A vegan Chocolate Cake that's tall, dark, moist and oh so scrumptious. The recipe comes together in one bowl and couldn't be easier to make. On top goes a creamy dairy free buttercream chocolate frosting crammed with gooey melted chocolate and cocoa.

Oh, chocolate cake. So inviting with those layers of soft, fluffy, delicious cake sandwiching soft, fluffy, delicious vegan chocolate frosting. And yet so forbidding that you can almost feel your pants pinch your waistline angrily when you so much as steal a look at this hunk.
Well, I am here to tell you that if you want to eat a slice of chocolate cake, you should eat a slice of chocolate cake. Especially THIS chocolate cake.
Yep. Not just because a little indulgence is good for the starved soul. Not just because veganized versions of desserts tend to be healthier without missing on any of the flavor. And not even because you are deep in those doldrums that nothing but chocolate can pull you out of.
No, cut yourself a slice of this decadent two-layer cake because you just feel like eating it. Then savor every chocolatey bite, let it linger in your mouth, and let every tastebud revel in that deliciousness before you swallow it. Then give yourself a pat on the back for having had the guts to enjoy your scrumptious reward. You deserved it!
This vegan chocolate cake recipe has been a long time in the making.
I've shared with you variations of chocolate cake on this blog, like this scrumptious vegan Oreo cake and this vegan Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake. Then there are these delicious little vegan chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream that I made more times than I can count for Jay's classmates in elementary school, especially on birthdays.
This chocolate cake has all the deliciousness of those recipes and then some more.
It is tall and dark and has a moist, delicious crumb with a creamy, dreamy chocolate buttercream frosting. It's so good that you might want to make it all for yourself and eat it before the day is out. But if you want to share it also makes a great birthday cake or wedding cake for anyone who loves chocolate, and who doesn't?
Table of Contents
What we love about this vegan chocolate cake
- It's chocolate cake, for goodness's sake. What's not to love?
- The crumb is so soft and fluffy, it melts in your mouth.
- It is insanely chocolatey. There's cocoa powder in the cake and both cocoa powder and melted chocolate in the frosting. The frosting is not cloyingly sweet with just two cups of confectioners' sugar. You can use more but I love to taste the chocolate rather than the sugar, and two cups does the frosting perfect justice. If you don't want to use sugar and want to sweeten your frosting naturally, with maple syrup, I have a hack for you in the tips.
- It is super easy to make. The batter comes together in one bowl, making cleanup a breeze.
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
- 3 cups all purpose flour (unbleached is best)
- ⅔rd cup cacao powder or cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ths cup sugar (you can use maple syrup in this cake if you want to stay away from artificial sugars)
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules (optional)
- 16 tablespoon or 1 cup vegan butter (you can use oil instead. Use any unflavored vegetable oil but not coconut oil please because the flavor would not work well here)
- ½ cup vegan yogurt (optional, you can use non-dairy milk, including soy milk or oat milk. Yogurt, however, adds a lovely tenderness to cake so use it if you can. I use my homemade cultured cashew yogurt.)
- 1 ¾th cups water
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract please)
For the chocolate buttercream frosting:
- 1 cup vegan butter (16 tablespoon or 2 sticks)
- 2 cups powdered sugar or confectioners' sugar (can use maple syrup)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional, but highly recommended)
How to make vegan chocolate cake
Dry ingredients: Start out by sifting your dry ingredients into a bowl--the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. This does two things. It adds more air into your flour, which makes the cake lighter, but it also helps remove any lumps in the flour and other ingredients so everything integrates nicely. Next whisk all the ingredients.
Wet ingredients: Now just dump in the wet ingredients: sugar, yogurt, water, vegetable oil, pure vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar. You can also add an optional teaspoon of instant coffee granules at this point if you like. I love coffee in chocolate--this small amount brings out the chocolate flavor without really making it taste like coffee. But you can leave it out if you don't want to use it.
Whisk everything quickly until integrated but as always, when working with wheat flour cakes, don't overmix because you don't want to develop the gluten.
Bake and cool: Divide the batter betweeen two parchment-lined, oiled and floured 8- or 9-inch cake tins and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it. Then place a dish on the top of the cake pan and invert it quickly. Carefully flip the cake once more and let it continue cooling on a rack, right side up. Repeat for the second cake.
Frosting: Always wait until a cake is completely cool to frost it or the butter in your frosting will melt and run all over the place. As cake tops usually bake up slightly domed, you can prepare the cake for frosting by making the top flat-- to do this just use a long, serrated knife, positioned flat, to cut off the domed part, and reward yourself, the baker, by eating it. You can just skip this step as it's purely cosmetic.
To make the frosting, beat half a cup of cocoa powder with two sticks of 16 tablespoon of softened, room temperature (not melted) vegan butter. Add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and two cups of powdered sugar, half a cup at a time, and beat in until smooth and creamy. You can use more or less powdered sugar based on how sweet you want the frosting to be.
