Here’s the thing about this vegan chocolate cake. People who don’t even know it’s vegan love it. And we’re not inclined to tell them. It somehow makes it all the more gratifying when they go back for seconds. And they will go back for seconds.–Renee Schettler
HOW LONG CAN I KEEP VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE?
This cake isn’t particularly prone to drying out any quicker than a regular chocolate cake. We doubt you’ll have leftovers for long, but if you do, they should last up to 5 days at room temperature when tightly covered.
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pan that's 2 inches (5 cm) deep
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- A pinch salt
- 1 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk or unsweetened almond milk
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 2/3 cups superfine sugar, or just blitz granulated sugar in a blender until finely ground but not powdery
- 1 cup sunflower oil, you can substitute any mild-flavored vegetable or olive oil, plus more for the pan
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F (163˚C). Oil a 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pan that’s 2 inches (5 cm) deep and line it with parchment paper.
- Dump the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy milk, vinegar, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a spoon until well combined.
- Spoon or scrape the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 to 55 minutes. It’s done when a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out with almost no crumbs attached and the center of the cake, when pressed, springs back slightly instead of sinks. Bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes if necessary.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Slide a table knife or a paring knife between the cake and the edge of the pan to loosen, then carefully invert the cake onto the wire rack. Invert it again so it’s right-side up and let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This may very well be the Platonic ideal of chocolate cake, vegan or otherwise. Almost indecently moist and tender, it also boasts a robust chocolate flavor that isn’t undermined by too much sweetness. I’m usually able to bake a cake, eat a slice, and then ignore the rest until my boyfriend dispatches it, but this cake leveled any defenses I’d like to think I possess. Needless to say, it did not cool for 1 hour, nor did it serve 8 to 10. Pure black magic.
I do have one caveat here: I didn’t have enough sunflower oil, and so I blended it with a mild olive oil. The cake turned out perfectly.
This was an amazing cake—rich, moist, and deep chocolate in flavor. No one would believe it was vegan. It’s one of the best recipes I’ve come across. The recipe is easy, accurate, and simple.
As the cake was cooling, the outer layer seemed to be starting to dry out; however, once I stored it covered, it was back to being moist again. This cake would work well with a nice frosting or ganache topping or simply served with crème fraîche and raspberries.
This is a very good chocolate cake. It’s simple to make, smells wonderful while baking, and comes out very pretty. My tasters all went back for seconds. No one knew, nor could they tell, that the cake was vegan.
Realizing I only had almond milk and no soy milk, I thought I would give the cake a try anyway. I opened the oven to check it at about 45 minutes, and it looked like a cupcake—the center had risen considerably, but then settled as the cake cooled. This cake is delicate and does require care while removing it from the pan and placing it on the cooling rack. I might wait 15 minutes before I remove it from the cake pan next time. It came out tender, moist, slightly crisp on top, and dense in the center.
For eye appeal, I might dust it with confectioners’ sugar, but it doesn’t need any enhancements.
This cake was easy to make and turned out quite well. This is a very moist and tender cake with a rich, dark color. I like the fact that it mixed quite easily by hand and I didn’t have to take out my big mixer and deal with cleaning it. I was also happy to see that the cake could be baked at 325°F rather than at 350°F, unlike most cake recipes. I bake all of my cakes at 325°F and am able to avoid getting a crown on the top of my cake.
This is a very easy chocolate cake. I followed the recipe exactly, and it took about 1 hour and 20 minutes to bake completely. The chocolate color was very dark and intense, and the cake extremely moist. The chocolate flavour was very good. I served it with plain Greek yogurt on the side but it would be very good with berries and ice cream or whipped cream as well.
The cake is baking in the oven as I type. I’m just wondering, does it pair well with icing, or does it do best standing alone? Many thanks.
Either, Katie, depending on your preference. A simple dusting of confectioners’ sugar is quite nice…
Sorry, but mine turned out very badly. There was way too much oil for my taste. And while it is quite dark, which I usually love, the oil drowned out the chocolate.
Joan, sorry to hear that. What kind of oil did you use? Was it sunflower as the recipe suggests? I am also wondering if your oil was fresh and had not turned rancid as you had said the oil drowned out the chocolate. Could you taste and smell the oil? Perhaps we could persuade you to try it again and let us know how you make out. Thanks for letting us know.
Joan, I’m really sorry to hear this. I’m a little surprised, too, as we actually tested and tweaked and retested this recipe several times, cutting down on the amount of oil in the original recipe from 1 1/4 cups to 1 cup. Our testers found the tweaked version of the recipe–the one that appears on this page–to be moist and chocolatey. May I inquire what sort of oil and milk you used? And just to confirm, you used the recipe from this site and not the book, yes? We’ll get to the source of the problem, I promise.
This cake was a life saver when we were invited over to a dinner party where I knew the hostess to be vegan. I was in charge of dessert, and this recipe was a winner–moist with excellent flavor. Everyone enjoyed it, vegan or not. I served it by topping it with powdered sugar and spooning a simple berry sauce over it. I found it was best eaten the same day it was made.
Stacy G., many thanks for letting us know. May this recipe be one you turn to time and again. Those are the best recipes, the ones with batter splatters and smudges…