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a slice of vegan chocolate cake on a plate with a fork

The Best Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake


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5 from 36 reviews

  • Author: Verna
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 16 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Topped with dairy free chocolate ganache, every bite of this vegan chocolate fudge cake is completely irresistible. It’s moist, rich, decadent, and just plain amazing!


Ingredients

Scale

Dry ingredients:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour*
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder, reg or decaf 
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsweetened soy milk (see notes*)
  • 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar 
  • 200 grams dark vegan chocolate chips or bars broken up, (equals 1 cup vegan chocolate chips)
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2/3 cup 100 % natural unsweetened cocoa powder (can use dutch processed cocoa see notes*)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon oil, I use grape seed oil 

Ganache frosting:

  • 350 grams dark vegan chocolate chips or bars broken up, (equals 2 cups vegan chocolate chips)*
  • 1- 14 fl oz can coconut cream (not milk)
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° Lightly grease 2- 9 inch round non stick cake pans. (not 8 inch) I also line my pans with parchment paper rounds and lightly grease them.
  2. 'Buttermilk': In a small bowl add the plant milk and vinegar, this is your "Buttermilk mixture", stir and set aside.
  3. Cake batter: In a medium bowl add the dry ingredients and stir to combine, set aside
  4. In a large mixing bowl add the chocolate pieces, and boiling water, let sit for a minute. Now add the cocoa powder and whisk it until smooth. Then add in rest of 'Wet Ingredients' including 'Buttermilk mixture', whisk it until it's combined.
  5. Next add the dry ingredients and whisk until it's smooth. Do not over mix.
  6. Bake: Pour the cake batter into your 2 prepared baking pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of cake comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Cool the cakes in pans for 10-15 minutes then remove from pans and cool completely on racks before icing.
  7. Make frosting:  Add chocolate pieces to a large DRY mixing bowl,
  8. Heat the coconut cream on stove until hot, don't let it simmer. Pour the cream over chocolate mixture. Let it sit for a minute then add the cocoa and vanilla. Whisk it until smooth.
  9. Refrigerate the frosting for 1 hour, whisking after 30 minutes. If the icing seems to soft after 1 hour leave it in the fridge and check every 10-15 minutes until you have a good consistency.
  10. Ice the cake: Once the cake layers are completely cool, frost the cake, slice and Enjoy! For step by step photos, FAQ, Tips and more see above post.

Notes

  • Plant milk: soy milk is preferred as it curdles the best for 'buttermilk' and is higher in protein, but other plant milk will also work, oat, almond, etc..
  • Cocoa: I prefer natural cocoa powder for this recipe but dutch process will also work. Dutch process cocoa means that it has been processed with an alkali (potassium carbonate) giving it a neutral PH. This affects the cocoa's interaction with leavening agents making it neutral meaning it does not react with baking soda; so unless the recipe calls specifically for dutch process cocoa use natural cocoa powder. If wondering how to check for this just look at ingredients on the back of container. Natural cocoa powder has only one ingredient which is you guessed it- cocoa powder. Where as dutch process cocoa has two ingredients, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda (AKA baking soda) or label will say 'cocoa processed with alkali'. So only use dutch cocoa if a recipe specifically calls for it.
  • Flour: can use a 1:1 gluten free flour blend such as Bob's mill for gluten free cake
  • Cupcakes: Make the batter as normal, pour it into a lined cupcake pan, and bake in a 350ºF oven for 20-25 minutes
  • To frost cake without making a mess on cake platter place pieces of parchment paper around all sides of cake before frosting then carefully remove them when done. A trick Bakery's and restaurants use!
  • I quite often use Great value dark chocolate bars from Walmart (Canada) They are vegan, excellent quality and affordable!
  • To store and freeze: The baked cake will last for 5 days in a cake dome or when wrapped in plastic and kept in the fridge. if using butter cream frosting you can store on countertop. Wrap the cooled unfrosted baked cakes in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.

This recipe was originally published December of 2018 and has been updated with name change, easier to read instructions and a more informative post. The recipe itself is unchanged  

Inspired by Add a Pinch chocolate cake and Ricardo cake recipe

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Desserts, Gluten free
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American, Canadian,