I can’t share a recipe for The Best Vegan Vanilla Cake without also sharing a recipe for The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake right?!
So here it is, my most sought after recipe for chocolate fudge cake exactly the same way I made it when I had my bakery, except this time around it is completely vegan!
Moist layers of chocolate cake filled and iced with thick fudge icing.
This cake is a very simple one to make especially because the cake recipe itself doesn’t require a mixer, it’s a one bowl mix and away you go!
I use this recipe for pretty much everything I make that is chocolate, I just love it that much!
It bakes up into perfect cupcakes if that is more your style, and the fudge icing is just divine!
So for those in need of a perfect chocolate cake every time, you are in luck!
- For the Cake Recipe
- All Purpose Flour 2 cups (250g)
- Cake Flour 1 cup (120g)
- Natural Cocoa Powder 8 Tablespoons
- Granulated Sugar 2 cups (400g)
- Salt 1 teaspoon (6g)
- Baking Soda 2 teaspoons
- Apple Cider Vinegar 2 teaspoons
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons
- Vegetable Oil ¾ cup (177ml)
- Strong Brewed Coffee 2 cups
- For the Fudge Recipe
- Granulated Sugar 5 Tablespoons (63g)
- Water 5 Tablespoons (75ml)
- Corn Syrup 2 Tablespoons (40g) (30ml)
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1 Cup (90g)
- Vegetable Oil 2 Tablespoons (27g) (30ml)
- Solid Vegetable Shortening 2 Tablespoons (25g)
- Corn Syrup 4 Tablespoons (80g) (60ml)
- * you can sub glucose, agave or golden syrup here
- Vegan Butter softened 8 ounces (2 Sticks) (226g)
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons
- Confectioner's Sugar or Icing Sugar 2 lbs (8 cups) (900g)
- Cold Water 4-6 Tablespoons to adjust the consistency
- For the cake: Sift both flours, baking soda, salt, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine the natural cocoa powder with the hot coffee and then add the vinegar, oil and the vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the sifted dry ingredients and whisk vigorously with a hand whisk until smooth (about 15 -20 strokes)
- Pour batter into greased and parchment lined 7" x 2" cake pans
- Bake immediately in a preheated 350°f oven for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs
- Meanwhile prepare the fudge icing: In a small pot on the stove, combine the first 3 ingredients and bring to a boil for about 2-3 minutes then pour into a bowl and allow to sit in the freezer to rapid cool while you gather the other ingredients.
- In the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand blender, add the cocoa powder and cooled but still warm simple syrup and mix until it forms a firm mass.
- Add the vanilla extract
- Add the Vegetable or Melted Coconut Oil and the corn syrup
- Next add the softened vegan butter and the solid vegetable shortening and mix well..
- Add the sifted confectioners sugar and mix until smooth.
- Slowly add some of the cold water about 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency
- Build the cake as per the video tutorial
I can’t seem to find natural cocoa powder where I live, is there a way I could alter this recipe so that i can use dutch cocoa powder? I know it has something to do with the baking soda which is why the recipe uses natural cocoa? Thanks 🙂
You are exactly right! Wow odd that you can’t find natural, most of us can’t find Dutch process!! 😀
CLICK HERE
yeah i’ve never seen it anywhere! most brands i can find in stores say dutch processed, and then others don’t say anything so I just assume they’re dutch too. I’ll try the recommendation of adding baking powder in your post and see how it goes 🙂 thanks!!
Typically if it DOESN’T say it, it is natural. But you can look in the ingredients and usually Dutched will say processed with Alkali
ohhhh that makes sense, will have a look 🙂 also, is natural cocoa powder different to cacao powder?
Cacao powder is natural but it is processed by cold pressing, vs cocoa powder that is processed (roasted) under high temperature, so the nutrients are left in tact by using Cacao it is considered a Superfood
Can I cook this in a square 7” cake pan for a deep cake, and what temp and timing please, in U.K. and love your recipes
Yes! but it will make 2- pans, OR just HALF the recipe Temp same as listed, time may be a few minutes less, check at about 20 minutes
Can I just use all cake flour? And can I use more butter instead of vegetable shortening?
you can use melted vegan butter yes, but not more. same amount as listed for oil
Yes to cake flour
I use the Hershey special dark cocoa which I just looked at after reading the comments and it’s a mix of natural and dutch. I’ve made this recipe a couple times, never had an issue. It came out perfect IMO.
For cupcakes, what temp do you bake at and for how long? Would you recommend liners?
same temp for about 18-20 minutes (but check the centers with a toothpick to be sure) yes to liners
Can you use gf flour in this recipe for a coeliac?
