This easy vegan chocolate cake recipe is simply the best! Made with simple everyday ingredients that you always have on hand, yet it bakes up perfectly moist and delicious every time. You can use this basic chocolate cake recipe to make layer cakes, sheet cakes, or cupcakes. It's the perfect vegan birthday cake and sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
When I became vegan over 20 years ago, there weren't many vegan cookbooks and recipe blogs weren't invented yet. I was telling my mother that I wanted to make a chocolate birthday cake but wasn't sure how to do it without milk and eggs. That's when she told me about depression cake. (It's an old cake recipe that they made during the depression when eggs and milk were scarce.)
Well, the cake was delicious - like my favorite cake ever! I've made numerous vegan cake recipes over the years and I always come back to this one. It's the easiest to make, perfectly moist, light and spongy, and not too sweet. I like the basic recipe so much, I even converted it into a vegan vanilla cake recipe and a gluten-free chocolate cupcake recipe.
Jump to:
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's simple and easy to make with everyday ingredients you already have.
- This makes a perfect vegan birthday cake that everyone will love.
- It's made without a mixer or fancy tools - just a whisk and bowl.
- This can be easily adapted to be gluten-free.
- It's free of dairy, eggs, soy, and nuts so everyone can enjoy it.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- White Flour - for the base of the cake. You can also use half whole wheat and half white flour. Any general gluten-free flour mix will also work well to make this cake gluten-free.
- Sugar - for sweetness.
- Cocoa Powder - for a chocolate taste.
- Baking Soda - to make your cake rise.
- Salt - for flavor.
- Water - for moisture. - you can also use plant-based milk if you would like or swap the water out for coffee for a cafe mocha flavored cake.
- Oil - for a rich moist cake. You can use any neutral flavored oil that you want or swap it out for apple sauce if you want an oil-free cake.
- Vinegar - to interact with the baking soda and make your cake rise.
- Vanilla Extract - for flavor.
- Frosting - you can use any vegan frosting that you want. I like my chocolate vegan buttercream frosting on this cake.
🥄 Instructions
Prepare your cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350° F (177° C) and rub 2 round cake pans with oil and then dust them with flour to prepare them for the batter.
Make the chocolate cake batter:
- Measure the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, into a large mixing bowl) and give them a stir with a whisk.
- Measure the wet ingredients (water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla) in a separate bowl (I measure them all in a large measuring container).
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Stir with a whisk until you have a smooth batter and you can no longer see dry flour.
Bake your cake:
- Immediately pour the batter into your prepared cake pans and bake at 350 F (177° C) for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow it to cool for 30 minutes in the cake pan then invert them onto a plate in the refrigerator to cool completely before frosting.
Assemble the cake:
- Put your first cake topside down on your serving dish.
- Top with a thick layer of buttercream, jam, or jelly to stick the two layers together.
- Put your next layer on the top right side up.
- Frost the cake with a thick layer of chocolate vegan buttercream or any other flavor you would like.
🌟 Sheet cake
- Use a 12 X 18-inch sheet pan to bake the cake.
- Pour all of the cake batter into an oiled and lightly floured sheet pan.
- Bake at 325°F for 40-45 minutes until the top is dry to the touch and springs back up when pressed slightly.
- Let cool completely and frost in the pan.
🌟 Cupcakes
- Pour the batter into cupcake liners that have been placed in a muffin tin.
- Bake at 375°F for about 22 minutes until the top is dry to the touch and springs back up when pressed slightly.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- Spoon your flour into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a butter knife. Don’t scoop out the flour out of the bag with a measuring cup. This will pack the flour down too much resulting in too much flour.
- Don't over stir the batter or the cake will have a chewy texture.
- Don't let the batter sit once you have added the wet ingredients or the baking soda and vinegar will stop interacting by the time you bake the cake.
- If you take the cake out of the oven and it deflates in the center, it is not done. Quickly put it back in the oven for at least 5 more minutes.
- Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before inverting the pans and taking the cake out.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting. Colder cakes are easier to frost and will not have as many crumbs when you frost it.
🍞 Gluten free instructions
Since my son had to be gluten-free for many years, I have made this cake gluten-free numerous times. The only thing that you need to do is swap out the flour for an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix. I have tried many different brands and they have all worked well. Just be sure to add 1 tsp of xanthan gum to the dry ingredients if it doesn't already have it in the mix. It will not work with almond or other grain-free flours, it has to be a grain-based gluten-free mix. You can check out my recipe for gluten-free vegan chocolate cupcakes for more details.
This cake has been a favorite in my house for years and made for countless birthdays and holidays. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!
🍰 More delicious desserts
- Super Easy Vegan Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- The Best Vegan Carrot Cake
- Veggie Brownies - with zucchini and beets
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Pie
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
A simple easy chocolate cake made without milk or eggs that bakes up moist and delicious every time.
- 3 cups all-purpose white flour or gluten-free flour mix if desired
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups water or plant-based milk
- 3/4 cup oil any neutral-flavored oil will work
- 2 tbsp vinegar any type will work
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups vegan buttercream frosting
-
Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and rub two 9 inch round cake pans with oil and then dust them with flour to prepare them for the batter.
-
Measure the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, into a large mixing bowl) and give them a stir with a whisk.
-
Measure the wet ingredients (water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla) in a separate bowl (I measure them all in a large measuring container).
-
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
-
Stir with a whisk until you have a smooth batter and you can no longer see dry flour.
-
Immediately pour the batter into your prepared cake pans and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
-
Allow it to cool for 30 minutes in the cake pan then invert them onto a plate in the refrigerator to cool completely before frosting.
-
Put your first cake top side down on your serving dish.
-
Top with a thick layer of buttercream, jam, or jelly to stick the two layers together.
-
Put your next layer on the top right side up.
-
Frost the cake with a thick layer of chocolate vegan buttercream or any other flavor you would like.
- Spoon your flour into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a butter knife. Don’t scoop out the flour out of the bag with a measuring cup. This will pack the flour down too much resulting in too much flour.
- Don't over stir the batter or the cake will have a chewy texture.
- Don't let the batter sit once you have added the wet ingredients or the baking soda and vinegar will stop interacting by the time you bake the cake.
- If you take the cake out of the oven and it deflates in the center, it is not done. Quickly put it back in the oven for at least 5 more minutes.
- Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before inverting the pans and taking the cake out.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting. Colder cakes are easier to frost and will not have as many crumbs when you frost it.
