1-Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

Oh my gosh. I made it for my dad’s birthday and he said it was the best vegan chocolate cake ever! The frosting was a different story. I had to change it up completely because it was too dark, and too sweet. But the cake was sooooo moist and cloud like and sumptuous and sweet and yummy and addicting and amazing and chocolatey and ETC! I posted a picture of it on Instagram @vegan_bean and I can’t get over how amazing it tastes!

Best cake ever! Made it for a birthday… Vegan and non vegan friends all went back for fudgey sweet seconds! Thank you ?

I loooove this recipe and often make it. I recently made it for a pastry chef friend of mine and he was convinced it was a packet cake mix because it was tooooo perfect. I had to pass the recipe on to him before he would believe me. Thanks so much for sharing this amazing, best ever chocolate cake recipe <3

Can you substitute with almond flour?

Will it still be as decadent if I make it the day before and refrigerate it?

Made this for all my non-vegan family and friends and they loved it!! Most didn’t even realize it was vegan. Going to make this again for sure !!

I tried many of your recipes for my vegan husband and vegan 1 year old but never dropped by to leave a comment. I just did this cake and I must say you are absolutely amazing and your recipes are an inspiration. This cake came out so good that we are just shocked! Thanks to you we cook incredible vegan treats, cakes, lunches and I just want to say a big Thank you and please never stop! :D

Hi there! This looks amazing and I want to try baking it for some omni friends this weekend. I’m wondering if I could replace the coffee with matcha powder mixed with almond milk, or if you think it’s better off just staying with only almond milk if I don’t have coffee?

Thanks a lot!
Sarah

Made this cake last night to go with Sloppy Joes. Excellent cake! I was nervous when the cake seemed too liquid at 18 minutes, but patience paid off. A few minutes later the cake was perfect. I might have used twice as much ACV as called for resulting in a really interesting texture, a bit like a sponge cake, very moist. My question is: do all 528 calories count since the cake is vegan??

I made this cake and it was the most delicious cake…EVER! I made it, and then I kept going into the kitchen to take a bite until I realized I ate half the cake. My family LOVED it too!

Do you know why my cake hasn’t risen, on my third attempt, as it did on my first and second? I’m sure I’ve done everything exactly the same – what would cause the cake to be flatter than previous efforts (it still tastes AMAZING by the way!)

Mine exploded in the oven

I followed the recipe carefully and exactly. The buttercream was ahhhhmazing and made the cake edible. The flavour of the was good and it was definitely moist but the texture was SO heavy. However not in a soft fudgey way, it was almost rubbery. The cake got no lift and shrank on cooling so that the texture had no “crumb”. Not sure if I’d make it again but the icing for sure. But this is the first of many many amazing minimalistbaker.com recipes that hasn’t turned out great so I guess you can’t win them all.

The best chocolate cake….ever. I made this for my sister and her family (non-vegan) and they
demolished it!!! Also made it for my Mom’s birthday- same result. Love your recipes. Simply
delicious.

Can’t wait to try a non-raw vegan chocolate cake! Just wondering is it possible to use coconut sugar instead of cane sugar and spelt flour instead of wholewheat pastry flour?

I made this cake today, normally I would not even try to make a cake because it somehow comes out nothing like what it is supposed to be. This cake however was simple to make and it turned out great….love love love the frosting.

This cake is amazing, very moist! Everyone enjoyed it! Will definitely make again and again!

I loved this cake!! Thank you so much for the fab recipe. I made it for my partners birthday party and I’m always worried about making vegan stuff for non vegans in case it’s crap and it turns them against veganism!!

But it was a smash and everyone loved it! I actually ran out of coconut oil and had to mix it with rapeseed oil and thought it would be doomed but actually it was great! I will deffo make this again :)

Xx

Delicious cake and it turned out very moist and chocolatey , just the way I like it ! Great recipe….but now I am stuck with lots of leftover frosting. Any suggestions on what I can use that for? Could I bake cookies using the frosting or do I need to add more ingredients to it first?

Can I make this cake gluten free by using the same amount of GF flour?

