One Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

The easiest chocolate cake you will ever make! This vegan chocolate cake comes together in one bowl and is the perfect single layer cake for all occasions. Topped with my best vegan chocolate buttercream frosting this cake is rich, decadent and perfectly soft.

Hands up if sometimes you just crave a big slice of simple, classic chocolate cake. While I love so many versions of chocolate cake, something that I was lacking on my site was just the classic single layer I don’t really have a reason but I just want to make chocolate cake cake.

Recently I have been thinking back to the types of recipes that I made when I was young looking for those classic recipes that were my bread and butter when learning how to bake. And just like the cinnamon tea cake I shared recently, this vegan chocolate cake is one of them.

When I was younger I wasn’t really thinking about baking vegan as I didn’t have my falling out with dairy until I was 20, but I recently realised that I had started my interest in allergy friendly baking due to limited availability of groceries.

If we were out of eggs, or they were being saved for something else and I couldn’t use them because the grocery store was an hours drive away and I wanted to bake right now, I remember getting onto the family computer with it’s dial up internet and typing into a search engine (Yahoo maybe – was this before Google??) ‘chocolate cake without eggs’.

I remember doing this a lot. I have no idea what the original recipes were that I was making, but I know that they produced a delicious single layer chocolate cake and that was my aim here. I don’t want to have to wonder what I can make with limited ingredients or have to go to the store when all I really want is a slice of chocolate cake.

This is that basic chocolate cake recipe that you should always have the ingredients on hand for. Serve with frosting or maybe just a dusting of icing sugar. Be flexible with how much effort you want to go to here.

How to make vegan chocolate cake

This section is really not needed because this cake is so very easy to make. It comes together in one bowl and takes just a few minutes. The longest time you will spend in prep is lining the cake pan with baking paper.

You can use a square tin here or a round tin, it doesn’t really matter just use what you have.

Once it’s prepared and your oven is preheating away, grab a whisk, a rubber spatula and a large mixing bowl – that is all the equipment needed!

All of the ingredients then get put straight into the same bowl and mixed together until a smooth, chocolatey batter forms. Poor this into your cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

Once the cake is cool we can frost it. I used my best vegan chocolate buttercream because it is so easy and tastes super fudgy. It’s the perfect companion to the soft, rich cake.

Because this is a single layer cake, I am just using a half quantity of the original recipe which is the perfect amount for a nice thick layer over the cake. If buttercream is not your thing, you can use any chocolate frosting you want. You might also decide to use a different flavour frosting such as my vegan vanilla buttercream which can be adapted to so many different flavours, as well as dyed your favourite colour.

And finally we finish the cake with sprinkles because everything is more fun with sprinkles.

This cake is seriously so easy to make, it is perfect for baking beginners.

I love one bowl recipes as well, particularly when it comes to baking because usually I find my kitchen utterly destroyed by the time I am finished. And let’s face it, anytime that I reduce the amount of clean up I am going to be happy. Particularly when I have a nice big piece of chocolate cake waiting for me.

Whether you need a cake for a birthday, or simply just a Tuesday after work, this cake is easy enough that you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to make something everyone will enjoy.

If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with #eightforestlane as I would love to see.

5 from 6 votes

One Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

The easiest chocolate cake you will ever make! This vegan chocolate cake comes together in one bowl and is the perfect single layer cake for all occasions. Topped with my best vegan chocolate buttercream frosting this cake is rich, decadent and perfectly soft.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Servings: 8 people

Author: Sally

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Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 and 1/4 cups plain flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup almond milk

For the Chocolate Frosting:

• ¼ cup (60 grams) dairy-free butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• pinch salt
• sprinkles optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a square 9x9 inch (23x23 cm) cake pan with baking paper and oil spray.
• In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, canola oil and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder directly into the bowl. Slowly add the almond milk a little at a time, whisking through completely each time before adding more.
• Once the batter has come together, pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the frosting by beating the dairy-free butter and vanilla together using an electric mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted. Add in cocoa powder and 1 cup of the icing sugar. Continue beating until creamy. Add in the extra cup of icing sugar and about a tablespoon of milk. Continue beating until it becomes smooth and creamy. Add more milk if needed to reach the desired consistency. Add salt to taste if it’s a bit too sweet.
• Using a cake knife or spatula, spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake and decorate with sprinkles if desired.

Notes

You can also cook this in a 9 inch round cake tin.

I use Nuttelex to replace butter in most of my recipes as it is vegan and gives a 'buttery' flavour without being greasy. As this is an Australian product, the closest US alternative I believe is Earth Balance. Otherwise any dairy-free spread will work.

Not from Australia? Check out my US Conversion Guide. 

More Vegan Desserts:

Vegan Sticky Date Pudding With Caramel Sauce
Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
No-Bake Chocolate Tart (Vegan)
Vegan ‘Snickers’ Cupcakes
Strawberry Crumble

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