Dairy Free Chocolate Cake
Servings Prep Time
12people 15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
12people 15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
  • 2cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4cup cocoa powderUnsweetened
  • 2cup White Sugar
  • 1tbls baking powder
  • 2tbls baking soda
  • 1tbls salt
  • 1cup Vegan Buttermilk1 Tbsp Lemon Juice and Soy Milk up to the 1 cup line
  • 1/2cup Canola Oil
  • 6tbls Applesauce
  • 2tbls vanilla extract
  • 1cup Boiling Hot Coffee
For the Frosting:
  • Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare three 8-inch cake pans or two 9-inch cake pans* by spraying with non-stick spray and lining the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Sift the all purpose flour and unsweetened cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix together.
  3. Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line and letting it curdle (you can also use almond milk for this).
  4. Add the vegan buttermilk to the mixing bowl along with the canola oil, applesauce and vanilla extract and mix into a thick batter.
  5. Add in 1 cup of boiling hot coffee and whisk it in with a hand whisk.
  6. The batter will be thin and this is correct.
  7. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
  9. Let the cakes cool in the cake pans for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
  10. Frost with vegan chocolate buttercream frosting and decorate with grated vegan chocolate (optional).
  11. Store leftover cake covered at room temperature for 3-4 days or covered in the fridge for 7 days.
Recipe Notes
  • Weigh your flour for accuracy or make sure you measure it correctly using the spoon and level method.
  • Vegan Buttermilk can also be made with almond milk if you prefer.
  • Any vegetable oil will work fine here, if you use coconut oil then make sure it’s melted first.
  • The applesauce can be switched for 2 flax eggs if you prefer to use those.
  • You can either use filter coffee or just add a tsp of instant coffee to a cup of boiling hot water. If you want to omit the coffee altogether then you can just use a cup of boiling water.
  • This cake is very versatile, you can make it in three 8-inch cake pans OR two 8-inch cake pans, if you’re doing two 8-inch pans the cake layers will just be thicker. You may need an extra 5 mins baking time if you’re doing it in two 8-inch pans. If you’re making it in 9-inch cake pans then make it in two layers.
  • Nutritional information is for the cake only, the nutritional info for the frosting is listed on the frosting recipe page.
  • Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.