I’ve made this twice now for parties and it was an INDESCRIBABLE HIT. I think I literally screamed the first time I tasted it. With most bites, actually. Just to DIE for. The cake is SO moist and the icing is, I think, the best icing I’ve ever had in my life. This recipe is going into my collection to save for decades, honestly. My family and friends cannot get enough and keep requesting it. I could easily make this for every birthday and holiday and party and netflix night in bed and never get sick of it.

Can I use silk milk instead of almond milk?

I have this in the oven. I hope to all that is good that it’s nothing like the batter! If its anything like the batter, I will have to look for another recipe. But here’s to being hopeful!

I made two of these cakes for my cousin’s 3rd birthday party (one following the recipe and the other with a vegan vanilla strawberry buttercream) and they were an absolute hit! Everybody of all ages devoured them within minutes! They were pleasantly sweet, moist, and delicious. By the end everyone was asking for the recipe! Thanks so much for making the party a great success, this will definitely be a staple.

This is the chocolate cake of my dreams the best I’ve ever had vegan or not!!!

Hi Dana, I made this cake more my allergic son’s 9th birthday. Every year, until now, I made a different cake. None of the cakes were good, or passed the yummy test. I didn’the find a recipe that I made again.
But now things have changed!! I am so happy I found your recipe, the cake was delicious! My 3 other kids liked it too (they are not dairy/egg allergic). 2 weeks in, here I am, making it again for my son’s party!
My ‘go to’ cake now……
And I have every intention of trying get other recipes too :-))
Y.

Love love love your blog and Receipies. I am going to make this to satisfy my sweet tooth this Lenten season:)
Qq when you say beat the mixture, do you use the paddle attachment of the whisk attachment of a stand mixer?

Made this for a dinner with a friend who is a vegan and it is HANDS DOWN the BEST CHOC CAKE EVER!!! I’ve tried plenty for birthdays etc – just ‘normal’ non-vegan recipes, but this was just AMAZING! Everyone loved it!!! Will be my go-to choc cake recipe from now on, thanks SOOOO much!!!

This is the best chocolate cake I have ever had in my life, hands down. Phenomenal recipe! Thank you so much for creating this!

Hi Dana! This cake looks incredible! Do you think I could use a combination of almond and 1:1 to make it gluten free as well? Also, is there any reason these wouldn’t make delicious cupcakes? I’m new to vegan baking and have a request for a party next weekend! I love your website, thank you so much!
Lindsay

This cake is fantastic! I made it yesterday for an 11 year olds birthday party and it was a HUGE hit. Kids and adults loved it!! Thank you so much!

You forgot to tell when to add milk to the cake. I folded it in last

I will try this version but it reminds me of my grandmother’s Poor Man’s Chocolate Cake recipe – vinegar, oil, baking soda, cocoa powder, flour sugar, salt. Very moist and delicious!

This cake is awesome!!! I actually used your peanut butter mousse recipe from another post as the filling in between layers (SO DELICIOUS). Seriously. This girl who is allergic to eggs and dairy is so happy to have a decent chocolate cake again!

But… My buttercream keeps separating a few minutes after I mix it :-( The flavor is good, but I think I did something wrong. Maybe the temp of my Earth Balance? It was soft, but my Kitchenaid mixing bowl was cold… Any way to salvage it so it doesn’t slide off the cake?

Either way, thanks for the recipe. It’s going to be my “go to” cake!

This was such a good recipe! I was pretty skeptical at first but my friends loved it and they were so impressed that it was vegan! I will say that it wasn’t as light/fluffy as described but it was delicious regardless. I also added strawberries in between the two layers and on the top.

Wonderful cake! I just recently became vegan and this truely cured my craving! I had no apple sause so I just blended up some apple slices (I skined them first) and it worked out wonderfully! Even my non-vegan family loved it! This just shows animal products aren’t necessary in daily life! Thanks!

Hi! I have made your cake a few times for multiple birthday parties and it’s always a huge hit! Thank you so much for your work! I was wondering if you ever made the buttercream frosting with just plain coconut oil? Do you think it would turn out? Thanks again!

Best chocolate cake ever! You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy this scrumptious dessert.
I made it for my husband for Valentine’s Day. He has a dairy allergy so the almond milk in the recipe makes this cake a good choice. But the coffee inclusion caught my attention. Thank you so much.

