If you love chocolate and you love cake but you are looking for a vegan alternative, you will absolutely adore this easy vegan chocolate cake recipe! You will need a handful of special ingredients but it is certainly worth every bit of effort.

Ingredients for your easy vegan chocolate cake:

  • 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 tsp apple cider or white vinegar
  • 2/3 cup melted coconut oil
  • ½ cup coffee (strong brewed)
  • 2 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 ¼ cup apple sauce (unsweetened)
  • 2 cups (heaped) all purpose flour (unbleached)
  • 1 1/3 cups cane sugar or granulated sugar
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Ingredients for the frosting:

  • 1 cup vegan butter (softened)
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 ½ – 3 cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup semisweet chocolate (dairy-free)
  • 2 tsp vanilla essence
  • ¼ cup almond milk

How to make this easy vegan chocolate cake:

  • Preheat your oven to 176 C.
  • Spray 2 8-inch round cake pans (or 1 large rectangular pan) with non-stick spray.
  • Mix the vinegar and almond milk in a large bowl and allow to set for a few minutes.
  • Now add the oil, vanilla essence, coffee and apple sauce.
  • Beat until foamy.
  • If the coconut oil hardens, microwave for about 10 seconds and beat again.
  • Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a sifter.
  • Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients while mixing with an electric mixer on low.
  • Beat until there are no large lumps and you have a creamy mixture.
  • Taste the mixture and adjust the sweetness as needed.
  • Pour into your cake pan or pans.
  • Bake for 25 – 40 minutes. Use the toothpick test to check if the cake is baked.
  • Place on a rack to cool while you prepare the frosting.
  • Beat all the frosting ingredients together until light and fluffy.
  • Make sure that you add the powdered sugar bit by bit until you reach the desired consistency.
  • If the frosting gets too thick, you can add a teaspoon of almond milk to loosen it up. If it is too thin, add more cocoa powder or powdered sugar.
  • Once you have allowed the cake to cool down, you can frost it as desired.
  • If you like, you can serve each slice with dairy-free ice cream, caramel sauce, some melted chocolate over the top or even coconut whipped cream. Of course, you can enjoy it just as it is too!

As you can see, you will need some special ingredients for this easy vegan chocolate cake. However, the steps are really simple and it will not take long at all to bake this delicious and nutritious cake.