Vegan chocolate cake recipe | Simple, easy, and delicious

Chocolate cake is the most popular cake flavour in the world for good reasons, but this vegan chocolate cake recipe will make it hard to believe it can be this good. And it’ll be even harder to believe it’s free from eggs, milk, and butter!

For every special occasion, this never fails to be a hit! It's decadent, yet light at the same time. All good things in moderation, right? And now, it's time to share it with you! 

This recipe is a piece of cake, literally! It's easy, it doesn't require a mixer, and the ingredients are simple. There's no flaxseed or beans involved, phew! And the end result isn't crumbly, dry, or soggy. 

Instead, it's absolutely delicious. The secret to this recipe is hot boiling water, which makes the cake ultra soft, moist, and fluffy. 

So let's dig in!

How do I bake a cake?

1. Bake your cake on the center rack, and rotate it halfway through
2. To know your cake is fully baked, insert a toothpick or knife into the center. If it’s clean, it’s ready. You can also press the center with your finger. If it bounces back, it’s ready, but if it leaves a dent you need to let it bake longer
3. Weigh your ingredients for accuracy. Baking is a science, after all!
4. Make your cake the night before. It tastes better because the internal moisture and flavour spread out more evenly 
5. Fill cake pans only ⅔ full

What is powdered sugar and where can I find it? 

Powdered sugar, icing sugar, and confectioners sugar all mean the same thing, FYI!

Powdered sugar is a finely ground sugar that looks and feels like powder. It's used to make smooth and pourable glazes, thick and fluffy frostings, and it can be dusted over pies and pastries for added sweetness and decoration!

It's not recommended to use any other type of sugar for these applications because it’ll come out crunchy, hard, and less tasty. Think about it, is that what you’d want when biting into a cake or cupcake? The frosting and glaze is always the best part!

If you can’t find any powdered sugar near you, it’s super easy to make on your own! Plus, it makes the fluffiest powdered sugar. You can even use a less refined sugar, like coconut sugar, but the taste and texture will be slightly different. 

All you need to do is grind or blend castor sugar until it becomes an extremely fine powder. This takes less than a minute. One cup of sugar will make 2 cups of powdered sugar.

If you live in a humid area, make sure you store powdered sugar in a cool, dry place otherwise it’ll clump up. If it does, you can just throw it back into the blender for future use.

What toppings can I add to chocolate cake? 

If you add one (or more) of these toppings, your cake will taste better AND you’re going to look like a pro! We recommend using: 

• Chopped walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, or peanuts
• Chopped oreos
• Sprinkles 
• Crumbled chocolate chip cookies
• Sea salt
• Shredded coconut
• Chocolate ganache 
• Chocolate chips
• Orange zest
• Strawberries, bananas, or cherries
• Mint leaves
• Pieces of flavoured vegan chocolate bars
• Mini salted pretzels
• And vegan ice cream on the side!

Ingredients for the chocolate cake:

• 1 cup One Good mylk, sugar-free
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (white vinegar works too)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour or maida
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup canola oil or sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Ingredients for the chocolate frosting:

• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cup One Good butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup One Good mylk, sugar-free

How to make the cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 176 degrees centigrade. Grease one large cake pan or two 22 cm pans with One Good Butter or vegetable oil. You also have the option to use parchment paper
2. To a large mixing bowl, add all your dry ingredients and whisk to combine
3. To the same bowl, add all your wet ingredients except the boiling water. Mix together until just combined
4. Add the boiling water to the batter and carefully combine. Don’t worry, it should be runny!
5. Pour batter in the cake pans and bake for about 30-35 mins

How to make the frosting:

1. Before frosting, make sure the cake is completely cool to the touch, otherwise the frosting will melt 
2. To a bowl, cream together the cocoa powder and softened butter
3. Add the vanilla extract, about half of the powdered sugar, and half of the mylk. Mix carefully, until combined 
4. Then, add the rest of the powdered sugar and mylk until soft and fluffy
5. If the frosting is too runny, add some more powdered sugar. If it’s too dry, add a bit more mylk 
6. Frost the cake with a rubber spatula, butter knife, or an icing spatula!

How do I store cake?

Congratulations, you baked a cake!

This cake will be fine at room temperature for up to four days. Five days is pushing it. Do not refrigerate your cake unless your kitchen is very hot. This is because the refrigerator will dry out the cake and make it stale faster.

If you need to refrigerate your cake, it must be wrapped very well with plastic wrap. To overcome the frosting, just pop the cake in your freezer for about 10 minutes or until the icing has hardened. Then, you can wrap it in plastic wrap. The good thing about the icing is that it acts as a barrier to protect the moisture inside the cake! 

Share, save, or bookmark this recipe. And if you’re still craving more, check out our VEGAN chocolate chip cookie recipe!

Let us know how your cake turned out by leaving a comment below.