This came out awesome!! I made it today for Valentine’s Day. I placed a heart dusted with powered sugar in the center. It was super cute!! My meat and potatoes hubby loved it!

Could you use this recipe for cupcakes also? I’m wondering if it would rise enough since layered cakes don’t tend to be quite as ‘puffy’ as you would want for cupcakes. Looks and sounds delicious, will be trying it as a layered cake soon also!

This cake was soft and moist. I loved it! I made it for my boyfriends birthday and even my kids (who complain when I make vegan baked goods) loved it. I couldn’t have been happier. Thank you for the great recipie.

I’ve made this twice now – once as a double layered cake and again last night as cupcakes. This recipe is fantastic and I know I will be making this again and again. It made 30 cupcakes and I baked them for just over 15 minutes @ 325 on convection.

P.s. Make sure that you let your cake or cupcakes cool COMPLETELY before icing. I iced the cake a little too early :)

We bake/cook egg free due to my son’s egg allergy. My go-to egg free chocolate cake has always been Crazy (wacky) Cake, but it tends to be more delicate and does not hold up well to stacking. This cake has better /stronger structure and held up well to stacking. I used it for the anti-gravity Superbowl cake I made for my church youth fundraiser cake auction. Thanks for a great recipe!

I made this cake today (and the vegan mini-cheesecakes) and everything has turned out perfectly! How often does that happen?! Only difference is that my frosting is quite a bit darker? It’s an excellent cake recipe though – I’ll be trying all your vegan recipes now!

Hi, I tried this recipe using just almond flour to see how it would work and the cake overflowed out of my 8″ cake pans all over my oven. I am trying to avoid all grains. Any ideas on what I could do differently? Thanks.

I made this cake for my niece’s birthday celebration earlier this week, and this is the first time I’ve EVER returned to a website to provide feedback for anything. She and her boyfriend embrace the vegan lifestyle completely. I do not – at all. I should add at this point that I am a gentleman “of a certain age” who has somehow made his way this far without any significant kitchen skills…. AT ALL! The cake was absolutely WONDERFUL! While the recipe looked rather daunting to me, it was not at all difficult, and it came together beautifully. It was moist, and not at all too dense or too sweet. And the frosting alone was worth the price of admission. When we sliced into it, it looked exactly like the pictures on the website. Amazing, especially given my level of skills. And this is why I’ve returned to the website to provide feedback: It’s an impressively delicious cake that is easy to make, and makes a beautiful presentation on the good china for special occasions. (It’s even fantastic on a paper plate with breakfast coffee the next morning!) I’ll be skipping the local bakery and asking for it on MY next birthday, I can promise!

I made this cake over the holidays and it was a hit! I asked my husband to taste-test the frosting, and he loved it. Nobody at our dinner knew it was VEGAN! My father who does not eat desserts had 2 pieces of this cake. Shocker. Def a favorite recipe. Thank you for sharing!

Serving size: 1 slice Calories: 524 Fat: 26 g Saturated fat: 15 g Carbohydrates: 74 g Sugar: 51 g Fiber: 5.1 g Protein: 4.8 g

With all due respect, how is this even remotely healthy–just because it’s vegan???

This is definitely the best vegan cake I have ever made. Everyone loved it, even non-vegans (they wouldn’t have known!). Thanks heaps

I tried this recipe today for a black forest cake, and it was delicious! I accidentally only put 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, and reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup as I had sweetened applesauce, and prefer cakes a little less sweet, and it was delicious!

Thank you for the great recipe, it is definitely a keeper!

What can I replace the applesauce with?

The cake is dense and chocolaty and absolutely delicious. In general, I don’t prefer buttercream, so I replace the frosting here with chocolate coconut whipped cream.

Hello! I made this amazing cake yesterday and everyone loved it! I didn’t have two cake tins, or the patience to cook it in two batches so cooked the whole thing at once for a longer period of time – it still came out delicious.

Thank you :)

Would this work with Soy Milk or Rice milk instead? I made it with the almond milk and its the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made but one of my friends is deathly allergic to almonds?

Could I sub a 1 for1 gluten free flour in here?!

has anyone tried this with gluten free plain flour?

