This Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is indulgent, I know. But it’s a perfect treat for Valentine’s Day! Now you and I both know, really good vegan chocolate cake is hard to come by. And that is precisely why I wanted to do this recipe.
It’s moist, rich and oozing with chocolate. Just look at that texture! No dairy, no eggs…completely vegan. And completely delicious. I dare you to resist licking the bowl of that fudgy chocolate frosting. I must admit…I couldn’t 🙂
You can make the frosting as loose or thick as you’d like. It’s made with vegan margarine, powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, vegan chocolate chips (melted), vanilla and almond (or coconut) milk. If you prefer a thicker frosting, just add more powdered sugar.
For the cake, we used traditional ingredients but substituted some of the moisture that eggs would have added using applesauce. It’s one of my favorite baking secrets for cakes, muffins, etc. We also created our own “buttermilk” using non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Another vegan trick that I cannot live without.
This cake is so simple to make and with a few fresh strawberries, it looks like a million bucks!
Today, it’s all about the chocolate, but this cake would be really amazing with a cream cheese frosting as well. I did one on my Gingerbread Cake that would work great if you wanted to try that instead.
Before you go, why not check out some of our recent videos and be sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel! 🙂
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting {Vegan}
Ingredients
- Serves: two 8" round layers
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Dry Ingredients:
- 2-1/8 C All Purpose Flour
- 1-1/3 C Sugar
- 1 C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- *
- Wet Ingredients:
- Create your own Buttermilk using 2 C of Almond or Coconut Milk plus 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar allow to sit for 10 minutes
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2/3 C Oil of your choosing
- 1-1/4 C Unsweetened Applesauce
- *
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1 C Vegan Margarine such as Earth Balance, softened
- 3 C Powdered Sugar add more if too thin
- 2/3 C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/4 C Almond or Coconut Milk you may not want all of this if you prefer a thicker consistency
- 1/4 C of Vegan Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut parchment to fit the bottom of two 8" round cake pans. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. You can also sift if there appear to be any lumps that whisking won't break up.
- Create the buttermilk mixture by combining the almond (or coconut) milk and apple cider vinegar. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the buttermilk mixture, vanilla, oil and applesauce. Beat until well combined.
- Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, allowing each addition to blend before proceeding. Beat for 2 minutes on high speed to incorporate some air.
- Distribute mixture between the prepared pans and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes.
- Using a knife, run the tip around the edge of the pan to loosen and assure that the cake will come out without sticking.
- Invert onto a baking rack to continue cooling. Remove parchment.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients for the frosting and beat until incorporated.
- On a cake stand, place the first layer with the rounder side down. Frost the top of this layer.
- Place the second layer on and frost just the top of this layer as well. A few swirls with a knife to make it look fancy never hurts.
- Add a fanned out sliced strawberry to the top and serve alone, or with your favorite vegan vanilla bean ice cream.
- Enjoy!
merit says
Are these US cups?
aimee says
Yes, they are 🙂
merit says
i can’t understand how the frosting is made. how can i just mix the ingredients when one of the ingredients is chocolate chips? should i melt them first? i hope i get the answer before tomorrow when i plan to do the cake. thank you in advance for your receipe and helpful answer 🙂
aimee says
Sorry to be so confusing. I wrote in the blog post that the chips are melted first. I will adjust the recipe itself to reflect this. Also, could you tell me what site you saw this recipe on? I’m getting a lot of interest these past few days & I can’t find who shared it 🙂
merit says
thanks so much !! 🙂 i saw this receipe on tumblr! this blog to be exact http://vegan-yums.com/
Ty says
Sorry, but where are the instructions for the frosting?
aimee says
Hello Ty! The ingredients for the frosting just get mixed together, nothing fancy. I did however, edit the recipe to reflect the omission. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the cake 🙂