed mixes in this recipe! All you need are nine simple ingredients, which are already in your pantry or easy to find in your local grocery store: flour, baking powder, baking soda, apple cider vinegar, applesauce, dairy-free milk, cacao powder, coconut sugar, and coconut cream.
It is also incredibly easy to make, even for those who have never made it. You do not have to worry about having fancy equipment at home: All you need is a mixing bowl, two round cake pans, and a hand or stand mixer. You will have the best vegan chocolate cake your family has ever tried in less than one hour!
This vegan cake is already a crowd-pleaser, but you can customize it with different frostings, toppings, and add-ins. I provide a few suggestions in the Variations section below.
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🧾 Key ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
Flour gives the cake structure. – I use all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you can use a gluten-free flour blend.
Baking powder, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar give the cake its structure, rise, and fluffiness. I use all-purpose flour in this recipe.
Cacao powder and coconut sugar give the cake its sweet, chocolatey flavor. Cacao powder is a healthier, vegan-friendly alternative to chocolate chips and provides the cake with its deep, chocolate color. You can also use hot cocoa powder. If you do not like the taste of coconut, do not worry—you cannot taste it in this recipe!
Apple sauce is a popular vegan egg substitute used to bind the ingredients together while keeping the cake moist, reducing crumbles, and enhancing its flavor.
Dairy-free milk, such as almond milk, is great for this recipe. However, you can also use our homemade cashew milk, soy milk, or other vegan-friendly options.
Oil helps give the cake its moist texture. I prefer to use coconut oil or canola oil. However, you can also use vegetable oil.
For the chocolate whipped cream:
Coconut cream (Canned) – You must chill the coconut cream overnight before using it in the recipe. For the best texture and flavor, use a full-fat coconut cream. Anything less could result in a watered-down cream that does not separate.
Cacao powder and coconut sugar – As with the chocolate cake, these two ingredients give the cake its sweet, chocolate flavor and color without the taste of coconut.
🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
🥘 Equipment
For this easy vegan chocolate cake recipe, you will need just three pieces of equipment: Two 9-inch round cake pans, a large mixing bowl, and an electric hand mixer or stand mixer.
👩🍳 Instructions
Making vegan chocolate cake
STEP 1
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Boil one cup of water.
STEP 2
Combine the almond milk with the apple cider vinegar and mix well.
STEP 3
In a large mixing bowl, sift in the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and mix well. Use a sifter to avoid lumps in the cake batter.
STEP 4
Add the wet ingredients (oil, applesauce, almond milk, and apple cider vinegar) to the bowl, then use a hand mixer or electric mixer to whisk everything together until well combined.
STEP 5
Lower the speed of the mixer, then carefully pour in the boiling water and mix until thoroughly combined with the cake batter.
STEP 6
Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
STEP 7
Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature before assembling and decorating.
Making the Chocolate Frosting
STEP 1
Make sure that the cans of coconut cream have chilled in the refrigerator at least overnight. Then, remove them from the fridge and scoop the thick part of the cream from the top.
STEP 2
Move the thick cream into a large bowl, then whip until it starts to form peaks.
STEP 3
Once the consistency reaches your liking, reduce the mixer speed to “low.” Add the cacao powder and sugar while whipping the mixture. Since this is not stabilized whipped cream, it is important to keep it refrigerated when not in use.
Assembling the Cake
Once the cakes have completely cooled, apply the chocolate whipped cream frosting between the layers and place one layer on the other. Then, continue frosting the rest of the cake. Decorate the frosted cake with shaved dark chocolate.
💡 Expert tip
To ensure the thick cream separates from the coconut milk, store the canned coconut cream in the refrigerator for at least overnight. I always recommend at least TWO days to ensure that it is well separated when you need it. Do not store it in the freezer.
🔄 Variations
This rich, vegan chocolate cake is already delicious as-is. However, you can customize it even more by trying some of the following variations:
With different frosting – Instead of the chocolate whipped frosting, you can use my sweet potato chocolate pudding recipe as a topping or this vegan chocolate buttercream frosting from Nora Cooks.
With different toppings – Instead of the shaved dark chocolate, you can use shaved coconut or sprinkle on sliced almonds, sliced strawberries, or a dusting of powdered sugar. You can also add colorful sprinkles to the top for a fun chocolate birthday cake.
With add-ins – Enhance the chocolate flavor even more by adding a pinch of espresso powder to the batter. You can also add other add-ins such as chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, crushed nuts, or fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
With more flavor – To give the chocolate cake a slightly different flavor profile, you can add a bit of pure vanilla extract or almond extract to the batter.
🥣 Serving ideas
A slice of this chocolate cake is great with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate or caramel syrup, or a cold glass of dairy-free milk!
❄️ Storing tips
In the refrigerator: Since the chocolate frosting is not stabilized, the cake must be refrigerated. Store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freezer: I do not recommend freezing the decorated cake as the frosting will lose its texture. However, once the undecorated cake layers have cooled completely, you can wrap them tightly in plastic and freeze them for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature and decorate as usual.
🤔 FAQs
Coconut cream is essentially coconut milk with less water. It is much thicker and has a higher fat content, containing around 19-22% fat. You can use coconut cream as a substitute for coconut milk if you dilute it with water.
There are a few reasons the cream did not separate: 1. It was not a full-fat cream, 1. The product contained an emulsifier to prevent separation (always choose products made with only coconut and water), or 3. You did not refrigerate it long enough to separate.
I have only tested this recipe using coconut and cane sugar, which you can use as a 1:1 replacement. However, I do not have measurements for other sweeteners such as stevia or erythritol. If you try it, let us know your results in the comments!
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Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups All purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
- ½ cup Cacao powder
- 1+½ cup Coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- ⅔ cup Apple sauce
- 1 cup Boiling water
- ½ cup Coconut or canola oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 cup Almond milk
Chocolate Whipped Cream
- 2 cans Full-fat coconut cream (canned)
- 1+½ Tbsp Cocoa powder
- ½ tsp Coconut sugar
Instructions
To make the chocolate cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease and line with parchment rounds two 9-inch cake pans.
- Mix almond milk with apple cider vinegar
- In a big bowl mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Next add the oil, applesauce and almond milk/vinegar mixture. Using a mixer, mix until everything is well combined.
- Lower the speed and carefully pour in the boiling water, continuing to mix into the cake batter until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between your cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool before assembling
To make the chocolate frosting:
- Chill both cans of coconut milk in the fridge overnight. Remove the can of coconut milk from the fridge and scoop the thick part of the coconut milk.
- Place the thick cream into a mixing bowl and whip until peaks form.
- When consistency is to your liking, put the mixer on “low” and add cacao powder and sugar while whipping.
- This is not a stabilized whipped cream so it needs to be refrigerated.
To Assemble:
- When the cakes are completely cooled, assemble by adding coconut whipped cream in between the cakes and frosting the cake.
- Decorate with shaved dark chocolate
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