Delicious! I’m pretty proficient when it comes to brownies and cookies, but for some reason cakes (particularly double layered) have always intimidated me. This was my first attempt, and it was a success! Like others have said, my wet ingredients never really achieved frothiness, but the cake itself turned out perfect nonetheless. (Perhaps on the denser side, but that’s how I like it anyway.) My frosting did not look like the photos here, BUT I did accidentally melt my butter (tried to rectify that by popping it back in the fridge) – despite this error, it still spread and covered the cake well and was no less tasty. Can’t wait to sneak this cake to my non-vegan loved ones :) Will definitely be making it again in the future.
Happy National Chocolate Cake Day (at least where I am, in the U.S.)!

This is the best cake I have ever made. I made it for my sister’s birthday, found a different recipe for a salted caramel buttercream between the layers, a dark chocolate ganache, and drizzled with salted caramel sauce. Yes yes yes yes. This cake is perfect.

I’ve been looking for a cake that is a bit healthier but still tastes great and this is amazing! Thank you for sharing you recipe and the frosting is just fabulous :)

Another great recipe! I have to say that it took longer than 30 minutes for my cake layers to bake, and I probably could have left them in the oven a minute or two longer still. Also, definitely need to double the frosting recipe to cover the entire cake! The frosting wasn’t quite fluffy but the flavor was awesome – just difficult to spread and smooth over the cake. Overall, really good!

This cake looks amazing and I would love to try it, but I need a gluten free version. Would you happen to know how I can adjust the recipe with a different type of flour?

I don’t like to leave a bad review, but quite frankly, I have no idea how this recipe has worked out so well for anyone else. It was so underwhelming I didn’t feel like finishing a slice. The cake recipe itself isn’t too bad, I guess, though it’s still not really what I want from chocolate cake. The flavor is just lacking, and it was too fudgy and had a little bit of a weird moist consistency. The frosting was kind of a nightmare. I followed the recipe to the letter, no substitutions or variations, except that I ended up using at least double the called for powdered sugar because it would not ever thicken, and it still never did get thick enough! It ran off the sides of my cake AND the decorating turntable, and made a pretty big mess of my counter. I’ve found some really good recipes on this site, but a lot of them seem to be pretty hit or miss, and this one was definitely a miss for me.

After 7 trial cakes for my husbands upcoming 40th, I finally found The One! I especially love how easy it is to cut into shape- not crumbly at all. Thanks so much for such a great recipe.

I made this cake following the recipe exactly and I think there are better recipes out there. It is way too dense and there isn’t enough chocolate flavor in the cake, and then in the frosting the processed vegan butter flavor was overpowering. I am honestly struggling to eat the rest of it, it’s just not worth the insane amount of calories (and price of ingredients) for me.

I have tried store bought vegan cakes, they have been terrible. I am going to try to make this cake for my daughter’s birthday this Saturday. It looks amazing. Can you tell me where I can store it for the next day’s party? It will be eaten the next day.

I just made this cake tonight, and I’m afraid it turned out rather badly. However, it was the first vegan cake I’ve made that has enough structure to use as a layer cake without falling apart, so it may be worth modifying for better flavor and texture.

Followed exactly, it rendered a cake that looked exactly as pictured, but alone was under sweet, had very little chocolate flavor (though the leavening flavor was evident), and the texture was on the rubbery/springy side rather than fluffy. It was cooked through very nicely, moist, but evenly baked from middle to edge, but it relied entirely on the frosting to make it taste of chocolate.

I am worried that one or more of my ingredients were somehow faulty, but everything was freshly purchased and specific. I’m at a loss. 2 stars for not being too fragile to stack, which was lovely.

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! You must give this chocolate cake a go, it is a winner in my books and I would have to say it outshines all the other chocolate cakes that I have ever made (even the ones with dairy)! This recipe creates the most moist chocolate cake, with such a light and fluffy texture whilst keeping a rich consistency. I am definitely making this cake again, it has gone to the top of my list! To decorate the cake, I added melted dark chocolate over the top of the cake and on the plate and I have to say it looked amazing! Thanks for this delicious recipe, I am definitely going to hand it down the generations!

