1-Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

Delicious! Made just the cake last night to have around as a snacking cake and it came out so fluffy and perfectly chocolatey. I didn’t have applesauce so I used canned pumpkin purée and I also used 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour. Thanks for the great recipe!!

This is the BEST vegan cake ever – I never thought I would be able to bake one at home but alas this recipe is here! Followed the recipe exactly. Super moist and delicious. This was a favorite for vegans and non vegans alike!

Hello! I just wanted to say that this recipe is delicious! I needed a recipe for my mom’s birthday, and this was perfect! Thank you so much for making all these delicious recipes!

Honestly, This cake is a masterpiece. I was hesitant at first, I mean it’s a vegan chocolate cake how good it could be? But it was the best chocolate cake I ever test, and I am a chocolate cake lover. I made this recipe with hazelnut cake frosting because it less butter, and the result is: Just WOW. Everything is just perfect: the texture, the sweetness, the moisture. Literally A MASTERPIECE!

I made this to take for a pre Christmas catch up with friends, one of whom has recently gone vegan. Everybody loved it and kept asking me if I was sure it was vegan! It was moist and dark and chocolatey and tasted fabulous. The frosting was amazing.
I used standard plain white flour and reduced the sugar (used white caster sugar) to 1 cup and I used grapeseed oil. I also doubled the amount of dark chocolate in the frosting.
I did have to bake it for about 10 more mins to cook through (i think splitting this into 2 tins is a good idea to help it bake through).
The frosting quantities allowed me to put a thick layer on top and in the middle but there wasn’t sufficient to frost all over, which was fine as I liked the rustic finish.

This cake was so good! Perfectly moist and chocolatey but not overly rich. I used coconut sugar as that’s my preferred. My cake pans are 10 inches, so I used one and then made six cupcakes with the leftover. Bake time was 15 mins for the cupcakes and 30 for the cake. I didn’t have chocolate chips on hand, so I added a bit more cocoa powder for the frosting, and only 1/2 cup of butter. I froze the leftovers so I can make this again! (Reposting this as i forgot to star)

This cake is SO good! Perfectly moist and delightfully chocolatey, but somehow not too rich. I only have 10 inch cake pans, so I made the recipe as written and made one layer and six cupcakes. Cook time was about 15 mins for the cupcakes and 30 for the cake. I also used coconut sugar as that’s my preferred sugar. I’m not vegan, so i used regular butter for the frosting as it’s what I had. Only used 1/2 cup and it made plenty. Also didn’t have chocolate chips so i just added a bit more cocoa powder. I froze the leftover frosting so that I can make this again!

Have made countless times. It’s very dark and rich I do use quality choc but low cal spray oil. No coffee and gluten free flour. Apricot jam and coconut milk as filling. Dark choc melted over top. You can thin with soya milk. Bake 30 / 35 at most. It’s a large cake and family love it

I just want to say thank you for this recipe. I made it for my son’s birthday and he loved it. I left out the coffee and used half oat milk, half almond milk.
I only made the base cake in a large rectangular mould and then split it in half to make 2 layers (working with what I have!).
I didn’t make the frosting from this recipe since I didn’t have vegan butter or icing sugar, so I made a frosting from another recipe which contained vegan chocolate, oil, sugar, peanut butter and oat milk and it turned out delicious with the cake.
Just added some sprinkles and smarties and it was very Mum-made but satisfaying! Thank you again!

Good cake! I frosted it with Dana’s recipe for the peanut butter mousse. People loved it and said they wouldn’t have known it was vegan! Accurate bake time- mine were done in 26 minutes

My first time making a vegan cake! We found out recently that my daughter has a lot of food allergies so I went on a mission to find a cake recipe that didn’t have many common allergens. The only thing I did differently was substitute the almond milk for coconut milk because my daughter is allergic to almonds. This cake tastes amazing!!! We’re chocolate lovers and this has a great chocolatey taste!

I shared this with my family and everyone loved it! None of us has a vegan cake before and everyone agreed that this tasted better than a “regular” cake!