I do not do any gluten free baking, but I have been told that gluten free+ vegan is not a straight up sub
Gluten free and vegan isn’t straight up but with this recipe I’d start by adding a scant 1/2 tsp xantham gum, use GF all purpose in place of both flours, but remove 2 tbsp and replace with 2 tbsp of cornstarch and add 1tsp baking soda, sift your dry ingredients 3-4 times to ensure they’re well combined.
I’m yet to try the recipe but this is my usual go process to convert to gluten free
awesome! thank you!
hi, if one wanted to change this recipe to make a simple vanilla (white) cake, could the cocoa powder be replaced with more flour and the coffee with water or plant milk? thanks.?
yes that’s right
Hi, we do not have cake flour in Europe (maybe it can be found in the UK). Should I just add another cup of plain flour instead? Any suggestion on how to replace cake flour? Thanks, Sonia
Hi! yes, you can totally do that, but CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Hi, sorry if I have misread the recipe… is the ganache an alternative topping to the fudge icing? Or is it used elsewhere and I have missed the reference to it?
Looking forward to making this cake this afternoon 🙂
Sorry! Someone else brought that to my attention! Im not sure how I added that part in by accident! Sorry! (But YES you can use ganache as a less sweet, more sophisticated option to the fudge icing)
Thanks for all your hard work on here! Two questions 1) where does the ganache go? 2)My icing turned out grainy and dull – I used the gram measurements but it is not as silky as yours looks in the video, what could I have done wrong?
Hi Jan! Woops! thanks for bringing that to my attention! Not sure how that ganache recipe got in there! LOL
AS for the fudge, I have found that using Hershey’s Dark Blend cocoa gives a dull appearance, not sure if you used that?
I keep kicking myself every time I buy that because it’s just really weird and have a gray look, for anything I used that is NOT baked, like icings etc…
Like buttercream, the fudge icing is another emulsion of sorts.. I’ve had this recipe break on me once, and found I was just going too fast in the mixing (the adding of ingredients rather..)
But by adding a tables spoon at a time of warm water while mixing, this can be corrected.
Similarly after I’ve refrigerated it and try to remixit, it will seem grainy and dull, but I bring it to room temperature and then add a tablespoon of warm water and it gets shiny again
Thanks for your response, that’s exactly what I used – Hershey’s! The icing tastes great but it’s so dull – will do as suggested and see if that works!
Hi Gretchen,
You are a superstar. Made this cake before I went to work, presented it and the staff devoured it in about three minutes. One of the staff said” You always have the best special cakes” I told them I have the best teacher who has done all the hard work for me to be able to present this for you.
So many people in Aussy that have allergies to food so this is just perfect.
Your hard work pays off. Thank you
awe thank you Gloria! this comment made my day! 🙂
I have just done the chocolate sponge which turned out great, to freeze for building on Thursday for our Macmillan coffee morning. I will be attempting the piña colada layer cake from your wonderful book tomorrow, can you tell me if you need to strain the crushed pineapple as there is usually a lot of juice in the can?
Hi! Yes great question! Straining is definitely a good idea
Hi Gretchen, would this cake be suitable for a black forest cake? If so, by how much should I increase the recipe for a 9×13 cake?
Yes! CLICK HERE and 1 recipe for 1 thick layer 9″ x 13″ x 2″
Hey gretchen! This cake looks insane! I just had a question though, do you think I could do 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 applesauce to cut the fat a bit? And replace the 2 cups of coffee with 1 cup boiling water and 1 cup buttermilk ?(vegan of course) Thank you!
Hi Thanks it is really great! and YES to all your changes! 🙂 Good job!
Thanks hun!! You are an absolute vegan goddess! <3 and your cookbook is next on my list of cookbooks to buy!!
Thankyou!
Hi Gretchen – made this cake today- cake part worked fine but with the frosting I ended up with bits of the cocoa powder/syrup mix all through it. Wondering what I may have done wrong? I did mix the cocoa powder with the syrup until firm but could I have over or under done that part? Thanks ?
Hmm, not sure. Did you seem to do it the same as I did it in the video for the Fudge Icing?
Thanks for replying! I watched the video again and followed that instead and it was fine. The cake and frosting are amazing!
How would replacing the oil for butter in this recipe, provided I adjust the amount for the water content etc, change the texture of the cake?
Hi Rich, I have not used oil. Please report back if you do (I suspect it will be fine though)
that looks delicious. I haven’t been on your blog in a while because I just didn’t feel like I had time to bake with the crazy work schedule I had. I’m not vegan yet but I’m working on it. He is a clip I found that support plants bases diets: https://www.yahoo.com/news/most-heart-attacks-prevented-one-014230484.html
thanks Tracy!!
