1-Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

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.