Love this cake! I put in 2 teaspoon of instant coffee instead of strong coffee, it worked great. My kids could not believe it is vegan. Awesome.

this is hands down the best chocolate cake recipe in the world. Only me and my partner are vegan and when our family have it they can’t get enough of it. Only thing which I have found is it takes my cakes around 40mins to cook to come out clean.
Thanks for the recipe!

I made this recipe for my dad‘s birthday. He’s vegan, but all of my friends that I shared leftovers with were blown away. I converted the recipe into cupcakes and then sliced a little hole in the top and dropped raspberry jam inside. Then I frosted the cupcakes and topped them with jam-glazed raspberries. Everyone said it was one of the best cupcakes they’ve ever had. I added some extra sugar to the batter because I think the coffee I used was quite bitter (the recipe does say to taste the batter first to check for sweetness). I also cut the baking time down to about 20 minutes and added extra melted chocolate to the frosting (because yum!). A half batch of the frosting covered a dozen cupcakes well. Thanks for the awesome recipe!

Hi Dana!
I am a chef and made this for a kosher group retreat. I made the applesauce and used espresso powder. I also did not have a mixer so I did it entirely with a wooden spoon and whisk. Woah. Best chocolate cake ever!
Thank you very much.

The word decadent aptly describes this amazing chocolate cake recipe. So easy to make. Most of the ingredients I already had in my pantry. I love that it is all made in one bowl. I made it for my son’s birthday. He didn’t believe that I made it and didn’t believe it was vegan. I’ve made other vegan cakes. This was–by far–THE best and THE best chocolate cake I’ve ever made.

Thank you for putting together delicious, quality recipes that allow us to omit animal protein.

I have made this cake a number of times now and it is perfect. I am not a vegan and I love to put butter in everything, but this cake competes with the best chocolate cakes out there. I have substituted coconut oil for plain vegetable oil when I ran out of that ingredient, but the coconut oil adds a better aftertaste. The cake comes out fluffy and very tasty. Follow the recipe as is and you will not be disappointed. My go-to chocolate cake and its vegan.

My cake is in the oven while I write this. I may or may not of made a mistake. Instead of using 2 circle pans, I used a circle cake pan. I went to put in my toothpick after 30 minutes and still not ready. I left it in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes all together. The toothpick came out clean. I’m using this cake as a birthday cake for a friend of mine…..maybe kinda crazy using a recipe for the first time for an important event. Now the icing and I sure hope everyone is going to love it.

I’ve done it and I loved it, but I tried the “chia chocolate cake” from This Baker’s Soul on YouTube and I love how fudgy it is with the chia, it’s incredible. Could you please make a version with chia?

Made this as a birthday cake in a 9×13 pan, which took 40+ minutes to bake. It tastes great, not too sweet, but do know that this makes a very heavy and dense cake. The texture was interesting – the bottom half was very compact and fudge-y, while the top half was much lighter and crumb-y. I might consider using slightly less coconut oil next time. Thanks for the recipe!

Had a weird texture and no flavor at all! It was a pudding-like substance, not becoming vegan soon!

I was looking for a chocolate frosting for a chocolate cake base i did for a birthday of a friend, I love minimalist baker’s recipes so I searched for one here first and OH MY GOD! I have never tried such a delicious frosting in my life. TOTALLY RECOMMEND! Everyone at the party was blown away by its softness and creaminess! Will save the recipe.
The only difference is I only had 250gr of powder sugar that I had bought thinking it would be enough so I skipped the milk and the result was superb, not too sweet and perfect texture to fill the cake without it falling from the sides (the cake was decorated on top so it had quite some weight on it)
THANK YOU!!

I’ve made this cake so many times over the last few years. Pretty much every family birthday and it is always a winner!! The most delicious plant based chocolate cake and very easy to make!

I made your cake for my daughter B.D. as she requested exactly this recipe. The frosting was so far the best chocolate frosting I have tasted in my life. I even ate the left over with a spoon next day.
But my cake sadly baked in two different textures!!!! underneath was gooey and gummy but the top half was fine. I kind of see it in your close up picture.
I can’t figure out why this happened!