Is vegan butter the same as any brand margarine, if not please elaborate on the difference
yes vegan butter is technically margarine. The main differences I see from brand to brand are the moisture contents. I do prefer Earth balance but I often use Fleishmanns (as it is much cheaper and works very good as well!)
I have tried to open the Vegan Baking Mastery link. It does open but I do not see a place to register for an account name. What do I need to do?
Hello, Im sorry the course is currently closed
First of all, this cake is delicious!
But I still have some questions. My cake rises into a dome and cracks. I have that with every cake I made not just with this receipe. What can I do? Lower temperature and longer in the oven?
Also the cake doesn’t seem high enough. Not even with two cakes. Is this right or should it have risen higher? How high should it be? What can I do about that?
Thnx!
Hey great thanks! Hmm, odd- but yeah sounds like your oven temp could be too hot? Causing a severe rise too quickly?
As for the height, I get pretty thick layers with mine, I get 3 tall 7″ layers that could even be cut in half again! Or 2-8″ layers that are THICK! so just be sure you are weighing correctly (prefer to weight not volume cups measure for best accuracy CLICK HERE FOR MORE)
Hi!
I can’t wait to make this for a birthday party but I have 2 questions. Can I substitute the corn syrup because I can’t find it where I live? And can you make the cake ready the day before and keep it in the fridge?
Your work is amazing<3
Awesome! thanks! Yes to both – the sub for corn syrup is glucose or golden syrup
Great, thank you! Cant wait to try it 😉
Sorry for bothering again but what type of vegan butter and vegetable shortening do you use??
I use Earth Balance, but have used Fleishmanns (margarine) with great results too
Shortening I am using crisco
Okey thank you very much?
hi gretchen. i love ur work. i am new to baking.. plz dont mind this silly question. if i want to make an 8 inch cake round sud i half the recipe ? what measuremnets sud i take for baking in 15inch*10inch wilton tray?
Just fill the batter half full on any size pan you are using
Hey gretchen, I cant find apple cider vinegar anywhere I groceries nearby. Is there a substitute I can use.
sure thing, white distilled vinegar is fine (or even lemon juice if you cant find those)
Could I possibly mix chocolate chips into the batter of this cake?
yes!
Can I replace all purpose flour and cake flour with whole wheat flour?
Not all of it, whole wheat flour will make this cake very heavy and dense, not good! You can add about 3/4 cup in place of 1 cup of flour
The cake came out horrible – crumbly and dry, tasted exactly like flour and no taste of chocolate at all. It was really disappointing given that I saw multiple good comments. And thing is, I didn’t change a thing! Really perplexed about why mine came out disastrous and I had to immediately find another recipe as it was for a birthday tmr. Thanks tho
Hmm interesting as I have never had any trouble with this recipe! And as you saw by the comments this is a very highly acclaimed recipe! Im sorry that happened to you, not really sure where to start to troubleshoot, as it is a very straightforward recipe. The only thing I can offer is to CLICK HERE and see if this resonates
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your amazing recipes. I have made this cake yesterday, I halved the quantity. However, the baking soda flavour was dominant. Do you know what went wrong?
Hmm really? I have not had that experience. I mean halving the recipe wouldn’t cause that, unless you forgot to actually HALVE that part?
Can the coffee be substituted with just water or something else? If not, I guess I can use decaf.
I love your book. I’ve made the chocolate chip cookies, and frozen the extra dough.
Yes you can use decaf for sure, coffee just enhances chocolate in recipes, but you don’t ever taste the coffee coming through. You can use water of course, but again coffee really gives chocolate a nice boost. Otherwise any plant milk of your choice could be an option as well.
AND THANK YOU for buying my book! 🙂
Hie how are you?Can I use self raising flour in this recipe and if yes what are the implications on baking soda which is part of the recipe?
I don’t ever recommend using self rising flour, since it already has the leavening and a good amount of salt too. However desperate times call for desperate measures, and I too have only been able to find an All Purpose Flour BLEND like a biscuit flour mix with those same ingredients added in.
Since baking soda is 4X as powerful as baking powder, I would say to just use 1 teaspoon of the baking soda and DO NOT ADD SALT. Let me know how it turns out!
Can I replace cake flour with self raising flour and what are the implications on baking soda also part of the recipe?
Thank you so much for the reply .I will give it a try
This cake is amazing. I didn’t have any decaf coffee on hand during the quarantine, so I went by a previous commenter’s suggestion and subbed in hot water and vegan buttermilk for the coffee and used 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce. I also threw in 1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips for extra decadence. The cake was moist, rich chocolate heaven. I love this blog and highly recommend Gretchen’s cookbook!
hi the recipe has sugar and vege oil but the video says sugar boiled and no vegetable oil.so what is the correct way.pls inform me as fast as u can coz i am going to make the cake now.
thank yu.
