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    Home » Recipes

    Best Vegan Chocolate Cake! (Gluten Free Option!)

    Published: Jun 10, 2018 · Modified: Mar 20, 2021 by Louise-Claire Cayzer · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 7 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    Vegan Chocolate Cake on a plate with chocolate ganash and berries on top this recipe
    Everyone needs a failsafe chocolate cake recipe, the one you pull out time & time again for birthdays, when people come over for lunch or, well, just because. Which is why you need our Best Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe!

    And this gorgeous vegan cake  is the yummiest, scrummiest, most chocolately cake ever.  In fact I think my mum has made this for every birthday since I went vegan 3 years ago. And we don’t just have it for birthdays; just ‘Oh, the family is together again’ or ‘I fancy cake today’ is enough of an excuse to make this one!

    Even better, the last time Mum made it for me,  we had a go at making it gluten free, just to see how it would come out..

    And it came out just as scrummy as the original!  Yippeee!!

    vegan chocolate cake with a slice out

    Using gluten free flour makes this Best Vegan Chocolate Cake a bit denser than using regular flour, but still super delicious. We used a flour which was a blend of rice, potato and maize. Many gluten free flours are blends, and it’s the blends that tend to work the best. Whether you use standard or gluten free flour, this vegan chocolate cake will be the one you come back to & use over & over again.

    If you don’t have one large tin to make the sponge mixture in, you could use two smaller Victoria sponge tins. Just remember to reduce the cooking time by about a third. However, every oven is different so do still test it is cooked (using a skewer) before you take it out the oven to cool.

    To decorate the cake, you can either cut the sponge in half and fill the middle as well as the top for a layered sponge (so decadent!). Or just smooth the icing over the top and let it come down the sides.

    Add berries, edible flowers or pretty sprinkles for a festive effect- we used red currants for the photo shoot because Louise had found some at the market & liked their jewel like effect, but you do you..go crazy, after all, what better reason is there to get creative than decorating the top of a cake!?

    📖 Recipe

    Vegan chocolate cake

    Vegan Chocolate Cake with Ganache topping - With a gluten free option!

    Louise-Claire Cayzer
    This is The Vegan Larder's go-to chocolate cake to make for Birthdays, Holidays or just any reason you can think of to make a cake! 
    5 from 6 votes
    Prevent your screen from going dark
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    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 35 minutes mins
    Total Time 55 minutes mins
    Course Afternoon Tea, Cake, Dessert
    Cuisine dessert, pudding, Vegan
    Servings 16
    Calories 369 kcal

    Ingredients Note:

    For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.

    (Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)

    Ingredients

    For the sponge:

    • 360 g (2½ cups) self raising flour (OR use gluten free flour & 2 tspns gluten free baking powder)
    • 60 g (⅔ cup) cocoa powder
    • 2 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 350 g (1¾ cups) caster sugar
    • 140 ml (⅔ cup) sunflower oil
    • 400 ml (1¾ cups) water
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 4 teaspoon white wine / apple cider vinegar

    Ganache topping:

    • 300 g (1⅔ cups) Dark vegan chocolate
    • ½ cup (½ cup) Non-dairy milk
    • Fresh / frozen fruit (or chocolate shavings, to decorate)

    Instructions

    To make the sponge

    • Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line and a cake tin.
    • In a large bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Then stir in the sugar.
    • In another bowl mix the oil, water and vanilla extract. Then add this to the flour mixture.
    • Lastly stir in the vinegar.
    • Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 30-35 mins or until clean skewer emerges.
    • Allow cake to cool before adding topping.

    To make the ganache topping

    • Break up the chocolate and place in a glass bowl.
    • Place bowl above simmering water to melt the chocolate.
    • Once the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat. Let cool for just a minute. Then slowly stir in the non-dairy milk, a little bit at a time and mix in well.
    • Pour the ganache over the cake and spread evenly.
    • Decorate with fruit / chocolate shavings/ sprinkles/whatever your little heart desires!

    Notes

    Note for seasonal flavours:
    Winter - orange For winter orange version, add rind of one orange to the batter before baking, and 1 teaspoon of orange essence to the chocolate topping mix. Top with candied orange
    Summer - raspberry / summer fruits For summer, decorate with raspberries or any other summer fruit. Optional to add 100-150g freeze dried raspberries to batter before baking

    Nutrition

    Calories: 369kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 5gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 209mgPotassium: 225mgFiber: 4gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 37IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 63mgIron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe and loved it? Follow and Mention @vegan_larder or comment and ⭐ below

    Chocolate Cake PInterest

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 6 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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    1. Natalie Haggar says

      August 04, 2020 at 11:59 am

      5 stars
      Delicious and moist.

      Reply
    2. Georgia says

      July 26, 2020 at 1:17 pm

      5 stars
      A lovely friend made this for our wedding and it was DELICIOUS! Highly recommend!

      Reply
    3. David Grant says

      July 25, 2020 at 5:13 pm

      5 stars
      Better than Nigellas!

      Reply

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    Hi! I'm Louise-Claire! I believe vegan and plant-based food should be easy to make, never scary and above all, absolutely delicious. Also, it's for everyone, not just for vegans!

    I'm a photographer, recipe developer and gardener. You'll find me in the kitchen, in the studio or wandering the garden, picking delicious veggies to make recipes for you! So why not stay a while, check out some of my recipes and try one or two for yourself...Find out more on my About Me page.

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