This chocolate cake is Amazing! Truly restaurant worthy. Don’t change a thing for perfection. I’ve only served it to non-vegan friends and each one has said it’s the best chocolate cake they’ve ever had and have begged for the recipe. Thank you!

This cake is the bomb! Definitely one of those, ‘I can’t believe it’s vegan moments’.

I used rice bran oil instead of coconut and bought some apple baby-food to use for the apple sauce.

This is the single nicest chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t have a fan forced oven so I added a little extra heat and about 8 mins extra. It was perfect all the way through.

This is my new cake for all occasions!

The cake was decent, but nothing extraordinary. It is dense and moist and rich – all good, though maybe I’ll add some melted chocolate or chopped chocolate to the batter next time. Only sub I did was oat milk for almond milk as I don’t like the aftertaste of the latter.

The frosting however was fabulous and IMO made the cake. I am not vegan, but I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between this and buttercream made with real butter. I added the minimum amount of powdered sugar, a little less cocoa powder too, plus a few dashes of instant espresso powder. There was no need to add milk.

The combination of the cake and the frosting is definitely a winner.

Oh. My. God. This is the most amazing cake ever! me and my non-vegan family loved it!!! I used 2 frostings, the one listed here, as well as your oil free chocolate frosting. Awesome tasting and fool-proof, this cake is a must try for everyone!

Despite following the instructions to a tee the cake was far too moist and dense and it did not cook properly (I left it in for 1 hour and was still getting a soggy bottom). It was a bit of a disappointment as I made it for someones birthday. Fortunately we discovered the next day that it was much better delicious warmed up- it was like a melt-in the middle chocolate brownie pudding! mmmm. Flavour was amazing but recipe definitely needs a bit less moisture or oil.

The most delicious chocolate cake I have ever made! So tasty and moist! Thank you 🥰

I made this for a friend’ 50th birthday who is diary intolerant. This was to share with a friend who is vegan. I am not a great cook but this was a hit with everyone, including my dairy friends and family.
I even made the buttercream frosting- something i am definitely not good at especially as I don’t like frosting, but this was delicious- I even lick the bowl with the left overs!
Definitely one to make again.

Will this cake work with peppermint frosting?

I made this cake for my non-vegan boyfriend’s birthday, along with the vegan chocolate frosting. I halved the recipe since I was low on a few ingredients, added a few dark chocolate chips, and used strong brewed vanilla almond black tea instead of coffee. Baked it for 27 minutes and it could’ve gone a minute or two longer because it was a little fudgey, but honestly it was SO delicious! It was gone in 24 hours!

I’m gonna be completely honest, when I was making this cake I was thinking this is just not gonna work. The way the ingredients mixed just seemed odd to me, however I carried on and I can honestly say this is the best vegan cake i’ve ever made. Everyone loved it and it will now be my go to cake for future. If you make it and you think it all seems a bit odd, I encourage you to carry on! So yummy. I couldn’t find unsweetened apple sauce so just used a standard supermarket applesauce. So good… Thank you!!

The cupcake part was good. I only used a cup of sugar and it was plenty sweet. Also, the frosting was way too sweet. I would maybe try to use a less intense frosting next time

I made this today with my girls (7 & 9) for my husband’s birthday. It turned out perfect. The cake was fluffy and lightly sweet, and the icing was thick, sweet, and creamy. I think next time I will make the icing a different flavor, but that’s just to try out new things. This will be my go-to cake recipe from here on. Thank you!

I made this cake with slightly less sugar (1 cup), sieved the dry ingredients twice, and used only one cake pan instead of dividing the batter into two pans. It came out perfectly sweet and light! Love your recipes. Thank you so much!

