1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

This cake is amazing. The perfect texture. Moist, airy, and rich—how cakes should taste. If there is any complaint, it is that I tasted too much banana. However, my partner said he tasted more chocolate and little banana. I am also pregnant, so results may be skewed. I will have to make this cake when baby is here to compare. ;)

THE best vegan choc cake, and frosting I’ve ever made! This was a surprise housewarming/welcome the baby gift that I took to visit family on Orcas island recently. Everyone loved it! I followed your recipe to a T; made it in 2- 6” springform pans, frosted then froze it till day of travel. I was impressed by the moistness and the fact that it thawed well, while I made the drive, waited in the ferry queue, ferried, and drove some more! The sole drawback was that it took 3 & 1/2 hours from production to cleanup. However, pure deliciousness 😋😋

Made cupcakes and they were AMAZING!!! Gluten free baked goods generally make me sad (it’s the texture) but this recipe changed my mind completely. No exaggeration here – the texture was perfect!! I used cashew yogurt in place of the applesauce and made sure to add the ground dark roast. I’m actually inspired & ready to try other gluten free recipes!!

The absolute best GF chocolate cake! The texture is fantastic and even “everything eaters” loved it! For the sponge, I used half of both the honey and coconut sugar, and it was the perfect sweetness level for me. I also used the frosting recipe linked, with the addition of 50g melted dark chocolate and 150g cream cheese… absolutely delicious!

I made this and this was delicious! So moist and Fudgy. I subbed 1/2 cup arrowroot flour, 1/4 spelt flour and 1/4 cup oat for the potato flour.

OMG I am obsessed with this recipe. We made cupcakes and the only modification made was using half the amount of almond flour and the other half gf flour just because of what we had available. The cupcakes came out absolutely perfect – sweet but not too sweet, decadent but not too rich, somehow perfectly fluffy and dense at the same time…etc etc. They taste like heaven!!!!

My partner and I made these tonight and they were amazing!! We substituted the applesauce with plain coconut yogurt and almond butter with peanut butter (that’s what we had available), but otherwise followed the recipe the same. We also frosted them with Miss Jones brand vanilla frosting. So many other gluten free/vegan cupcakes that I have made in the past have been too moist and don’t really taste like cupcakes, but these were perfect! Trying not to eat them all :)

I made this because I needed something vegan and gluten-free for Passover. I was pretty skeptical because of the lack of oil (I was worried it would be dry). I made it as written but used almond milk yogurt instead of applesauce to add fat, and used standard white sugar instead of coconut sugar.

It was very good and quite moist! It actually came out of the oven almost too moist and was perfect the next day. I made it in two round 9-inch pans and ended up baking for only 22 minutes. The cakes were easy to handle and frost (I used my own frosting recipe, which is rich and full of fat). It did well with the non-vegan crowd. The banana taste is perceptible but subtle. Would definitely make again if I needed something gluten-free.

I didn’t have banana, so I used 1/3 c applesauce and 1/3 c sweet potato (90 gram and 86 gram, respectively). I used 1/4 c culina yogurt. I used 45 grams molasses (roughly 1/3 c) and about 24 g honey for some of the maple. The overall profile was a bit bitter, so next time I may reduce the cacao powder by 1/4 c. This rose beautifully, and has a light crumb will retaining moistness that becomes almost fudgy when you eat it. This is the first cake I’ve made since going low carb years ago, and it will be my go to chocolate cake recipe for years to come.

I absolutely loved this recipe! I’m a huge fan of the fact that you build it in one bowl. I made cupcakes, and the texture was perfect, super moist but not too dense. I didn’t have potato starch so used the half arrowroot/half coconut flour swap and it worked great. I ended up only needing one cup of almond flour to get the right thickness of batter, so I was a little worried I messed something up but they were a huge hit. Can’t wait to make again!

