if (typeof lnl_watch_branding_height === 'function') { lnl_watch_branding_height(); } The BEST vegan chocolate cake recipe! Easy to make in one bowl, it's super moist, rich, and topped with a decadent vegan chocolate frosting.
This vegan chocolate cake recipe is moist, tender, and packed with rich chocolate flavor. It’s easy to make in one bowl with simple ingredients, and a decadent vegan chocolate frosting takes it over the top. Good luck saying no to a second slice. 🙂
I originally developed this vegan chocolate cake recipe for my second cookbook, Love & Lemons Every Day. It’s been my go-to chocolate cake ever since. If you ask me, it rivals any made with dairy or eggs. The cake itself is soft, fluffy, and flavorful, and the frosting (which is made with a secret healthy ingredient!) is practically fudge. Whether you’re baking for a celebration or just craving a sweet treat, I hope you love this vegan chocolate cake as much as I do!
Vegan Chocolate Cake Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this vegan chocolate cake recipe:
- All-purpose flour and whole wheat flour – They make the cake wholesome, but still moist and tender. Feel free to use 100% all-purpose flour if you prefer.
- Cocoa powder – It adds rich chocolate flavor.
- Baking soda and apple cider vinegar – The vinegar’s acidity activates the baking soda, making the cake tender and fluffy without eggs. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar on hand, regular white vinegar is a good substitute.
- Almond milk – Or any non-dairy milk you like. Soy milk or oat milk would also work.
- Maple syrup – Instead of using refined white sugar, I sweeten this vegan cake naturally with maple syrup.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For moisture and richness. A neutral oil like vegetable oil works well too.
- Cinnamon and vanilla extract – They enhance the cake’s chocolate flavor.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Cake
I love how simple this vegan chocolate cake recipe is—the batter is easy to mix up in one bowl! No stand mixer required.
Just whisk together the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients, and mix until combined.
Spread the batter in a greased 8×8-inch pan and bake at 350°F until a toothpick comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Frosting Your Cake
My favorite part of this vegan chocolate cake recipe is the frosting. Despite its creamy texture and rich flavor, it’s not made with powdered sugar or vegan butter. Instead, I use baked sweet potato!
As you blend the frosting together, the heat of the sweet potato melts chocolate chips into a smooth puree that’s finished with coconut oil and cocoa powder. While it may feel decadent, this frosting actually gets its luscious texture from a vegetable!
Of course, if you prefer vanilla frosting on your cake, that’s fine too! This vegan frosting recipe would work perfectly.
Recipe Tips
- Spoon and level your flour. My #1 tip for avoiding a dry cake is spooning and leveling your flour. Here’s why: Flour can easily become compacted in a canister or bag. If you scoop it up directly with a measuring cup, it’s easy to accidentally use too much. For a more precise measurement, spoon it into your measuring cup, then gently level the top with a knife. Read more in this guide to how to measure flour!
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting it. If the cake is still warm, the frosting will melt!
Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe Variations
You can make this vegan chocolate cake recipe three ways:
- In an 8×8-inch square pan. Follow the recipe below to make this variation. It will yield a vegan chocolate cake like the one you see pictured here. I make this variation when I’m just baking for Jack and me.
- As a layer cake. In the book, I make this recipe as a layer cake. To make it, double the recipe below and bake the batter in two round 8- or 9-inch cake pans. I love making this variation for parties and gatherings!
- As a sheet cake. Don’t want to bother with layers? I get it! Double the recipe below, and bake it in a 9×13-inch pan.
All three versions are delicious!
How to Store Vegan Chocolate Cake
To store: Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To freeze: It also freezes well, even with the frosting. Wrap tightly in foil or plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer to the fridge to thaw overnight before serving.
More Favorite Vegan Treats
If you love this recipe, try one of these vegan desserts next:
- Vegan Brownies
- Raspberry Vegan Cheesecake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Or any of these 27 Best Vegan Desserts!
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- 1 large sweet potato, enough to yield ¾ cup mash
- 6 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- Pinch sea salt
Chocolate Cake
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Supernatural Starfetti sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Make the frosting: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Use a fork to poke a few holes into the sweet potato. Place on a baking sheet or on a piece of foil and roast until very tender, about 60 minutes. Let cool slightly, then measure ¾ cup of the soft flesh. In a food processor, puree the sweet potato, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and salt. The heat of the sweet potato will melt the chocolate.
- Make the cake: Reduce the oven heat to 350°F and grease an 8x8 baking pan. Line the bottom and two sides with a sheet of parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. To the same bowl, add the almond milk, maple syrup, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when pressed or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes.
- Gently loosen the sides of the cake with a knife. Remove the cake from the pan and place back on the rack to cool completely. Frost the cake and serve!
After perusing a few different recipes, I think I’d like to follow yours. But without a photo of the crumb on the inside, it’s hard to make that call. Next time you whip some up, could you include a cross-cut photo? Thank you much, I’m a big fan of your creations.
This is my go to vegan chocolate cake recipe! We double the cake recipe, add some chopped vegan chocolate, and bake in a Bundt pan for about 50 minutes. Serve with berries and whipped cream. (I just eat it without the cream since I’m the only one in my family who can’t have dairy.) Thanks for this delicious recipe!
I’m so glad you’ve loved it!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it as a layer cake and used 1:1 GF flour to bring a GF vegan cake to a gala last night. It helped raise $400 for the cause ( and it was delicious! )
Hi Vicki, I’m so glad the cake came out well and could help support a good cause!
How long is the baking time when baked in a 9×13 pan?
This looks amazing! I cannot eat coconut oil, do you think I could use avocado oil in its place? Or is there something else you could recommend to substitute for the coconut oil?
Thank you. I can’t wait to try this!
Hi Jennifer, yep! I think avocado oil would work here.
Absolutely delicious! I took it to work and my coworkers were shocked that it was at least somewhat “healthy”. Will be making again soon! I will note that the sprinkles did not last; they got a little watery after a day in the fridge. No idea what happened but the cake still looked fun!
Hi Emma, I’m so glad the cake was a hit!
Can you freeze the cake and icing?
Hi Celeste, yep! The frosted cake freezes well.
absolutely the best cake I ever made! It’s so moist and flavorful and I can’t wait to make it again!
I’m so glad you loved it!
If I don’t have whole wheat flour, and just used all-purpose, would I need to make any substitutions?
I’m excited to try this recipe! Do you think I could halve everything to make a smaller batch of cupcakes? Or could I freeze them after baking?
A delicious cake and a delicious frosting. I followed the recipe (almost) exactly (I used oat milk instead of almond milk). I made the cake into 12 cupcakes and baked for 19 minutes. I was so amazed by the flavor and texture of the frosting using sweet potato. It was a nice consistency to pipe on to the cupcakes. I definitely will make this again and again.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for sharing your cupcake timing! I’m glad you loved the cake and the frosting.
I just made this and I’m not vegan… it was good!!!! I wanted to make something without adding cane sugar. I made the frosting according to the recipe it was good. The cake idk if it’s vegan because I had to sub honey instead of maple syrup vecause I didn’t have any at the moment. And I’m okay with regular milk so I used that. It’s very good. It reminds me of a fudgy flavor mixed with Mexican hot chocolate cause of the cinnamon. Will make again!
Made this with gluten free flour (Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour) and used organic cacao powder instead of cocoa powder and it was excellent! Cake was moist and light. I was a little suspicious about a frosting made with sweet potato but it was terrific. Thanks so much for this recipe!
I’m so glad it worked well with Bob’s GF flour – thanks for coming back to let us know!