I made this for my child who is allergic to eggs and dairy. She loved it so much! My husband said it was soooooo good that it’s better than store bought ones. 🙀

I never post comments but am because this cake turned out perfectly!! :) The only change I did was add 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (instead of 1 and 1/4 cup due to other people saying it was too moist with the full amount), and I used a combo 1/3 c. olive oil and 1/3 c. coconut oil and slightly less sugar (maybe 1/8-1/4 c less) as those are just my personal preferences. Baked for exactly 30 minutes at 350 in 2, 8 in. pans. It was super moist and delicious and even the kids that had it couldn’t get enough of it. As well, like many other people say, I only made half the frosting recipe, and that was plenty for icing, I even had some leftover! Overall, it was a great hit!

I’ve made this cake five times now for various birthdays and it’s always SO GOOD! Extremely moist and delicious. My dad, a 65 year old omnivore/dairy lover, told me that this was the best cake he’s had in his entire life. The cake keeps exceptionally well in the refrigerator. One thing I will say is that it definitely isn’t a “one-bowl” recipe for me, but that’s no big deal. I’ve cooked it with both avocado oil and coconut oil. Make sure you give it plenty of time to cool off before icing. I’ve been cooking in a 9″ pan for about 32 minutes each time.

I made this with AP flour and omitted the coffee. WOW. Thank you for this amazing recipe! The coconut oil brings a lovely flavor to this cake!

Love the site but made this recipe on a whim not thinking too much and WOW- this cake is SO GOOD!! It’s absolutely my new favorite and go-to. I love that the cake is fudgy without being too dense, but also isn’t too delicate (sometimes I feel like chocolate cake looks chocolately but then it just falls apart without much flavor or oomph). The frosting is the perfect complement- creamy and rich and not too sweet. I used regular flour and decaf coffee in the cake and regular butter and milk in the frosting and halved everything for a single layer. Thank you for such an awesome recipe, I seriously didn’t know chocolate cake could be this good!

Hands down THE best vegan chocolate cake I’ve ever made! Having tried many different recipes over the years, the results have always been a bit “meh”. This recipe, has secured its place as my new go to!

As a side note, after cutting I stored the cake in the fridge it was still fantastic the next day! Apple sauce isn’t as prevalent here in New Zealand, so I used 3x 120gm tins of puréed apple baby food. Also, I didn’t have the recommended vinegar, so used what I had which was rice vinegar, that worked just fine.

This cake is so good, it really rivals its dairy based counterparts!

Hi Liv, I added 2 tbs of vegan yoghurt, it gave the butter cream and extra lightness and richness at the same time. I like the almond and vanilla – as the sweetness with a little bit of maple syrup goes a long way and didn’t need to add any sugar. I made a big batch and left it in the fridge and used it for other cakes, puddings too.

Your recipes are always amazing, and this one was no different. Thank you for always providing such fine work.

We loved it! It was our first vegan cake at home and was totally worth it. Thank you! It came out a perfect chocolatey cake.

I made this cake. It was so delicious. I used coconut milk. And banana sauce instead of applsauce. My family like it too much

I made this cake yesterday with great success and a few tweaks:
1. I followed the metric measurements and ended up with a moist and decadent cake. It isn’t as light and airy as I expected but I would still consider it a cake, not a brownie.
2. I used oat milk, instead of almond milk and coffee.
3. I only had 1 8 inch springform tin so i poured half the mixture in, cooked, cooled, released from the tin and did it all over again. The first half weighed 783g – at 25mins it was wet in the middle still but at 35mins the toothpick came out clean. The second half weighed ~740g – at 25mins the toothpick was not clean, but at 30mins this half was ready. I treated the 25min mark as a time to check and see how much longer your cake will need.
4. For the frosting, I only needed half the amount to achieve the desired sweetness.

Overall super happy with the cake, it was a huge success, especially with it being the first cake i have made and frosted from scratch.

Just a heads up, this tastes like healthy/vegan chocolate cake not like normal chocolate cake. It is very rich and has a strong flavor which is not normal chocolate or coffee. I liked it but non-vegan family did not unfortunately! The texture is really nice and rich. Also the frosting did not get fluffy for me like it did in the pictures.