I tweaked this a bit and it came out wonderfully….I added a bit more applesauce and only half a banana, some whipped coconut cream and a tablespoon or two of finely sifted flax flour (not meal) in cashew-almond milk, cacao nib paste (cocoa liquor), vanilla bean, espresso, sea salt, raw cacao powder instead of cocoa…..and substituted arrowroot and coconut four for the potato starch and added apple cider vinegar to activate the baking soda/powder , all for more decadence and better texture and flavour.
For the frosting, I did it in three parts…soaked cashews, maple syrup, cacao butter, pinch of sea salt, vanilla extract…blended and chilled…then I chilled my hand mixer all for two hours, I added coconut cream and a tiny bit of fine powdered coconut sugar along with organic vanilla bean…set half aside and added cacao nib paste and cacao powder with some more powdered sugar, espresso and another essential pinch of sea salt….
After the cake had cooled a bit but was still warm, I carefully sliced it into half, so four layers instead of two and lightly or rather a bit generously misted the cake layers with a very light syrup mixture of water, coconut sugar, cacao and espresso…chilled and prepared the frosting and then frosted the cake and decorated with melted dark chocolate ganache, the vanilla coconut whip cream I’d set aside and dark chocolate shavings and crushed hazelnuts….voila..the most wonderful cake ever concocted…!

Tapioca starch instead of potato starch and agave syrup instead of maple (it was easier to find where I live). It was INCREDIBLE. Best chocolate cake ever. Thanks!!!

I am not even exaggerating when I say, this is best chocolate cake I have ever had, vegan or not! As an avid baker and cake decorator, one of the things I love most is that it’s super moist yet dense enough that it will be perfect for carving and decorating. Thank you so much for this recipe!

In case anyone is wondering about alterations:

I made this cake the first time with my own applesauce and without the addition of the coconut sugar (just using the maple syrup) and it was just PERFECT!!!! (and just sweet enough)

Then I made it a second time:
I accidentally used coconut flour in place of almond and I did have to add enough water to make it thinner till it was more of a thick sauce and baked it and it was just as good!
I plan on stacking it and frosting it – its holding its shape perfectly so I expect it will be just as amazing as the first cake :)
This is going to be my go to forever!!!

Thank you for posting!

ps.
(my family has so many allergies and preferences that we dont ever eat any kind of dessert from outside the home and this allows me to make treats for my husband and baby!)

This recipe was superb! I’ve been struggling to find a good gf vegan cake recipe and this is it!

This is the best chocolate cake recipe ever (and I’ve tried a few)!
Instead of banana I used sweet potato and a bit more apple sauce as my daughter doesn’t eat banana.
I’ve never left a review before but this cake is fantastic so I just had to.

Hello, I made this recipe yesterday . I am not a huge sweet eater but my boyfriend is.
The cake was moist and to my mind 3/5, I gave a slice to another friend who said the cake was too “earthy” and felt it needed more tweeking.
She did give a big shout out to the no oil chocolate frosting which helped cut the “earthiness” of the cake.

This is an absolutely foolproof recipe, even down to the baking times! I baked the cake for my daughter’s birthday, the cake was moist, a perfect fluffy texture, didn’t crumble and was delicious. Everyone loved it, and even my son, who is a very harsh critic, scored it a 9, which can be considered a true compliment coming from him.
I will be using this recipe in the future for birthdays.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful cake recipe!

I’ve been wanting to make a healthy chocolate cake for my family and with some modifications this recipe did not disappoint. I used yogurt to replace applesauce, yacón syrup and erythritol instead of maple syrup and coconut sugar (dietary preference), sub potato starch with 1/2 tapioca flour and 1/2 GF all purpose baking flour. I added 2 tsp of ground coffee beans and it turned out perfect so I decided to skip the frosting. Thanks a lot, Dana!

It was good, however I too had a strong banana flavour. Maybe put in the recipe a note with suggestions about this just like you do with the options of yogurt and express powder? Now that I’ve gone back and read all the comments, I see that I’m not alone.