Made this cake with the more easily available ingredient options (canola oil, white flour) and a little less than the listed sugar, and it was absolutely wonderful! It was dark, moist, and super chocolatey, and just the right amount of sweetness. It did take considerably more than 30 minutes for the cake to bake in the oven – but that was at least partly because the oven probably wasn’t sufficiently preheated to start. I can’t comment on the frosting part of the recipe as I went the easy route and topped it with store-bought dark chocolate frosting which we already had on hand. Everyone agreed it was the best chocolate cake we’ve ever had! I’m saving this recipe for all future family birthdays. (And next time I’ll try making the frosting too.)

I just tried this recipe for my daughters birthday. She is allergic to milk, and has a vegan friend, and even the little girl who was vegan said it was the best cupcake she has ever had. I wouldn’t recommend making them as cupcakes though, because the cake stuck to the paper. But, it was moist and had good flavor. I will definitely make it again.

Just finished making this cake and just like the other recipes, just the buttercream frosting alone was divine!!!! This is my 40th birthday cake and I’m glad I chose this recipe just like the other vegan recipes, it’s amazing!!!!

Made this cake for a group of friends (only 1 was vegan) and it was delicious. Enjoyed by all. Followed the recipe exactly. Did add honey roasted almond slivers along the edge.

I made this cake for my sister this weekend and it was amazing. She is the only vegan but it was her birthday so we had to have a vegan cake everyone enjoyed it.

So looking forward to trying this. I’m not vegan but I like to dabble with vegan meals sometimes to have a healthier day than usual. I usually make baked goods for my coworkers and sometimes they comment about how unhealthy my treats are… this one is going to surprise them, I can tell!

Hello! Can a spring form pan be used for this recipe?

HI Dana, I’m just one more person who couldn’t help but make this cake and loved it. My children loved it, too. We’re all dairy-free and it’s not easy to find a good chocolate cake recipe with buttercream frosting that is, so thank you for this. I omitted the coffee and it was still delicious. Lastly, I’m not a very good baker and usually my cakes end up broken or lopsided. This one turned out perfectly. Yay!

It looks very delicious and I can’t wait to make it! But, unfortunately, there’s a one little problem: vegan butter is not available in my country (or it’s so well hidden that I just didn’t manage to find it so far), so maybe I just simply can substitute it with coconut oil? However, I see that recipe requires quite a significant amount of butter, thus I’m afraid I might not work, but maybe?..

Help! I really looked forward to trying this cake. Unfortunately, the cake consistency after baking and cooking was more like a bean-paste and not airy or fluffy at all. The flavor was ok, but is was not cake-like. Where did I go wrong with this recipe?

Hi Dana, i love love your site and make at least one recipe of yours a week. I made this cake as a suprise welcome home for my son, i was so very sad it didnt come out good. I had to make it gfree and used Bobs 1 for 1 all purpose gfree flour blend but didnt make any other substitutions but the cake was extremely gummy. Please help i want to try again do you have any idea where i went wrong? The frosting was delicious ( I ate way too much of that) I made your gingerbread boys for one of my sons Christmas school parties they were amazing!

Thank you for the One Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe. It is delicious! I eat a vegan diet, but my family does not. They were hesitant about trying this cake, and they were pleasantly surprised by how much they enjoyed it!

Excellent recipe! Thanks for sharing.
I added; 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp cayenne to make Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes.

Hi
I followed the recipe exactly .. all stages and quantities, but the cake did not rise at all. I Combined the almond milk with apple vinegar – and have not seen any activate. Could this be the reason

Hi Dana! I only bake once a year for my dad’s birthday, so I’m not an experienced baker by any means. This was also the first vegan recipe that I’ve attempted to follow. And the cake was delicious!!! My parents didn’t even suspect that it was vegan. Thanks so much for this recipe!

I made this cake today for my son’s 15th birthday. He has been vegan for almost a year now and I have been having gluten issues. Anyway, a lot of people were hesitant to try some of the food at his party (vegan sushi, hummus, etc), but EVERYONE loved this cake! The only thing I changed was that I used gluten free flour and the only non dairy chocolate I could come up with for the frosting was 100% cacao ghirardelli. Thanks so much for all of your recipes! They have been a lot of help these past few months.