This frosting is perfect by itself, and you can use it at this point. But to make it extra chocolatey I melt a cup of semisweet chocolate chips in a double boiler and whisk it into the frosting at the end.
You can use maple syrup in your frosting instead of powdered sugar. If the frosting becomes grainy, place it in the refrigerator for about half an hour. Then add the melted chocolate and beat it again with a hand mixer and it should become creamy again.
More vegan cake recipes
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- Large bowl and whisk or stand mixer with whisk attachment
Ingredients
For cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan yogurt (Use ¼ cup almond milk if replacing this)
- 1¾ cups water
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2¼ cups sugar
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules (optional)
For frosting
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup vegan butter (two sticks or 16 tbsp)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (or maple syrup)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two eight or nine-inch cake tins by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and then greasing and flouring them. It helps to add a touch of cooking spray before you place the parchment paper into the tin to help it adhere.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk to mix.
- Dump in the remaining cake ingredients--vegan yogurt, water, vinegar, vegetable oil, sugar, pure vanilla extract and cofee, if using.
- Whisk for a few seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula, and continue mixing for just a few more seconds until you have a smooth batter. Don't overmix.
- Divide the batter equally between the two cake pans. Place in the preheated oven and bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for around 30 minutes, then slide a knife along the sides to loosen, invert each cake into a plate, turn right side up, and continue cooling on the rack. These cakes are fairly sturdy but always be careful when handling baked cakes, especially if you are new to this.
Make the frosting
- Place the chocolate chips in a bowl over a simmering pot of water. Stir a couple of times with a spatula until they are completely melted and creamy.
- Place the softened butter in a bowl with the cacao powder and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer until mixed and creamy, then begin whisking in the sugar, half a cup at a time. I like mixing it slightly with the spatula before I start the hand mixer to ensure it doesn't fly all over the place when I start the hand mixer.
- Stir in the melted chocolate and beat until mixed. If using maple syrup instead of sugar, and if the frosting splits, refrigerate it for 30 minutes before beating in the melted chocolate.
- Frost the cake.
Lina
I made this with a whole cup of vegetable oil instead of half a cup because I can’t read… and it didn’t rise obviously because I’m a dumdum. It still tasted amazing but had a very strange gelatinous consistency so I chopped it into “brownies”. I’ll be trying this again this time using the recipe correctly lol. Just to confirm it is one and a quarter cups of water? Just making sure it was just the oil that I messed up on haha
Vaishali
Hi Lina, yes 1 1/2 cups of water. We all make mistakes--I am the queen of err and learn. 🙂 Hope it turns out nicely for you the next time.
dyan day
this is a dense cake that tastes like fudge! I used almond milk instead of yogurt as i didn't have any available and it turned out amazing. i haven't had a recipe from here that hasn't turned out. thanks for all the amazing recipes, this is my go to when i want to impress! cheers
Vaishali
Awesome, happy you loved the chocolate cake. The yogurt does help make it lighter. 🙂 And thanks for the kind words!
Aracelis
I don't remember if I posted about this but MAN DID I LOVE THIS CAKE. I shared with 2 neighbors (non vegans) and they loved it.
Vaishali
So awesome to hear! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Paula Visconti
Sorry, I meant I needed to bake the cake for a TOTAL of 40 minutes, or a little longer before the cake tester came out dry!
Vaishali
Haha, got it. 😀 Yes, ovens are rarely consistent so it is always best o do the toothpick test. I am so happy you enjoyed the cake. ❤️
Janet
Best chocolate cake ever. I made it for my son's birthday yesterday and everyone was raving. Thank you for the foolproof recipe. I don't bake much but it was so easy to make.
Vaishali
Janet, so happy to hear! 🙂
John
Can you use coconut oil instead of vegan butter? I am reluctant to use "vegan butter" as I'm never sure of what is in there! Thanks for all your posts etc. EVERYTHING I have tried from you has been tasty!
Vaishali
Hi John, Yes, sure, but a coconut oil frosting should definitely be refrigerated after mixing and before you frost the cake, as it will get too soft at room temperature. Also be sure to keep the cake refrigerated.
Lois
Hello if I use maple syrup in the frosting, is it 2 cups like the confectioner sugar? Also have you tried making it with maple sugar? (Instead of maple syrup). I’m excited to try this recipe!
Thanks,
Lois
Vaishali
Hi, you can use less of the maple syrup--start with about a cup and taste to make sure it's as sweet as you want it to be. And yes, maple sugar should be great in the cake!
Anonymous
Thank you I will give it a try!
Paula Visconti
Wow!! I made this cake today. I'm a long time baker, and am recently having a ball exploring healthy vegan recipes. This cake is light and fluffy, and moist. I needed to bake it for about 40 minutes longer before the tester came out dry, but WOW! Thank you, Vaishali! I am loving your recipes!
Paula Visconti
You might want to consider using Earth Balance vegan butter substitute.......it's oganic