To me it tasted like a Banana Chocolate cake, which if that was what I was going for would have pleased me quite well. Unfortunately, I was anticipating straight chocolate.

I’m usually not a baker except for like once or twice a year around the holidays. I’m newly gluten-free and thought I’d try this out as a good project for my solo/zoom Christmas. And oh my goodness, I was blown away. I subbed sweet potatoes for the bananas as I saw suggested in the comments and it worked beautifully but I found I only needed around 2 cups of the almond flour. I made it with the vegan chocolate ganache frosting. I have a tiny kitchen and little patience for long periods in the kitchen so I pureed the sweet potatoes and made the frosting the night before. What a great success, truly a perfect texture and flavor!

I had so many expectations for this cake… I have made so many MB recipes before and they’ve always turned out great. This cake was just not it (for me). Tasted so much like banana (bananas were not ripe at all) that I couldn’t taste any chocolate flavor at all. It promises a decadent chocolate cake, but I just felt like I was eating an average banana bread with cocoa. It was okay, but nothing I’d make again.

HOLY SMOKES this is SO DANG GOOD. Used frozen ripe bananas defrosted under water since my fresh ones weren’t ready yet. Made my batter a bit more watery but still good! Replaced the potato starch with half tapioca flour and half whole wheat flour just cause that’s what I had on hand. It turned out SOOO moist and delicious – I think the tapioca flour adds a different texture but I’m not an expert Haha. I actually made several mini bundt cake sizes and paired it with choco chip ganache as socially distanced christmas drop offs! One of them I added some crushed walnuts on top before popping them into the oven and it created a nice crunch. Raving reviews!!! Will definitely make again!!

I never go back to sites to leave reviews. But I had to for this cake! OMG!! It’s my new obsession. I used date sugar instead of coconut sugar. The cake came out beautiful and so dang delicious. Five stars!!

This cake is amazing! I used what I had on hand, Used combo of coconut flour, arrow root flour and a skosh of Bob’s Red Mill GF Flour, sweet potato instead of AS. Made the vegan chocolate frosting with almond butter and a skosh of peanut butter. I am shocked at how good this cake is!! You are a queen. Thank You!

I’m a dorm parent at a boarding school and have quite a few gluten free/vegan students so I was excited when I came across this recipe. It was a huge hit! My bananas were beyond ripe (had turned dark brown and were mushy) but I didn’t notice a banana flavor. I also added 1 tsp of instant coffee to the batter. I baked the cake in two 9″ round pans at 350 degrees for 22 minutes and it was perfect. I used the Vegan Chocolate Ganache recipe and my only issue was I didn’t melt the chocolate completely but the bits of chocolate in the frosting were an added treat.
Next will try it with something other than almond flour to be nut free. Thanks for the recipe!

This is DELICIOUS!! I made it for friends and they loved it. It’s so moist and decadent tasting.

I was so impressed with this recipe. I’ve been struggling to find a homemade cake recipe I like. This was delicious! I’m glad I read the comments first. I halved the amount of banana and made up for it in apple sauce. Came out great! I’m gonna make the recipe for cupcakes later today. Excited to see how those turn out. Thanks!!

Love this recipie but I added some coconut oil and really improves the taste 👌👌

I was really sceptic at first about making a vegan chocolate cake. It is incredible! I think most people would not even realize it’s vegan and gluten free. The taste and texture both perfect. Will make it again!

It tastes like banana. I wish the banana taste wasn’t so strong.

I wanted to try a chocolate cake for my daughters birthday and I am so glad to have found this recipe. It was everything I was hoping it would be …moist and decadent!! The date ganache is just heavenly!! I disagree with some of the comments. There is no smell or taste of bananas. We loved the recipe so much I cannot wait to make it again for my husbands bday! I will be baking this regularly regardless of any occasions, it is that good!! Thank you Minimalist Baker for all the wonderful healthy recipes you share! I do not miss out on store bought unhealthy treats at all ..thanks to you! God Bless!

