Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe {Vegan}
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This simple moist chocolate cake recipe is absolutely scrumptious with a rich chocolate flavor! It’s eggless, dairy-free, and a breeze to make in 1 BOWL. No mixer or fancy ingredients are required.
In other words, but I wanted a decadent chocolate cake as healthy as possible and, most of all, I wanted an uncomplicated recipe. Here it is!
Not only is this easy chocolate cake recipe delicious, but it happens to be vegan, and with less fat (only 3 Tbsps of vegetable oil!) and less sugar than regular cakes. Plus, the ingredient list and the method are pretty straightforward, definitely a big bonus even for non-vegan bakers.
Watch how to make it
All you have to do is mix wholesome ingredients in 1 bowl, pour the batter into a cake pan, and bake. The result is a fudgy, eggless chocolate cake that tastes and smells divine.
Then easily decorate by pouring luscious melted dark chocolate all over it (we love free style here!). Simple yet utterly delicious, how cool is that?
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But let’s see how to make it!
What ingredients you need
- Flour (all purpose flour or white spelt flour)
- Sugar (beet sugar or organic brown sugar)
- Milk (dairy-free milk)
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Vegan dark chocolate chips (optional, but they worth the addition!)
- Vegetable oil
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract or expresso powder
How to make this easy chocolate cake
(Note: the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Thoroughly combine flour, cocoa powder and baking powder
- Add sugar, salt and mix well again
- Then add the liquid ingredients
- Mix just until combined
- Stir in the chocolate chips
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake (I used a bundt pan)
- Let it cool on a cooling rack
- Flip upside down and unmold from the pan
- Decorate with melted dark chocolate
- You can serve immediately or wait for the chocolate to set. Enjoy!
Recipe notes & tips
We’ve made this cake so many times in the last period that my 6-year old can make the batter in minutes: it’s so simple, and makes a perfect and easy chocolate cake recipe for kids, too.
Easy chocolate cake ingredients
- Flour: all-purpose flour or white spelt flour are fine.
- Milk: you can use dairy-free milk such as oat or almond milk, or even cow milk if you don’t keep it vegan. I used oat milk.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: the cake is packed with unsweetened cocoa powder which adds a deep flavor and health benefits. Alternatively, dutch processed cocoa powder works just fine.
- Dark chocolate: vegan chocolate chips and melted chocolate are optional, but definitely worth the addition!! They make the cake richer and luscious, especially if the melted chocolate is still soft! ; ). For best result, choose always good quality chocolate (I used 70% dark chocolate).
- Vanilla extract: it adds a lovely sweet aroma, but you can swap it for expresso powder which elevates the chocolate flavor. Alternately, 1 small orange zest will be delicious, too.
- Vegetable oil: the recipe requires a small amount of oil, so any vegetable oil such as olive oil or avocado oil works fine. I used cold-pressed canola oil.
- Sugar: beet sugar or organic brown sugar makes the cake softer. However, brown and beet sugar are interchangeably in the recipe.
Easy chocolate cake batter
As you notice, I don’t mix wet and dry ingredients separately in this recipe, but I add the liquids directly to the dry ingredients. It doesn’t make much difference since mixing dairy-free milk and oil together in a separate bowl is pointless: they just don’t mix.
Good news? You need only 1 bowl for the batter, but keep in mind:
- Mix the dry ingredients into a homogeneous mixture by using a a whisk. For a light and delicate texture, it’s important to mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.
- Do not overmix the batter, but stir just until combined.
- The cake batter is thin.
- Baking time depends on the cake pan shape (see recipe).
How long does this vegan chocolate cake last?
This chocolate cake keeps well for up to 4 days if stored in an airtight container or in a cake dome over the counter. It’s also freezable, in an airtight container, for up to 1 month.
More easy & healthy cake recipes?
If you make this easy vegan chocolate cake recipe or if you have any questions, let me know! Leave a comment, send me a message, or rate it.
I would love to hear from you!
Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe {Vegan}
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ level cups (220 grams) all-purpose flour or white spelt flour
- ⅔ cup (130 grams) Beet sugar or organic brown sugar (see notes)*
- ¾ cup +1 Tbsp (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (see notes)*
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp fine salt
- 2 cups + 1 Tbsp (495 ml) dairy-free milk or cow milk
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) vegetable olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or expresso powder (optional)
- ½ cup (85 grams) Vegan dark chocolate chips (optional)
Chocolate coating:
- ½ cup (85 grams) dark chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 340°F/170°C, place the rack in the middle shelf, then grease a 9-inch bund cake pan. Alternatively, grease or line with parchment paper a 9-inch round pan.