Fantastic! Best Quarantine Birthday Cake. Made for my husbands birthday, tonight. Blessings to have all the ingredients on hand. We have gone plant based for the last 3 months and this was the best and most moist cake we have ever had!
Thank you for all your vegan recipes. ?Many Blessings for 2020!

I made the vegan chocolate cake for my sister’s birthday. It was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Thank you!

This cake is delicious! Instead of coffee, I used King Arthur espresso powder diluted in almond milk. I used distilled white vinegar. Instead of coconut oil I used a little bit of canola oil and the rest pistachio oil (because that’s what I had). I’m gluten-free also and so I used King Arthur flour Measure-for-Measure GF flour. For the frosting I used Trader Joe’s 70% dark chocolate (comes in a huge bar). Good thing I cut the recipe in half, because I just might eat the whole thing. Thanks for the recipe!

Literally make this every time I need a cake.
It’s so Insanely good moist and foolproof. Love it!!

Followed this recipe exactly and good gracious it is AMAZING! The applesauce keeps the cake moist, coffee really bring out the flavor of the chocolate, it’s awesome!

Maddie my 11 year old and I made it this afternoon. Absolutely delicious! We’re excited to make it for our wider family to share vegan goodness and celebrate life once this time has passed. Just a small note on the frosting… it’s too sweet for us and the quantity was waaaay to much for the cake size so if using frosting we’d suggest half the amount next time. Thank you so much Dana for such a fab recipe!

Did it without the frosting yet it was stunning. I’m no vegan but always interested in vegan food/alternatives and my dad couldn’t believe that the cake was vegan (as if all vegan food taste like grass) I had to show him the recipe. Due to the difficult times that we’re going through with the lockdown, we don’t want to leave the house for groceries and your recipes are perfect!
Love from Paris, France x

This cake is amazingly scrumptious! It’s moist and flavorful, and gets gobbled up SO QUICKLY! I’ve made it several times and it’s been a major crowd pleaser on each occasion. One of my go-to recipes for special occasions. I love topping it with fresh mixed berries to balance out the richness of the chocolate-on-chocolate. Thanks for bringing such mindblowingly rad vegan recipes to the people, Dana! xoxo

I forgot to say that we did not have applesauce so I used mashed garnet yams. Dense, rich, so good!! I have not had sugar in 30 days so this was the perfect indulgence!

My 14 year old just made this today as our quarantine cake…..it is outstanding! The frosting is a bit sweet for me so I left some on my plate but the cake was moist flavorful perfection!

The Best Recipe ! I made this tonight. The cake part came out great, the frosting didn’t really, I tried to make vegan butter at home and after was done I didn’t let it harden in the fridge but used is right into the frosting. It came out very runny and didn’t harden at all. I am a bit.. well. It’s fine anyway. ?

Its’s a great recipe- so soft and airy! I used ordinary milk instead of almond and 1/2 coconut oil, 1/2 olive oil, also I used 1/2 rye flour and 1/2 spelt flour- I had to improvise a bit due to lack of the written ingredients! Thank you Minimalist Baker!

The cake was so dark and moist. I made it in a 9 by 13 inch pan. I used grape seed oil instead of coconut oil and a combination of soy and oat milk instead of almond. I opted for a different icing – I didn’t want it too sweet so I made my own recipe melting raw chocolate with coconut oil and added vanilla and maple syrup. I just spread a thin glaze over the cake. I’m not vegan and I bake a lot. I can honestly say people would never guess this is a vegan cake.

I made this last night and it was great! I followed the recipe to the T (subbed granulated sugar, and added a little more sugar as it wasn’t sweet enough to my liking) and the cake rose beautifully and was a lovely, dark, molten-chocolate colour (I did forget to switch the two pans halfway, which I normally do so they rise the same, so I left the bottom pan a few mins longer after I took the top pan out). 25mins was a good amount of time for me. The frosting was glossy, rich and so delicious (I used a tiny bit more dairy-free choc to taste), and half the suggested amount was perfect.

The only change I’d make next time is to use 1 cup of applesauce instead of 1 1/4. That was a bit too much, but other than that, this is perfect! Thank you (ps- I’ve made your vegan chocolate silk pie in the past and that is divine too!!)