Tried this following the exact recipe but used 0.25 cup of maple syrup. Texture – beautiful, colour – rich and dark, taset- I just can’t shake the banana flavor being so prominent. My banana was not even that ripe. If I try again I am going to sub with sweet potato puree.

All I taste is banana. All I smell is banana. And not just me. Everyone who ate it was like hhmm it’s good but banana ?? gross. My bananas were ripe. I measured. I don’t know how others haven’t had the same experience. Not my favorite recipe.

This recipe was so easy to follow. The texture of the cake is moist and not too dense. I used Costco/Kirkland Almond Flour. 28min was perfect for me. And the vegan chocolate ganache was the perfect accompaniment. I even had to improvise as I didn’t have enough mashed banana. I was just shy of the required amount so I topped up with more applesauce and luckily it worked. My non GF/vegan brother was skeptical but he loved it and said it tastes like regular cake. And my 13yr daughter who hates cake (weird right?) also licked her plate clean.
Next time I will follow your suggestion and try this with beet puree to see if I can make a red velvet version.

I made this cake, and it is the closest gf cake recipe I’ve come across that mimics the fluffiness of a wheat flour cake. The chocolate ganache icing is pretty darn amazing and my only tweak was to add a tablespoon of almond butter to the ganache that went between my cake layers for an added flavour dimension. It is soooo good. Thanks!

Phenomenal! I have made this twice for my kids birthdays and it’s been a huge hit. No one had any clue it was vegan. My dad is very particular about chocolate cake and said it’s one of his favorites. I will definitely be making it again. Thank you for another fantastic recipe, huge fan of minimalist baker!

SO good. Made this for a friends birthday into cupcakes, it made 28 but I could have filled the tins a little fuller and made 24. I am at high altitude and the only thing I did differently was bake for 14min. I also use Costco’s almond flour and it works great. My friend loved them and ate 4 in one sitting!! Will make again for sure!!

Tasty! I’m new to vegan recipes and this recipe is really good. I subbed brown sugar for the coconut sugar as well as all-purpose flour for the coconut flour (couldn’t find them). I also added about 2 tbsp of instant coffee and 1/2 bag of dairy-free chocolate chips. YUM! Going to try this in a trifle with whipped coconut cream and cherries. Definitely a repeat recipe! 👍🏼👍🏼

I love your recipe easy and so good. I used arrowroot as a substitution of potato flour and it still good. Thank you so much for the recipe

I was sceptical that I would stuff this up.. had sweet potato starch not potato starch and made oat flour to sub for almond flour and it worked out beautifully. Very chocolatey. Added vegan ganache and some raspberry/apple sauce and it was magic. I’m so impressed with myself (and this recipe).

Loved it. It was easy to make and very tasty . Thank you, I can eat cake again !

I forgot to add almond flour but I’ll let y’all know how it turns out. Next time I won’t try to multi-task while baking but I did sub coconut flour and arrowroot starch for potato starch. It just won’t be as fluffy as it could have been if I remembered the almond flour. It looks like a brownie but I could still work with it and it still tastes great.

I made this and was amazing result. I didn’t bake for so many years because of my family’s Different diet restrictions . Yesterday we could Enjoy all together to celebrate my son’s birthday. Thank you,thank you

Thank you for this recipe! It was very easy, love the one-bowl, and the texture is amazing. I was bummed I could still taste the banana. I did read another reviewer could taste it, too so I made sure to use a banana with no yellow spots and even added a little extra vanilla and some espresso powder to help mask the flavor. That pesky banana still came through. Maybe I’m just extra sensitive to the taste… or maybe it’s just in my head ;) Either way, I’ll still eat it (and probably share) and am determined to try again, maybe with the sweet potato substitution next time.

I followed the exact recipe and it turned out AMAZING! So moist, rich and delicious!

