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Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

March 6, 2019 By Gretchen 33 Comments

Also known as Depression Cake or Wacky Cake, this recipe for egg free & dairy free Vegan Chocolate Cake is surprisingly GREAT!

“We don’t need no stinking eggs!” LOL

I am not quite sure who to credit for the original posting to the internet for this recipe (since there are tons, not to mention the original recipes dates all the way back to the early 1900’s).

So I tried a couple recipes that are floating around and I’ve tweaked it slightly to suit my liking!

It is so moist and so chocolate-y and affordable too!

Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

It also works great as cupcakes!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

5.0 from 1 reviews
Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Bake time
35 mins
Total time
45 mins
 
This recipe makes 2 very thick layers of cake. If using a 2" high cake pan the batter will rise all the way to the top, giving you a perfect opportunity for 4 torted layers.
Or just halve the recipe below and divide the batter between the same 2-8" pans for 2 thinner layers
Serves: 2- 8" Layers
Ingredients
  • All Purpose Flour 2 cups (250g)
  • Cake Flour 1 cup (120g)
  • Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder 8 Tablespoons (48g) *not dutched process
  • Granulated Sugar 2 cups (400g)
  • Baking Soda 2 teaspoons (10g)
  • Ground Cinnamon *Optional 1 teaspoon
  • Salt ½ teaspoon (3g)
  • Apple Cider Vinegar 2 teaspoons (10g)
  • Vanilla Extract 4 teaspoons (20ml)
  • Coconut Oil 12 Tablespoons (177ml) melted
  • Strong Brewed Coffee 2 cups (480ml) *approx 180°F
Instructions
  1. Sift both flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Combine the natural cocoa powder with the hot coffee and then add the vinegar, oil and the vanilla extract.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the sifted dry ingredients and whisk vigorously with a hand whisk until smooth (about 15 strokes)
  4. Pour batter into greased and parchment lined 8" x 2" cake pan(s)
  5. Bake immediately in a preheated 350°f oven for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs
  6. Cool completely before using inyour favorite layer cake creation!
Notes
Cooled cakes can be used immediately or wrapped well and frozen for up to 1 month
Click here for more about freezing cake layers
3.5.3226

 

Filed Under: All Recipes, Cake Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pamela

    July 11, 2018 at 2:14 am

    Love this recipe and have made it many times, My grandma passed it down, thanks for updating it ?
    I use coconut vinegar and it’s delicous
    Love everything you do!!

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      July 11, 2018 at 1:46 pm

      Thanks Pamela!

      Reply
      • Pamela Cole

        September 5, 2018 at 8:38 pm

        You are so very welcome,? also for your vanilla cakes what is your very favorite egg replacer? I mix several sometimes with better luck, but I’m curious your thoughts on which makes the lightest cakes, since vegan cakes are sometimes heavier, Ive been folding whipped auafaba into my red velvet, then just adding the equivalent yolk replacement. This works beautifully so far.

        Reply
        • Gretchen

          September 5, 2018 at 10:13 pm

          You may be interested in my new course I created addressing exactly this topic! Egg Replacers in Vegan Baking!
          But here is my BEST FAV Vanilla Cake Recipe

          Reply
  2. Johnny Li

    July 22, 2018 at 1:42 am

    I only have expresso… hope this works…

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      July 22, 2018 at 9:49 pm

      yes it will work, just add to the hot water whereas I used instant coffee – espresso of course is stronger, so you may want to add less that what I did

      Reply
  3. Nishi

    August 13, 2018 at 6:48 am

    Hi Gretchen… Love your work and recipes.. could you please tell if I use only all purpose flour, will the texture still be the same ?? I don’t have cake flour here in India. Thanks. Much love.

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      August 13, 2018 at 2:16 pm

      Hi yes you can use AP just use 2 Tbs less and CLICK HERE for more about cake flour

      Reply
      • Nishi

        August 13, 2018 at 4:27 pm

        Thanks Gretchen …. This was a very informative read.. thanks alot for clearing my doubts. ❤️

        Reply
  4. Roger

    September 19, 2018 at 12:51 am

    Hi Gretchen! I waswondering if this recipe can be used to make cupcakes? Thanks ^^

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      September 19, 2018 at 1:26 am

      yes!! Just fill slightly more than half full and they are awesome!! (about 18minutes??)

      Reply
      • Roger

        September 20, 2018 at 2:22 am

        Thanks!

