Easy vegan chocolate cake – this simple vegan chocolate sheet cake is quick and easy to make and doesn’t use any unusual or hard to find ingredients. It is so moist and rich you would never guess that it is free from eggs and dairy!
I’ve made lots of versions of this vegan chocolate cake over the years — from a chocolate fudge layer cake to sheet cakes with ganache, spooky Halloween cupcakes and mini cakes for two. I keep returning to the same basic recipe because it’s reliable, flexible and genuinely delicious. In my opinion it’s as good as—or better than—many non-vegan chocolate cakes I’ve tried.
This post shows a simple traybake/sheet cake topped with a light, fluffy vegan chocolate buttercream. It’s a bit less rich than a ganache-topped cake, which makes it well suited to birthdays and celebrations where kids will be eating it, or whenever you prefer a less intense chocolate finish.
Decorate however you like: colored sprinkles for a classic birthday look, or fresh fruit and chocolate shavings for something more grown-up.
How To Make Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For best results follow the recipe closely. I recommend using gram measurements with a digital scale rather than cup conversions, which are less accurate for baking.*
This cake is baked in a 20cm/8in square tin – grease it well and line with a strip of baking parchment. See the recipe card for variations and other sizes.
Start by whisking together the non-dairy milk (soy works best but any unsweetened alternative is fine) with cider or white wine vinegar, caster (superfine) sugar, light brown soft sugar, sunflower or another neutral oil, and vanilla extract in a jug.
In a large bowl sift together plain (all-purpose) flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until the batter is smooth. Take care not to over-mix — use a hand balloon whisk rather than an electric mixer to avoid developing the gluten and making the cake tough.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for about 35 minutes, checking from 25 minutes on. The cake is done when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
The cake is delicate while warm, so leave it to cool in the tin for around 30 minutes before carefully transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the chocolate buttercream, melt chopped dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa solids). You can melt it in short bursts in the microwave, stirring between bursts, or use a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water — avoid letting the bowl touch the water.
Whisk vegetable shortening (such as Trex) together with a solid block vegan butter (not spreadable) until smooth. Using a mixture of shortening and block butter helps prevent the buttercream from splitting; avoid using all butter or spreadable margarine.
Sift in cocoa powder, then sift in icing (powdered) sugar and add vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture for several minutes until light and fluffy, then slowly whisk in the melted chocolate. If the buttercream becomes too firm, add a drop of non-dairy milk to bring it to a spreadable consistency.
Spread the buttercream over the cooled cake and decorate as desired. Slice into squares and serve.
How Long Will It Keep?
The assembled cake will keep up to five days in an airtight container at room temperature. Refrigeration is unnecessary unless the ambient temperature is warm.
Can I Freeze It?
The unfrosted cake can be wrapped well and frozen for up to a couple of months. Defrost at room temperature before frosting. I don’t recommend freezing the buttercream, as it may split when thawed.
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Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Chocolate Cake:
- 240 ml (1 cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best but any will work)
- 1 tsp cider or white wine vinegar
- 125 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 50 g light brown soft sugar
- 100 ml sunflower oil (or another flavourless oil)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 50 g cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp salt
Vegan Chocolate Buttercream:
- 55 g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids), chopped
- 55 g vegetable shortening (I use Trex)
- 55 g solid block vegan butter (I use Naturli vegan block)
- 20 g cocoa powder
- 110 g icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a drop of non-dairy milk if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 20 cm/8 inch square cake tin.
- Whisk together the non-dairy milk, vinegar, caster sugar, brown sugar, sunflower oil and vanilla extract in a jug.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
- Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth; be careful not to over-mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread level. Bake for about 35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Start checking after 25 minutes.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then carefully transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the buttercream, melt the chopped dark chocolate either in a heatproof bowl over simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water) or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring frequently. Set aside.
- Whisk together the vegetable shortening and vegan block butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sifted cocoa powder, then sifted icing sugar and vanilla, and beat until light.
- Beat the buttercream for several minutes until very light and fluffy, then beat in the melted chocolate a little at a time. Add a drop of non-dairy milk if it’s too firm.
- Spread the buttercream over the cooled cake and decorate as you like.
Notes
