This one bowl vegan chocolate cake is really the only cake recipe you NEED in your repertoire. Using simple ingredients, this is the easiest cake recipe you will ever make. The cake is soft and tender with a rich, dark chocolate flavour and is topped with my go-to vegan fudgy chocolate buttercream. It’s just so good!
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This cake is so easy and so delicious!! I made it for my non-vegan son’s birthday and he loved it. Recently I made it just for me and, since I’m not very fond of “sweets”, I omitted the frosting and topped my cake slice with vanilla yoghurt. Again, so delicious!! Thanks for a great recipe, Sally 🙂 – Katherine
While I’ve publicly confessed my absolute favourite cake flavour is either this vegan biscoff cake, or my carrot cake, there is still a place in my heart for the perfect slice of simple chocolate cake.
I don’t need chocolate cake to be fancy, it just needs to be really really good. Because it’s a rich flavour I think it’s a cake that works so well as a simple single layer cake. The focus is on the cake itself, with the rich dark cocoa taste and then it’s finished with a silky smooth and creamy chocolate buttercream that I could honestly eat with a spoon.
When I first developed this recipe, I was thinking back to my childhood when I learnt to bake. We lived in a rural town and access to groceries was very limited so I started learning to find recipes that didn’t rely on fresher produce, like eggs.
Combine a need to bake egg-free with an allergy to dairy and automatically I was baking vegan cakes without even realising it!
So this cake is my egg-free chocolate cake and uses plant-based milk making it also dairy-free and vegan so it’s suitable for a range of dietary needs or just for those times when you don’t want to pop to the shops.
Key Ingredients
This is a basic vegan chocolate cake recipe that you should always have the ingredients on hand for. You can serve with the buttercream frosting as I have or just a dusting of icing sugar. Be flexible with what ingredients you have and how much effort you want to go to here.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- White sugar – all sugar in Australia, Europe and the UK is vegan, but if you’re in the US you may want to use organic to be sure.
- Canola oil – you can use any light tasting vegetable oil. This keeps the cake so soft and moist.
- Vanilla extract – always add vanilla to chocolate cakes to really enhance the depth of the chocolate flavour.
- Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour in the US. I haven’t tested this cake with gluten-free flour but if you do, make sure its a good quality baking blend with xanthan gum added such as Bob’s Red Mill.
- Cocoa powder – always use a good quality cocoa powder for the best, rich, chocolate flavour. I’ve used Cadbury Bournville cocoa powder my entire life because it’s made from the same beans Cadbury uses to make their chocolate so you know it’s going to taste good. For those in the US, this is a Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- Baking powder – to help the cake rise and become soft and light.
- Almond milk – you can use any plant-based milk you like. I often use oat milk, but soy milk or even coconut milk will work in this recipe. If you’re just looking for an eggless chocolate cake recipe and don’t mind the dairy, you can use regular dairy milk.
Step-by-Step Instructions
This chocolate cake recipe is all about giving you a recipe that is fool-proof. That mean you have options when making it depending on what is at your disposal in the kitchen. I am not asking you to have any fancy equipment!
I like to mix my cake batter with a handheld electric mixer just because its easy, but if you don’t have one, you can 100% do this just with a whisk.
Start by beating together your white sugar, canola oil and vanilla. Then, directly into the bowl sift in the plain flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Beat again as you slowly add in the milk bit by bit until a thick batter forms.
Pour the cake batter into a prepared cake pan and bake until cooked through and the top springs back when lightly touched.
Cooking time will vary based on the cake pan you choose!
- I recommend a pan around 8-9 inches (square or round) and baking for 30-40 minutes.
- For the one in my photos, I used a 7.5 inch, round pan and baked for 40 minutes. This results in a slightly taller cake.
- I’ve also regularly made this sheet pan style in a 9 inch square cake pan and baked for 30 minutes.
Once the cake is cooked, let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely. This step is important as the cake will be delicate when first removed from the oven so turning it out too quickly can result in a broken cake.
The cake should be completely cool before frosting. I am using a half quantity of my best vegan chocolate buttercream because it is so easy and tastes super fudgy. It’s the perfect companion to the soft, rich cake.
Depending on the occasion you can also use my vegan vanilla buttercream which can be dyed your favourite colour and then topped with sprinkles for a fun, simple birthday cake!