Hi Sorry for the late reply, the written instructions are correct. I am not sure where in the video it says to boil the sugar though??
Yes, I made this Choc cake! Everyone, including non- vegans, loved it! much better than the high priced vegan bakeries near me. (now I just need cake decorating classes) Great taste, Easy to make, Thanks!
YAY! thanks for the feedback!
I will sin this weekends, drown in sugar 🙂
This cake is phenomenal! Thank you for this recipe, Gretchen! Super easy to pull together and incredibly tasty. Didn’t have any coffee so I fully replaced that amount with soy milk. I also had no corn syrup so I used agave instead. Lastly, I only had AP flour around so I used it for both the full flour amount for the recipe. These substitutions seemed to turn out well given the cake was such a hit 🙂
What is cake flour? What is the difference between cake flour and all purpose flour. If I don’t have cake flour can I replace it with all purpose flour?
Great question!! CLICK HERE for all the info!
Hi! I would like to make this cake for my friend’s birthday next week, but I’d like to make only two layers. Any easy way to adjust the recipe for a two layer cake?
Thanks!
yes! This cake recipe bakes into 2- perfect 8″ layers (I am just in the habit of making 3-7″ layers) So- NO ADJUSTMENTS, just divide the batter between 2-8″ cake pans
Hi
I don’t use corn syrup or golden syrup, and I Don’t use Crisco bc it’s hydrogenated. Are there any substitutions?
You can use agave and sub the shortening with vegan butter (or coconut oil)
Hi Gretchen,
Thank you very much for your recipes and also for taking your time answering all of our questions. I’ve ordered your book for my birthday. (At least one good thing about getting old)
I don’t use Crisco as it has palm oil in it, you’ve said it can be substituted with coconut oil in this particular recipe. Should it be room temperature when I add it to the mixer? Shall I add it slowly?
Thank you so much again
Hi Thankyou!! I’m assuming you mean for the fudge icing? In which case, yes – I also omit the shortening nowadays and go all vegan butter or coconut oil. It should be at room temp- which is tricky for coconut oil sine it seems to like to be either rock hard or melted and not much else in between, lol
Since the acidity in natural cocoa powder helps activate the baking soda what if I only had Dutch-processed? Would adding two tablespoons of vinegar help to achieve the same result?
Hi. Can I double the cake recipe in the same bowl? Or should I make two recipes. Thanks
Im sorry for the late reply! I have not had internet connection for the last 4 days!! You can double as long as you have a big enough bowl & enough oven space!
Hi I was wondering if this recipe and your vanilla cake recipe are good when it comes to covering with fondant. I’m new to baking vegan.
Hi Yes! You can use it!
Thank you! and your American buttercream recipe is that good for adhering fondant to?
Hi Gretchen,
I’ve just made the cake layers, and they came out really dry. They were in for 30 minutes at 350 degrees f. Do you think it is due to over-baking? I think it might have been the cocoa powder (I’ve already experienced dry cakes due to the wrong kind of cocoa.) I didn’t use Dutch-processed cocoa, but a local version similar to the Hershey unsweetened cocoa. Is that considered natural cocoa powder? Is the natural cocoa you’re referring to the type that is high in fat? (18-24%) Or on the lower end? (8-12%, like I used) I also think I might have put too little coffee, since there’s no specification as to how many mls the coffee should be, and the measuring cups here are generally smaller in size, so 2 local cups might have been off by a 1/4 American cup.
Can you please help me understand what I did wrong? The cake had absolutely no jiggle effect like yours had in the video. It was dry and crumbled upon dislodging from cake pans. I worked very closely with the rest of the measurements, measured in grams. The cake looks wonderful, and I’d really like to make it again and to succeed.
Thanks! (:
Oh No! That’s so disappointing to hear!
Well, it’s hard to say what the problem is, but over baking would definitely be one reason for dryness, however this is typically on the edges and wouldn’t be through out, since 30 minutes (even if it was done at 22minutes) wouldn’t make such a severe difference.
I wonder though if your oven is a convection? In which case it would make a HUGE difference since convection ovens run about 25° hotter than regular ovens.
The cocoa YES would make a difference too, but if you used regular natural – similar to hersheys which is what I often use, then no it’s not that.
The ml conversion would make a difference yes, but I am not sure 1/4 cup would make such a drastic difference either. However these are ALL AMAZING things you are noting and understanding! 🙂
Sorry I did not provide the conversion- I usually just google the answers myself, but failed to put that in for you- sorry!
I go with 237ml for 1 cup
So, without really knowing what the culprit could be, I think if you try it again, be wary of everything we just talked about. It is such a great recipe! Super moist so I am sorry & sad that you had this experience!