Description
This rich and moist vegan chocolate cake features a perfect balance of cocoa and sweetness, topped with a creamy vegan chocolate buttercream frosting. Made without eggs or dairy, it uses plant-based ingredients like applesauce and non-dairy milk to create a decadent dessert everyone can enjoy.
Ingredients
Scale
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
- 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups vegan butter, softened baking sticks, not the tub
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 8 or 9-inch cake pans. Line them with parchment rounds for easy cake removal.
- Curdle Milk: Measure 1 cup unsweetened milk and add 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Stir gently and set aside to curdle.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Add oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and milk/vinegar mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer until well combined.
- Add Boiling Water: Lower mixer speed and slowly pour in the boiling water. Mix until combined; the batter will be runny, which is expected.
- Bake the Cake: Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire racks.
- Prepare Frosting: In a large bowl, whisk cocoa powder to remove clumps. Add softened vegan butter and beat until creamy and combined.
- Add Sugar and Milk: Add half of the powdered sugar and half of the non-dairy milk. Mix well, then add the remaining powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on low, then high speed until fluffy.
- Adjust Frosting Consistency: If frosting is too dry, add more milk by the tablespoon until desired texture. If too wet, add more powdered sugar to thicken.
- Frost the Cake: Use an icing spatula or butter knife to frost the cooled cake layers evenly.
Notes
- For cupcakes, fill liners half full and bake for 25 minutes. This recipe yields about 24 cupcakes.
- Double the recipe for a 4-layer cake or halve it for a single-layer round cake. For a bundt cake, bake for 45 minutes; for a 9x13 inch cake, bake 40 minutes.
- To reduce frosting quantity, halve the frosting ingredients for thinner layers.
- If you don't have applesauce, substitute with 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 5 tablespoons water), whipped aquafaba, or commercial egg replacer equivalents.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 45 g
- Sodium: 300 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