Recipe FAQs
Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature. It should remain fresh for 3-4 days.
Yes you can! Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn and then you can freeze for 1-3 months usually. Let the cake defrost at room temperature before unwrapping and enjoying!
Yes, you can substitute the plain flour with a good quality gluten-free baking blend that contains xanthan gum such as Bob’s Red Mill to achieve similar results.
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.
More Vegan Desserts:
Vegan Sticky Date Pudding With Caramel Sauce
Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
No-Bake Chocolate Tart (Vegan)
Vegan ‘Snickers’ Cupcakes
Strawberry Crumble
Vegan Coffee Cake
One Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 1 cup white sugar/granulated sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups plain flour/all purpose flour
- ½ 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 extract
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and line a 8 inch (20 cm) round cake pan with baking paper and oil spray.
- In a large bowl beat 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, mixing through completely each time before adding more.
- Once the batter has come together, pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-40 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.
- Using a cake knife or spatula, spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake. Slice and serve!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
This post was originally published on the 18th April 2020. It has been republished to include better instructions, more helpful information and new photos.
Britta says
This actually turned out way better than I was anticipating. First, I didn’t realize I only had about a 1/2 cup left of sugar in the pantry. So, had to make it with a half cup instead of one cup of sugar. Second, the only flour I had on hand was whole wheat flour- but that didn’t effect the taste either. Instead of using one cup of almond milk I did 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk and 1/4 cup of hot coffee.
I’m used to vegan cakes having a not-done-in-the-middle texture. Not with this cake! So awesome!!! I’m eating it plain- no frosting- and still sweet enough!!
Thank you for the great recipe!
Sally says
So glad you loved this one, thanks Britta!
Johanne Davis says
So easy, so lovely and this recipe works every time!
Sally says
So glad you love this one as much as I do!
Katherine Emerson says
Can this cake be frozen? Cut into individual slices and then frozen? Thanks.
Sally says
Hi Katherine, yes it can! Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn and then you can freeze for 1-3 months usually. Let the cake defrost at room temperature before unwrapping and enjoying 🙂
Katherine Emerson says
This cake is so easy and so delicious!! I made it for my non-vegan son’s birthday and he loved it. Recently I made it just for me and, since I’m not very fond of “sweets”, I omitted the frosting and topped my cake slice with vanilla yogourt. Again, so delicious!! Thanks for a great recipe, Sally 🙂
Sally says
So glad you and your son both enjoyed it!!
Jill says
This is the first vegan cake that I have attempted. I’m not sure if I got the conversions correct (220g sugar?) as it’s not very sweet. Also, it looks very dense, but is a bit crumbly when cutting into it. The texture was very surprising – not sure if it’s meant to be like this? Biting into it, it is as light as air – but then soon turns a bit like paste in the mouth. I’m really not sure if I’ve made it correctly or not!
Lisa Hines says
Can you help me please I need 1 vanilla cake, 1 chocolate cake both vegan 9×9 that are about 2 inch in height don’t mind if the cake is a bit dence. Could you help please. All the recipes I have tried that say you can use 9×9 have turned out ok but really flat.😪 would doubling a recipe work?
Sally says
Hi Lisa. Sorry I don’t have any recipes currently that make a 2inch high layer. You could try doubling the recipe, you may need to increase the baking time and cover the tops with foil while baking to prevent over browning. Good luck!
Gavin says
Stunning! My little sis is vegan so gonna forward this to her to make! She will LOVE it
Sally says
I’m sure she will!
Jaimie says
This is AWESOME, I love the simplicity! I never make as many cakes as I should, simply because I don’t want to clean up the mess. Now I don’t have much of an excuse – thanks for sharing!
Sally says
Exactly!!
Robyn says
Yum! This looks delicious! And what a simple sounding recipe – definitely a cake that will be baked again and again 🙂
Sally says
Thanks Robyn!
Sylvie says
I love how easy this cake is to make! It would be so fun to make with kids as well and let them decorate that yummy frosting 🙂
Sally says
And big kids too!
Andrea says
Yum! What a beautiful, soft and decadent cake. Perfect for any occasion!
Sally says
Thanks Andrea!
Alex says
I love what a simple recipe this is – and that frosting looks incredible.
The perfect chocolate cake!
Sally says
Thanks so much Alex!