I baked this cake this weekend and followed the recipe with the exception of substituting oat milk for almond. Sadly I also ran into the moisture issue, and ended up under baking my cakes (despite keeping them in the oven for 40 minutes). This resulted in the centers collapsing and being wet, however the outer 2/3 of the cake was perfect. My solution? I cut out the centers, iced with the MB vegan buttercream icing with about a cup of crushed oreos mixed in and piled mini oreos in the center. It ended up being delightful. I rated the recipe 4 stars because I think the vague ‘heaping cups’ of flour might be the cause of some issues, but the parts that were cooked tasted 5 star. Would it be possible to edit in a weight measurement for the flour?

I made this cake for my daughter’s bday. She and her vegan/vegetarian friends ALL loved it! It really is a great fudgy cake! So, I followed your recipe and the only things that I found were, I had to bake the cakes for almost 55 mins and there was nothing fluffy to this cake – but, it was more like a beautiful fudgy brownie, sooo can this really be a negative? lol The icing was fantastic too – go on and make this… you won’t be disappointed!
Thank you for sharing this recipe with us! ? ( I have photos, I wish I could share.)

I made this cake yesterday and it was a total disaster. I had to bake the cake for an hour because it was so wet, but even after an hour it wasn’t good. It had the texture of raw crepe. It was dense and wet. It was awful.

My daughter and i had alot of fun making this cake for her tenth birthday and enjoyed eating it even more! It was the first cake ive ever made and it was super easy to follow and i thought it turned out well. Everyone loved it.! I used vegan margerine for the icing becasue i didnt have butter. I didnt thi k there was a difference but according to my daughter there is. We only used about half the sugar in the icing and few more chocolate chips instead. I baked in rectangle pan then cut it in half and staked it. We will definitly be making this again! Possibly every weekend!

I made this cake for a friend’s birthday. I followed the recipe exactly, making 2 round cakes for a layered cake. My husband and friends told me that it tasted just like “regular” cake after I told them it was vegan. They reported that is was moist and just plain delicious. I did not try it myself as I am sensitive to caffeine (coffee), but I am happy to share that it was loved by all I shared it with. Another amazing recipe from Minimalist Baker!

I made this tonight for the first time and followed the recipe exactly.
Firstly, the sponge. I thought the sponge itself is lovely and moist, my 2 layers turned out a bit bigger than I expected but that’s ok. It did need an hour in the oven though.
Secondly, the frosting. I found this to make way more than you need, I’ve only used half of what was made for in-between the layers and to cover the cake. Not sure if the remainder would freeze, it feels a bit of a waste to throw it out. I personally find it too sweet but my friend disagrees!!
Lovely cake and would definitely make again but with only a quarter of the frosting for in-between the layers

I have made this recipe four times over the last two years. It is a huge hit every time! People RAVE about this cake and can’t believe its vegan! I follow the recipe almost exactly but instead of coconut oil I use canola oil now because I had issues with the coconut oil hardening.

If you’re thinking about making this cake, just do it!! You won’t be disappointed!

I love Minimalist Baker, but unfortunately I did not have success with this recipe. I read many of the reviews and made the recipe exactly as stated with only the following two differences – I used Oat milk entirely (no coffee) and higher fact cocoa powder instead of the usual lower fat baking cocoa powder – and I baked it in two layers as stated in the recipe. After the recommended baking time the cake was nowhere near set – I eventually pulled it out of the oven after about 45 minutes, but despite lengthening the baking time, the cake was so moist, almost doughy, that I felt I could not serve it. Maybe if I was expecting a “fudge” type cake I may not have been so disappointed, but it also tasted a bit on the doughy side, and despite using a great quality cocoa powder that I have used before, the chocolate flavour really didn’t shine through in my taste test. I guess not every recipe can be perfect (although pretty close to it I must say Minimalist Baker!). Just thought I would add my real life comments from making it as I often don’t get around to it, but really appreciate it when others do.