I am sure everyone already knows how ridiculously bomb this cake is butttt I need to cosign anyways! I made this cake last Christmas for my non vegan family (I am the lone herbivore). THEY LOVED IT! it was the dessert hit of the day/night!! As Christmas is a couple days away I have been asked multiple times “you’re making that vegan chocolate cake again right? WE have waited all year for it!” hahahah its simply amazing! I remember eating it and dancing last Christmas and I can’t wait to do the same this Christmas!

Can you use another type of oil such as olive or sunflower oil? Thank you!

My sister made the cake today, frosting came out fudgy too(I’m the only vegan so I’m not complaining) is this cake suppose to be stored in the refrigerator?

This cake turned out FLAWLESS. Scrumptious and tender and deep chocolatey, oh my. I one-halved the recipe to make a three layer cake for my sister’s birthday, and I made a coconut oil frosting with cocoa and instant espresso powder; garnished with shaved darkdark chocolate~ I’m in absolute heaven, thank you so much for posting!

This recipe calls for what size baking pan?

I just wanted to let you know that I made this cake the other day for a neighbour’s birthday and it was perfect! My non vegan friends couldn’t believe it was made without eggs, milk and butter. It was exactly as you described, chocolatey, fudgy, moist and rich.. just simply delicious. Thank you so much for sharing such a gorgeous recipe. My husband and I are working our way through all your recipes and can’t wait for your cookbook next year??

Made this today for my sons birthday. It’s incredibly easy. I’ve never tried baking with coconut oil before and other than it lumping up a bit when I mixed the ingredients together, it smoothed out nicely. I’m guessing the key is to keep the mix warm to keep the coconut oil liquid? I think I let the coffee cool too much before adding it in. Any way it’s turned out lovely either way. Really pleased with the end result ? Thanks

Thank you for the lovely recipe. This is the first vegan baking experience I have had and your recipe was so easy to follow. I made a 8X8 cake and cupcakes for my daughter (20 months). They were a huge hit with her and my husband. I’m thinking I will make this again for some holiday parties. Happy Holidays! Nadia

I really loved this cake when I made it for my husband’s birthday. So I’ve decided to make it for a friend’s birthday party but there will be 35 people there. Can I make it into a sheet cake? Thanks :)

This cake is absolutely amazing, so moist and rich it’s to die for . Only difference with mine was I used a different frosting recipe (vegan vanilla buttercream) so I was wondering if you could give the macros for just the cake and not the frosting; thank you!

Hey! I want to make this recipe soon, but I don’t have applesauce (always kind of hated the stuff, too). Is the applesauce necessary, or can I exclude it? Maybe substitute it with something else? Of all the recipes of vegan chocolate cake that I found, this one appealed to me the most. So thanks so much for putting the effort into sharing it!

Oh and I used coconut milk instead of almond milk, it works just as well :)

OMG!!!
This is so creamy,chocolaty,decadent. velvety…..
Had to take it into work and feed it to the guys :)

Oh my goodness! This is so good! I have never tried a two-layer cake from scratch and this made it nice and easy. My cake turned out a little too moist, i think, and I didn’t have a round pan so the square cake I ended up with isn’t as pretty, but I love it! The frosting is phenomenal and it goes every the moist cake just fine. I hope my relatives will like it!

I saw the recipe and made it that same night! All I can say is this cake is DEEEElicious! I only had dark cocoa and the cake came out really, really dark, rich and decadent, as did the frosting. The only concern I have is that I don’t bake much and I certainly don’t know how to store such cake (my husband and I will never eat it fast enough for it not to spoil). Please help with storing suggestions.
Thanks!

Thanks so much, I just made a weed variation of this cake where I substituted the oil for cannabis infused coconut oil, equivalent to putting about 14 grams of cooked weed into the recipe. I also put a little cannabis butter into the icing too.

It came out smelling and tasting wonderful and led to a very happy evening for my family and friends.

I just made this , I’m Not sure how it taste yet but it smells good ! My frosting didn’t come like the picture ; it came out much darker in color and a little too liquidy even after putting more sugar. So I put it in the fridge uncovered . I really hope this doesn’t ruin it :( . Is this okay to do ? What is your recommendation on how to store it?