Rich, delicious and most importantly, super easy to make, is what make this vegan chocolate cake recipe best! Make this to die for cake today.
I couldn’t imagine the world without chocolate or chocolate cake! It is difficult not to feel good about life while devouring a piece (or savoring, if you prefer) of chocolate cake.
This vegan chocolate cake recipe ticks all the right boxes.
It is intensely chocolatey without being the least bit sickly. It is rich, but not overly so. And most importantly, it is super quick to make in just a few steps , making this vegan chocolate cake the best recipe around!
What more can you ask for really?
Dairy free, egg free and vegan this vegan chocolate mud cake is moist with a beautifully tender crumb.
(P.S. If you haven’t already grabbed it, be sure to snag a copy of this handy vegan baking cheat sheet for lots of easy plant-based substitutions. You can turn almost any recipe vegan!)
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Cake
If you are in the mood for a chocolate fix this quick, easy vegan chocolate cake is sure to satisfy! And you won’t believe how simple this one-bowl recipe is. I think this is the easiest vegan chocolate cake recipe you can find.
Start off by simply mixing all your dry ingredients together in a bowl – this will be flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.
Then mix your brown sugar and the wet ingredients in a separate small bowl – that will be coconut milk, vinegar, oil, and vanilla extract.
Then all you need to do is combine the wet with the dry ingredients to make your vegan chocolate cake batter. Bake it in a cake tin for 40-55 minutes.
It couldn’t be simpler.
Making the Vegan Chocolate Ganache Frosting
All you do to make this simple vegan chocolate cake frosting is melt together coconut milk and vegan dark chocolate pieces. You can do this in a double boiler if you have one!
Then just let the frosting sit for about an hour before frosting your cake, so it has time to thicken up. Don’t refrigerate it.
Tips for Perfect Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Make a large cake, like I have. Or this recipe also works equally well in cupcake form.
- If the cake seems a bit loose or difficult to slice after cooling, place it in the fridge for an hour or so. It will firm up further and be easier to cut.
- If you don’t have a double boiler to make the chocolate ganache frosting, you can use a heatproof bowl over a pot of steaming water.
- Be sure to grab this free printable packed with handy vegan baking substitutions – so you can turn just about any recipe vegan!
Need more vegan chocolate desserts?
If you’re as much of a chocoholic as me, you’ll love these other vegan sweets:
Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe with vegan chocolate ganache
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain flour 275g, all purpose
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder 100g
- 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda baking
- 1 tsp baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1 3/4 cups coconut milk 450ml
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 3/4 cups brown sugar 320g
- 1 1/4 cups sunflower oil 320ml coconut oil is a great alternative
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
VEGAN CHOCOLATE GANACHE FROSTING
- 250 g vegan dark chocolate roughly chopped
- 2/3 cup coconut milk see note
- fresh raspberries to decorate optional
Supplies Needed
- double boiler optional but helpful
- parchment paper
- 9" cake pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160 celsius (325 fahrenheit) and grease a 23cm (9 inch) cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
- Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarb, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Sift again.
- Combine the coconut milk, vinegar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with almost no crumbs attached. The middle of the cake should also spring back when lightly pressed. Place on a wire cake rack and leave to cool in the tin.
- To make the frosting place the chocolate and coconut milk in a small heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside for an hour, or until slightly thickened (do not refrigerate), before frosting the cake.
- Pour the frosting over the cake and gently easy down the sides with an offset spatula. Top with raspberries, if using.
Notes
Nutrition
Monica says
April 24, 2019 at 10:18 pmOmg! OMG!! I am having trouble holding back tears. My sister and her fiancé have both gone full-vegan, and I cook for weeks at a time to feed our vegan theatre kids in the lead up to each show. I get pretty depressed because I never realized how much I rely on dairy in my regular veg cooking, and most of my attempts at vegan are horrrrrible. But tomorrow night is opening night for the current show, and of course the rest of the kids get a show cake. I was determined to give my vegan kiddos something yummy and I searched until I found “simple” and “coconut milk”. Last night I did three cakes (I also have a gluten-free, lactose-intolerant kid as well as a bunch who are celebrating Passover), one of which, of course, was this one. Unfortunately the center fell and it was super ugly. Not sure what I did wrong there. But I know that sometimes ugly is still delicious, so I wrapped it tightly and refrigerated it until just now when I cut into it. I’m really having trouble not crying here because it was so good. I mean, REAL cake. It’s so rich and decadent and I can’t believe it has no eggs or butter. I just creatively cut out individual pieces for each kid and packaged them separately so you can’t even tell it started out unpretty. And now I have something to serve at Christmas for my sister and her fiancé…and EVERYONE can eat it! Nobody will have any idea it’s vegan! Sorry for the long-winded story, but you just have no idea what a big deal this is to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Nicole says
May 15, 2019 at 3:19 pmI’m sorry I didn’t see this sooner to reply, but thank you so much for coming back and sharing with me. It truly makes my day when my recipes can help make people’s lives a bit easier (and more tasty). As the only vegetarian (almost vegan) in my family, I know that it meant a lot to your sister that you wanted to cook for her and took the trouble to make her something vegan. How wonderful!
Fay Steddum says
March 7, 2019 at 6:52 pmWhat does the red wine vinegar do? Create a buttermilk?
Nicole says
April 2, 2019 at 9:55 pmThe vinegar reacts with the baking soda, and helps the cake rise!
Beverley James says
November 30, 2018 at 2:06 pmJust to let you know, this is fabulous and it freezes really well. Gets a bit gooier ! Yum
Nicole says
December 1, 2018 at 6:16 pmThanks so much – I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Breanna Martin says
November 22, 2018 at 12:59 pmHi!
I really want to bake this cake but i only have a 8’inch cake pan. How do i adapt the recipe to use a 8′ instead of a 9′ cake pan?
Thanks
Nicole says
January 24, 2019 at 5:21 pmI would just make the recipe as-is and just fill your cake pan 2/3 full. You’ll have a bit of leftover batter but it will be easier than trying to scale down the recipe.