- Place flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk throughly into a homogenous mixture.
- Add sugar and salt to the dry ingredients and mix again until well combined.
- Then pour over the liquid ingredients: milk, oil and vanilla essence. Mix until just combined, but do not overmix.
- Stir in the chocolate chips, pour in the preparred cake pan, and bake.
- If you use a 9-inch bundt pan like mine, after 40 minutes check the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean and dry the cake is done, otherwise keep baking for a further 3-5 minutes and check again. If you use a 9-inch round pan instead, the baking time is 30 maximum 35 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes.
- When the cake is ready, take it out from the oven straight away and let it cool for about 5 minutes on a cooling rack. If you use a bundt pan, turn it upside down while it's still warm, that helps the release.
Chocolate coating:
- Place the chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl placed over a pan of barely simmering water (a bain marie). Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally. Once melted leave it to set until a bit firm, but still runny
- Decorate the cake by pouring the melted chocolate gently all over it.
- Serve immediately or wait until the chocolate is set.
I made this cake and the result was excellent, with a very chocolatey colour and taste. The texture was very soft and decadent.
I used a narrow and tall loaf cake and it rose very well. I used a first quality cocoa, but instead of chocolate chips I put some crushed nuts. The result was very similar to brownies.
Nobody noticed it was vegan, but everyone noticed it was delicious!
Many thanks for the recipe, Katia!
You’re very welcome and thank you for your wonderful feedback, it’s so appreciated! : )
I’m curious as to how the nutrition works out. My dad is trying to reduce sugar in his diet and I want to make this for his birthday. If I use less sugar, how would that work out per serving? I’m also wondering how using whole milk would affect the mixing process as you mentioned that the oil doesn’t mix with milk that doesn’t contain fat.
Thank you!
Hi Jessica, unfortunately I can’t give you different nutritional values here, I don’t even know how much sugar you want to use (most important, keep in mind I’m not a dietician and I use an online calculator for the nutritional values).
For the milk, I’ve never used cow milk for this recipe, but I think it would be the same, the high water content doesn’t help. x
This chocolate cake was so easy to make and was very delicious. Mine did not rise like pictured but that didn’t make a difference in taste. I got rave reviews from my guests. Thanks for sharing!
That’s fantastic, I’m so pleased it turned out delicious.
Thanks so much for sharing your lovely comment, Joanne. x
The cake is super easy & yummy 😋
Thank you so much 🙏🏻❤️
I’m so pleased you loved it, Mona! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback.x
Katia,
Thank you so much for the recipe! It was delicious!! I made it for my dad’s birthday, and he truly loved it. I liked that it wasn’t too sweet, and that it was so simple (leaving room for creativity 😉). I tried caramel chocolate chips instead of regular ones, and it still tasted wonderful! Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Hi Zoe, thanks so much for your wonderful comment! I’m so happy to hear you made this cake for your dad’s birthday… caramel chocolate chips sound great!
Have a nice weekend x
It was delicious, my family loved it. Thanks for sharing it.
I’m so pleased to hear that! Thank you for your lovely comment. x
Katia,
I baked this cake tonight and my family loved it. I added orange rind and a little bit of Cointreau for chocolate coating. I will definitely bake it again! Thank you x
Hi Rie, thanks for taking the time to share your lovely feedback!
I’m so pleased to hear your family loved it, and the idea of adding Cointreau for chocolate coating is fantastic, I’m going to try it myself! : )
Have a good weekend! x
I like a little more sweet can you use semi-sweet choc chips, also I dont like dark chocolate can I use milk chocolate choc chips
Hi Jan, sure, feel free to add more sweet chocolate if you wish. Enjoy! x
Could I sub applesauce for the oil?
Hi Michele, I’ve never tried applesauce in this cake recipe, sorry If I can’t help you. x
I dont understand why its so runny???
Is the batter runny? Is that what you mean? If it looks like the one in the video is fine, otherwise the ratio dry and liquid ingredients is wrong. Have you baked it? x
Hi! If the ingredients are measured correctly, the flour to milk ratio is fine and the cake comes out perfect. Let me know how it turns out yours x
would this work with a cupcake pan?
Hi Zoe! Yes, it works. I tried to use a muffin pan and made about 12 muffins, just reduce the baking time accordingly. x
Is it 257 kcals for one slice or the entire cake?
Hi! Calories are per serving. x
cake look yummy will bake it thank you for sharing
You’re so welcome! 😊
Made this last night. It was a hit!. Yep, it was that good! Thanks you so much
You’re so welcome! 💛 I’m so glad it was a hit, thanks for sharing your feedback x