OMG!! This cake is amazing! So moist, and so healthy too!
Will make again, and again.
Thanks for such a fantastic recipe!

What a wonderful cake! I made this for my daughter’s birthday. It was so delicious. I did substitute the potato starch with arrowroot starch and coconut flour as suggested in the recipe. I used the vegan ganache frosting recipe and topped the cake with fresh berries. My vegan and non vegan family members all loved it. Thank you Dana. We love your recipes!

I don’t usually write comments, but felt inspired by the flavors to do so. There were many comments about using other flours due to nut allergies. I used 1 cup brown rice, 1/2 c ground flax, 1/2 c ground pumpkin seeds, and 1/2 c teff. I loved them. Texture and taste are amazing. Thanks for sharing your tricks of this sweet and sometimes sticky way. Oh also did cupcakes bakes for 20 minutes

I made this cake for my birthday and it was a-mazing!!! I did the substitution for the potato starch and it turned out great. Can’t wait to make it again – but will have some self-control and wait a bit :)

I made this cake as a three layer cake. I used home made raspberry jam and vegan vanilla cream cheese frosting between the layers and vegan chocolate ganache on the cake exterior. The cake looked and tasted wonderful but it was impossible to slice. Every slice crumbled, it was terribly disappointing as it’s not a cheap cake to make.

Wow! Not only was this delicious, but even more importantly it was easy enough to make with my 3, 5, and 6 year olds “helping.” This will definitely be a repeat dessert in my household!

I made this with the kids and it came out GREAT! It is dense and moist. You need to drink water with it or use a whipped cream but since we are trying to avoid dairy, I mixed together coconut from the can and coconut sugar and smeared a little on top and then paired it with a juicy plum. I’m thinking coconut with frozen berries in the processor may be good, too, but haven’t tried that yet. the no-oil frosting tasted badly – too much peanut butter taste. I tried again without pb and a little coconut oil and it came out wrong again. I’m new to the vegan/plant-based world.

But anyway, the recipe came out awesome and we tried it in ramkins and also as cupcakes. just less baking time. I think it was 20 min. I cook/bake by smell, taste most of the time. I put unsweetened shredded coconut on mine with a pinch of coconut sugar over it and it was great. totally recommend this recipe.

Best recipe for GF vegan cake I’ve come across. The cake is so flavorful and moist; the ganache frosting is out of this world! Thanks for another amazing recipe. I’ll definitely be making this again soon.

Oh man oh man oh man! What a cupcakes!! I made them for a friend who eats gluten free and man oh man! These are the most amazing chocolate cupcake I ever did eat. Pff!! Will DEFINITELY remake them over and over and over and over and….well you get the point. If I could, I would give it 35 stars.

Holy moly guacamole! This is one delicious cake!! Will be making this over and over.

This cake, paired with your vegan ganache, was outstanding! I used coffee instead of milk. I am wondering how to eliminate the taste of the banana. It’s subtle but it’s there. I will definitely make this cake again! Delicious!!

This recipe is perfect, it made the BEST chocolate cake I have ever eaten. My non-allergy/vegan family and friends would not believe me that it was gf/vg. 10/10!
Living in the UK I had to get some of the ingredients from Amazon, but it is totally worth it as I don’t believe it would have worked this well with substitutions

Stopppp. Are you joking with how amazing this cake is? Made it for my harshest critics, who have been spending all of quarantine perfecting their baking skills. And everyone loved it.

I subbed out the almond products for an allergy – used coconut flour, peanut butter, and oat milk (dark chocolate flavor!). Came out so so so so so so well. Thank you for this.

This is my very first vegan cake making experience. With that being said, it was way more moist than I had expected – and the consistency was extremely close to that of any normal chocolate cake I’ve made. And – I loved the fact that it was just one bowl! Great directions – well written recipe.
With all being said, this cake does have a very strong banana essence in the overall taste. And that just might be the way vegan cakes taste?
Note: I subbed corn starch for potato starch. Not sure how it may have changed the taste, but my cake was not faulted at all because of it. Also, I cut the coconut sugar in half. My four star rating is solely based on the strong banana taste since I changed the recipe slightly.

