Vegan Chocolate Cake
This vegan chocolate cake recipe has the signature fluffiness and decadent chocolate flavor of other chocolate cakes, but it doesn’t include any dairy in the form of cow’s milk or butter. Instead, it includes canola or vegetable oil and almond milk which contributes to the moist texture of this cake. This no-fuss cake is rich, moist, fudgy, and SUPER chocolatey. Whenever I make it, no one can tell it’s vegan unless I tell them! The ganache glaze takes the cake over the top, making it perfect for every chocolate lover.
What is Vegan Chocolate Cake?
This vegan chocolate cake is a dairy-free chocolate cake that is fluffy in texture and has a rich chocolate ganache glaze on top rather than a chocolate icing. While many chocolate cake recipes are double or even triple layers, this one is a single layer cake with a soft and delicate crumb texture.
Rather than using butter for the fat component, this chocolate cake includes canola or vegetable oil, which is instrumental in giving the cake its melt-in-your-mouth texture. It also includes almond milk for the liquid component in both the cake and ganache, which is a plant-based milk that is wonderful for baking as it has a subtle nutty taste. The fudginess of the ganache topping will be sure to leave you and your family or guests wanting more!
Ingredients
While this vegan chocolate cake recipe isn’t overly dissimilar to other chocolate cake recipes, it does have some key ingredients to ensure it is suitable for vegan diets. Here is a full ingredient list of what you will need:
For the Cake
- almond milk, (unsweetened)
- apple cider vinegar
- organic coconut sugar
- canola or vegetable oil
- vanilla extract
- almond extract
- all-purpose flour
- organic cocoa powder, (unsweetened)
- baking soda
- baking powder
- Salt
For the Ganache
- almond milk, (unsweetened)
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
- maple syrup
Instructions
Although this chocolate cake with vegan chocolate ganache may seem fancy, it actually doesn’t take much time to make it. Here are the step to make this delicious, fluffy chocolate cake:
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a bowl, whisk the milk with the vinegar, and set it aside for 10 minutes to curdle.
2. Mix in the sugar, oil, vanilla, and almond extract until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.
4. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture in two additions, ensuring there are no lumps.
5. Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan and pour the batter into the pan.
6. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean, about 32 to 35 minutes.
7. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing the edges from the pan.
8. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack.
For the Ganache
1.Bring the milk to a boil in a small pan.
2. Whisk the chocolate chips and maple syrup into the milk.
3. Turn off the heat and whisk the chocolate chips until they are melted.
4. Allow the ganache to cool for approximately 30 minutes.
Assembling the Cake
- Pour the ganache over the cooled caking, tilting the cake slightly to enable the ganache to drizzle down the sides.
- Refrigerate to chill and set the ganache.
- Remove the cake from the fridge 10 minutes before serving, and dust it with confectioners sugar.
Variations
This vegan chocolate cake is wonderful to make and serve as it is all year long, but if you would like to change it up, here are some ideas:
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Make Chocolate Orange Cake: If you are a fan of the sophisticated combination of chocolate and orange, you could easily infuse orange flavour into this cake. Simply add some orange extract into the cake batter in place of the vanilla. This version of this cake would be beautiful garnished with some candied orange peel or orange slices for an attractive finish.
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Make a Turtles Chocolate Cake: Turtles are a favorite of many with caramel, chocolate, and pecans. To turn this chocolate cake into a dessert with the signature taste of Turtles, make the cake from start to finish as it is before garnishing it with toasted pecan halves and a drizzle of either homemade or store bought caramel sauce.
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Make a Chocolate Berry Cake: For this version of this chocolate cake, simply garnish the cake with piles of berries such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. The berries would also look particularly beautiful with a few mint leaves or chamomile flowers tucked in for an ethereal finish, and a dusting of powdered sugar.
How to Store Vegan Chocolate Cake
After the ganache is set on your cake, you can loosely wrap the cake to ensure it doesn’t dry out as it sits in the refrigerator. This cake should stay fresh in the fridge for several days, although it isn’t likely you and your family will let it sit for that long.
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk, (unsweetened)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup organic coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup organic cocoa powder, (unsweetened)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup almond milk, (unsweetened)
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
The Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk milk and vinegar, then let the mixture sit for a few minutes to curdle.
- Add sugar, oil, vanilla, and almond extract, then mix well.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In two separate lifts, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until no large lumps remain.
- Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan and pour batter into the pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean (about 32-35 minutes).
- Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove the edge from the pan.
- Allow the cake to continue cooling on a wire rack until completely cooled.
The Ganache
- In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.
- Add chocolate chips and maple syrup to milk, then whisk together.
- Turn off the heat and mix until the chocolate is thoroughly melted.
- Let the ganache cool for approximately 30 minutes.
The Cake & The Ganache
- Pour ganache over the cooled cake, slightly tilting the cake to enable the ganache to drip down all sides.
- Refrigerate to chill and set the ganache.
- Remove cake from fridge 10 minutes before serving, then dust with confectioners sugar.
Bon appétit!
FAQ
While this chocolate cake is vegan, it includes many of the same components as traditional chocolate cake including fat and milk, which are crucial to giving this cake its fluffy texture. However, for this recipe, the fat and milk just happen to be vegan. Instead of butter, this recipe uses vegetable oil, which adds plenty of moisture to the cake, giving it a fluffy crumb. Meanwhile, for milk, this chocolate cake uses almond milk.
Yes, you definitely could! Simply divide the batter between muffin cups lined with silicone or paper liners before baking them in the oven. You will likely have to shorten the baking time, so make sure you keep an eye on the cupcakes to avoid overbaking them. Then, once cooled, you can top them with the ganache and let it set, similar to when you make the full-sized cake.
Yes, you can! If someone you plan to serve this vegan cake recipe to is allergic to almonds or other nuts, you could easily replace the almond milk with another type or plant-based milk. Coconut milk or soy milk would both be excellent nut-free alternatives.
The apple cider vinegar in this recipe helps curdle and sour the almond milk, giving it a slight buttermilk flavor. It works with the baking soda and baking powder to give the cake some extra lift.
Yes, it is! This delicious cake doesn’t include any animal products; it doesn’t require any eggs for binding, and instead of regular cow’s milk, it includes almond milk for an easy plant-based alternative.
Yes, this chocolate cake recipe should freeze quite well. First, you should set the cake in the freezer uncovered to allow the ganache to set firm. Then, you can wrap the cake up well and place it in an airtight container or sealable bag before placing it in the freezer. It is best to thaw and enjoy within 3 months as the texture and flavors may deteriorate with longer storage.
Related
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Brooklyn
Hello, this looks amazing. 🙂
Do you think I could use corn syrup instead of maple?
Thank you ^-^
veggiecurean
Hi, that is a great question. I have not made this cake with corn syrup. You can generally substitute maple syrup (1 for 1) with corn syrup. This cake has so much chocoalte, my guess is that it won’t change the flavor of the cake. Next time I make the cake, I am going to try it with corn syrup.