Have made this for work and received rave reviews. In fact, I have been asked to make it as a special treat for a co-worker’s birthday. All of your recipes are reliable and turn out just great! Thanks for your hard work!

I’ve made this cake a couple of times now and it is oh-so-delicious. I haven’t done it as a layer cake, just as a pan cake, and have made it with soy milk rather than almond milk. It’s my go-to chocolate cake recipe now, and everyone I’ve fed it to has liked it. The non-vegans have not suspected that it’s vegan, either, which is always a positive.

This recipe is absolutely delicous! The coconut oil did solidify once it was mixed with the other relatively cool ingredients so I had to reheat the entire mix in the microwave in another bowl which was a hassle. If I could give it a 4.5 stars I would because it was very time consuming and ingredient heavy. The “one bowl” gave the illusion it was simple but it was not. Nonetheless, in the end it earned 5 stars because it was so tasty! I will definitely keep the recipe, I’ll just have to adjust my expectations on time invested. (I followed the exact ingredients and it was fabulous!)

I made this and it is the BEST recipe I have found for a vegan chocolate cake. I used sweetened homemade applesauce, and the avocado oil is perfect for not adding any additional flavors. I bake it as a 13×9 and its a really nice full cake. Bigger and heavier in the best ways. I made the frosting with the myokos vegan butter and I dont think Ill ever change recipes after finding this one. Thanks!!!

beware if you’re planning to substitute oil for the applesauce like I just did. Tasted awful and crumbled to pieces when touched. Probably would have been good had I used applesauce.
I do have an issue with the flour measurement being two “heaping cups”- this is silly. If the measurement is an odd one, just give a weight instead.

This was absolutely delicious! Doubled the recipe for a 4 layer cake for my son’s birthday party and guests raved and said I could “sell this stuff”. Well done Dana!!! Yet again, an utter success! Anything I try from you has always be wonderful. Thanks for all you do.

This cake is sooo yummy! Added a few tbsp of instant coffee to the cake and the icing. Will be making again and again.

I made this a couple of weeks ago, stuck exactly to the recipe & it was a wild success! It was appreciated by young & old. Thanks for sharing the recipe details so clearly & with all your tips.

Do you have any recommendations for baking cupcakes with the same batter?

The cake is wonderful! I used oat milk and accidentally used 1/4 cup too much applesauce but it still came out wonderfully. I baked for 30 min in a 13×9 tin cake pan. I skipped the frosting altogether as it’s a treat as-is, but I may have to try the frosting if I make it for friends sometime! Thanks so much!

I made this cake for my vegan girlfriend for her birthday. I followed the recipe to a T and the cake turned out…not like cake. It was super dense, almost pudding-like–not light and fluffy like you would hope a cake would be. I also found it really bitter, which I suspect is because of the coffee. After trying a slice, my girlfriend (who is much more knowledgeable about baking than I am) was flabbergasted by the amount of applesauce in the recipe. She suspected that the applesauce was responsible for the density and really could have been omitted. I think a simpler recipe with fewer ingredients would have made a far better cake. Super disappointed.

Wonderful recipe!!! We were all impressed how fluffy it turned out. Mine didnt taste much coffee so I might change that for the next time. Even if I am the person who always say “this is too sweet”, I found 1 1/3cup of sugar not enough (I used brown sugar) when I tasted the batter, so I added 1 1/2 cups in total. Still thought it could be a bit more sweet. Just an impressive delicious cake that one maybe wont believe it is plant based. Now I am looking for the perfect frosting and filling :)

This cake is a-maz-ing! Thank you for this recipe!

I did have to bake it about 50 minutes, as I saw a few other posters did. Totally worth the extra few minutes’ wait :)

This recipe is absolutely delicious. I have made several different vegan cake recipes and this one is by far the best. The cake does not contain ground flax which is often used for an egg replacement, but often makes things taste really “healthy.”

The cake is very moist and doesn’t feel heavy at all. It definitely does not taste like a vegan cake, which for me is a win. Thanks for putting together so many delicious recipes. Your site is a goldmine of awesome recipes.