I baked this recipe into cupcakes and also made the Vegan chocolate frosting. OMG it was incredible and so yummy!. Note the past tense as my family devoured these cupcakes!! I did omit the maple syrup and just increased the banana and apple sauce to make up for the wet and the cake was moist and delicious! With the frosting the sweetness was absolutely perfect!

This cake came out perfectly! I was so surprised that a GF cake could be moist and fluffy. It had a subtle banana taste which was pleasant and the texture was on point. My family loved it and said it tasted store bought.

I’m not the most precise baker, and I’m often too lazy to go to the shop to get specific ingredients that I don’t have. So I was thrilled that this chocolate cake turned out delicious anyway!

I used a fork, as I don’t have a whisk (much less a mixer). I used coconut flour instead of almond (less than the recipe as coconut flour dries everything out). I used peanut butter instead of almond butter, and created a frosting from a hodgepodge of a dark chocolate bar, maple syrup, and peanut butter.

No complaints! Probably heavenly following all of the instructions, but still delicious with my C- grade of an effort XD

So great! I love making gluten-free treats that taste delicious to trick my family and friends into tasting them and then seeing the shock on their face when I tell them theyre gluten free >:). Thanks for a great recipe! I’ll be making this again!

Made it exactly as written and it was delicious. My picky teens had no clue it was vegan or gluten-free so thank you for this! Cake was moist and decadent. I may add extra chocolate chips next time just for fun.

LOVE your recipes Dana and am so thankful of the time and effort that goes into the recipe development.
With a pre diabetes diagnosis I need to eliminate sugars, so I left out the maple syrup, cut back the coconut sugar by half, + added fiber syrup (chicory root)
Pretty darn good but next time I’ll cook it longer. Thx Again
Sara
New Zealand

You did it again this is amazing!! Moist and so good it doesn’t even need frosting! This rivals your gluten free vegan vanilla cake (a staple in our family)… thanks again!!

This cake was decadent, rich, and so delicious! The frosting was perfectly sweet. My whole family loved it!

This cake and frosting will become a staple in our house. Truly delicious!
All your recipes are so well thought out and the taste is always amazing.
Thank you.

I made this for my family last night. Mind blowingly delicious! This will be a new favorite. If you want to impress company with your culinary skills, you can’t go wrong with this recipe.

This was delicious! I halved the recipe and baked it in a loaf pan. So good. Great texture and flavour.

I just made this and it turned out so fluffy and chocolate-y! I didn’t have potato starch so I used what you suggested, which was a combo of arrowroot starch and coconut flour.
I used your date chocolate frosting recipe that you linked as well, and it was perfect. Thanks!

Made this cake today and I was so happy with how it turned out. It was amazing. I used two 8″ pans. It rose right to the very top, was so light and fluffy and tender. My non vegan husband loved it and said it was a keeper. I can’t wait to make it for my GF friends. It was an absolute hit! Thank you so much for such great recipes!

Another great cake Dana! The only substitution I made was for the potato starch, because I didnt have any. I used half coconut flour half arrowroot flour as you suggested and it worked well.

This is the best chocolate cake ever. I can’t have a lot of refined sugar or dairy and this cake has none of that but ALL THE TASTE.
Easy to make, will be making again!
Love that you get a little banana flavor too, goes so well with the chocolate! I made it will her chocolate ganache- AMAZING.

Thank you for sharing a wonderful light and airy chocolate cake! I have been craving something chocolatey and this hit the spot. I made these in a 12-lined muffin pan so I can control my urge to eat the whole cake! **portion control because they’re so yummy**

OH MY GOD. This cake is incredible and good for you! Currently having it for breakfast ;) thank you for the recipe!

I got the email with the recipe today and started making it right away! We all loved it!