        Reply
  5. melissa

    November 19, 2018 at 3:57 am

    Hi Gretchen,
    Does this cake taste like coffee?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      November 19, 2018 at 4:48 am

      No, coffee enhances chocolate and why you will see many recipes for chocolate (brownies included) use the liquid portion as coffee, you can use water if you prefer to stay away from coffee though. Unless you LOVE coffee CLICK HERE LOL

      Reply
  6. Blue Wren

    January 30, 2019 at 2:30 am

    HI, just discovered your blog and youtube channel -awesome!
    Could you please explain why you specify not dutched process cocoa?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      January 30, 2019 at 3:14 pm

      Hi thanks! Yes , click here for more

      Reply
  7. TC

    March 8, 2019 at 1:22 am

    Hi Gretchen,

    I am not a vegan but I have been a fan of yours for a very long time.I want to try this recipe but wanted to know if I could use vegetable oil, like Criso, instead of coconut oil? Would it still be vegan?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      March 8, 2019 at 5:14 am

      Hi Thanks! yes you can use any oil you prefer

      Reply
  8. Dot Galletta

    March 8, 2019 at 1:42 am

    I am trying to bake more vegan snd still learning.. When recipes ask for sugar, does that mean “vegan sugar” ? That confuses me.. ?
    Thx! Hope all is well!!

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      March 8, 2019 at 5:18 am

      HI Dot! Awesome! Most granulated sugar here in the USA is processed through animal bone char, so that makes it not vegan, crazy right!? I buy a brand called Zulka and it is vegan and it is slightly darker in color than regular granulated since it is not bleached and processed as the regular sugar has been. But of course you can use whatever granulated sugar you have and the recipe will be perfect!

      Reply
  9. Lindsey

    March 13, 2019 at 5:25 am

    Hi there! Thanks for the amazing recipes!
    Just curious, I am comparing this chocolate cake recipe to your “best vegan chocolate cake” recipe and I see that the recipes are nearly the same but vary only slightly in the salt and oils, why is this? Have you tweaked it a little and prefer this one better now? Or is this simply just a different recipe for different application?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      March 13, 2019 at 4:58 pm

      Hi! The recipes are the same, The salt I increased for the one recipe and honestly did not notice a difference when I did increase. (I used to use melted Earth Balance as the “oil” and that has salt so I think that is where I used less salt.
      12 Tablespoons is actually equal to ¾ cup so the oil measure is the same however I get all jammed up with ml all the time! it should read 177ml (3/4 cup = 12 Tbs= 177ml)

      Reply
      • Lindsey

        March 17, 2019 at 3:36 pm

        Oh I see now! Thanks for the response!
        This cake is FANTASTIC 🙂

        Reply
  10. Mariana

    April 16, 2019 at 2:46 am

    Hi Gretchen!
    How many cupcakes does it make?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      April 16, 2019 at 2:56 pm

      about 2 dz, just be sure to fill the liners a hair more than half full and bake at 375F for the first 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350F for the remaining approx 15min

      Reply
  11. Vaibhavi BV

    July 17, 2019 at 12:15 pm

    Hey Gretchen,
    It recipes always turn out great!!!! But only this time these cupcakes had a problem. The crust was hard almost like a biscuit and the liner wouldn’t peel off easily. What should I do differently ???

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      July 17, 2019 at 8:51 pm

      Hmm, This is odd, since the recipe is correct as written, I have made it a hundred times as cupcakes too. I would say double check your measurement- most often recipe fails come from incorrect measuring.

      Reply
  12. Annette

    July 4, 2021 at 11:00 am

    Hi, Gretchen!
    is all-purpose flour and cake flour self-raising flour what you use? and how long to bake if doing this recipe as cupcakes?

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      July 4, 2021 at 12:45 pm

      Hey there, No I do not ever use self rise CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
      But you can use all AP (plain flour) here if you cannot get cake flour)

      Reply
  13. Ellie O

    November 2, 2021 at 3:15 pm

    Hello Gretchen! Thank you for your wonderful recipes and expertise. I’ve learned so much from you and I can’t wait to make this cake. I usually make your black halloween chocolate cake but am wanting to try this one but I was curious as to which recipe between the two is your favorite overall? If it is possible to choose haha 😉 Thank you again!

    Ellie O

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      November 2, 2021 at 4:31 pm

      Hi Ellie! Thank you! I LOVE the Black Chocolate cake because I look the intense blackness of the cake color, but this cake is probably my go-to for 99% of the time!

      Reply
  14. Charlie

    April 28, 2022 at 12:03 pm

    hi gretchen! was wondering what is the shelf life of this at room temp and in the fridge? Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Gretchen

      April 28, 2022 at 4:38 pm

      Room temperature it will be fine for a coupe days, it won’t go “bad” as fast as it will get soft & droopy.
      Refrigeration: about a week!

      Reply

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