Made this cake and used the ganache from Easy Raw Vegan Brownies (https://minimalistbaker.com/no-bake-vegan-brownies-with-chocolate-ganache/).

BIG hit with the whole family! They didn’t even know it was vegan, and it had way less sugar than they thought. They’ve already asked me to make it again! Definitely adding this one to my collection of staple recipes.

This cake was amazing! Made it for a holiday bake-off, added some fresh fruit to the top, and everyone loved it!

Two comments–another reviewer mentioned getting raw coconut oil chunks in her cake since they solidified. I started to notice coconut oil chunks solidifying in my batter, so I heated the batter over some boiling water (making a double boiler) which melted the coconut oil again before I put the batter in the oven.

Second thing–my frosting turned out darker than the picture even though I used the same ingredients. Not a problem at all (it was still delicious!) but just a heads up since I was worried I did something wrong. Thank you for this awesome recipe, it will be a staple for all celebrations now haha :)

This was my first time making food for my vegan friends, and I was nervous, but it came out absolutely amazing! They went home with the recipe and massive leftover slices. I used almond milk in place of the coffee, and self-raising flour with half a teaspoon of baking soda – it came out incredibly fluffy and moist. My default chocolate cake for sure going forward :)

Made this for my uncle’s birthday cake, and as dessert for our vegan thanksgiving. It was a hit! So fudgey and decadent. Made with 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup oat flour. Had to bake for ~40 min, then left out overnight. Frosted the next day and the consistency was perfect. Also used extra almond milk instead of coffee and it was still rich and delicious. 1000/10

Delicious! I used vegetable oil instead of coconut/avocado oil, did not add the extra 1/3 cup of sugar, and used almond milk instead of coffee. Next time i’ll probably use a higher fat non dairy milk like cashew or soy.

I’ve been making this cake every year for my birthday since I went vegan 3 years ago. My birthday is always right around Thanksgiving so I usually make it for our family dinner. Even my mom who won’t eat anything vegan loves this cake! It’s just so good!

Super moist! I would add balsamic vinegar as my vinegar; it adds a little something special. Other than that it’s a perfectly moist not overly sweet treat! I didn’t even frost it; it was perfect as is. If I wanted to up the presentation I would have dusted confectioners sugar on it and garnished with a strawberry!

man oh man oh man oh man, this is truly the most perfect cake I’ve ever baked from scratch, vegan or otherwise. I used organic cold-brew from Trader Joe’s, apple cider vinegar, and avocado oil, whole wheat pastry flour, and also added a few drops of almond extract on a hunch. 30 minutes was perfect in my oven, and I wanted to pair with peanut butter, so frosted with your ‘vegan peanut butter mousse,’ which was so unbelievably yummy, I need more friends so I can have more excuses to make. Didn’t have quite enough of the peanut butter topping to fill between layers, so I used fig jam I had on hand, instead, and found the fruit balances the richness of the chocolate and peanut butter so nicely, it’s basically the best thing I’ve ever done. I can’t thank you enough for putting this out there in the world! xoxo

I’m not sure if I’ve reviewed this before, since I’ve made it many times, but I need to leave this new review. In my family this has become known as “Ari’s chocolate cake,” (apologies to Dana as the originator!) and the reason that’s relevant is that Ari is my 11-year-old son. He makes this cake regularly, and everybody who tastes it adores it. He’s made it with many different icings (his favorite is vanilla buttercream). He’s made for guests, for friends.

Point being: not only is this cake the most delicious vegan chocolate cake, it’s easy enough for an 11-year-old to make unsupervised. I really couldn’t recommend it more!

Hi, thank you for this great cake recipe. I’ve made it round and now square. It’s fantastic!

I’ve been making this cake every year for my brother’s birthday for at least 5 years now. It is now a regular request, not only from my vegan brother but from other non-vegan family members as well! Absolutely delicious and there are never any leftovers. I do use regular vegetable oil instead of coconut oil, and regular sugar instead of cane sugar. I also decorate with strawberries or raspberries on the top.