This Eggless Chocolate Cake is decadent, super chocolatey, delicious, and one of the best! It is super moist, rich, deeply flavorful, and soft with velvety crumbs.
The Eggless Chocolate Cake recipe is easy and straightforward, and the cake tastes way better than a box mix. Chocolate cake layered with chocolate frosting makes a perfect treat for any celebration!
Why You Will Love This Cake
- The cake is super moist and tender with soft crumbs.
- It is intensely flavored with chocolate.
- The Eggless Chocolate Cake recipe is easy and straightforward to follow.
- This cake is decadent, tempting, and delicious.
- You can frost the cake with your favorite frosting.
- It is perfect for a birthday or any of your favorite celebrations.
Ingredients
- Flour: I make this cake using all-purpose flour or cake flour. Either one makes the cake soft and moist. However, cake flour is essential for a more tender and delicate cake. Also, measuring the flour correctly and using the kitchen scale for the best results is essential.
- Cocoa Powder: I have tried this cake recipe using natural cocoa powder and Dutch-process cocoa powder. With any cocoa powder, this cake turns out equally delicious. However, my personal favorite is Dutch-process cocoa powder. So go with your preference and use either natural cocoa powder or Dutch-process.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Both are leavening agents and are essential for this recipe.
- Salt: It provides a pleasant contrast to the sweetness of the cake.
- Oil: Oil makes the cake very moist and soft. I made this eggless chocolate cake using canola oil and sunflower oil, and the results were the same. So, you can use either one or use vegetable oil.
- Granulated Sugar: It provides structure and sweetness to the cake.
- Milk+ White Vinegar: This is a DIY version of buttermilk. It is an easy homemade substitute if you can not find store-bought buttermilk. Instead of white vinegar, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar can also be used. But I prefer white vinegar. Use full-fat or 2% milk to make buttermilk, and do not use low-fat milk.
- Hot Water: Hot water makes cocoa powder bloom and dissolve. After adding hot water, the batter will be very thin, which makes this cake further moist.
- Instant Coffee: Adding coffee powder to hot water is optional. However, coffee makes the cake darker in color without the taste of coffee.
- Vanilla: This flavor goes perfectly with the chocolate cake. For the best flavor, use pure vanilla, if possible.
Preparing The Baking Pans
- The best practice is to grease the pan and line it with parchment paper. Then, also, grease the parchment paper.
- If you don’t want to use parchment paper, generously spray the pan with non-stick oil. You can also grease the pan with butter and lightly flour it, tapping the pan to remove any excess flour.
- This cake batter can be used to make two 9-inch cake layers, three 7-inch or 8-inch pans, or three 9-inch pans for thinner cake layers.
- To make a chocolate sheet cake, use a 9×13-inch pan.
- If you use pans of different sizes, the baking time will be different.
How To Make Eggless Chocolate Cake Step-by-Step
Baking The Eggless Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans and line them with parchment paper.
- Add white vinegar to the milk, stir well, and let it stand for 5 minutes.
- It is the DIY version of buttermilk. But if you have store-bought buttermilk, you can use that.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of instant coffee into hot water.
- If not using coffee, use 1 cup of hot water. Set aside.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk well.
- Add sugar to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk oil, milk+vinegar mixture, and vanilla.
- Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Now add hot coffee, and whisk the mixture until well combined.
- However, do not overmix.
- The cake batter will be very thin.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
- Bake the cake for 26-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Keep an eye on the cake after 24 minutes because every oven is different.
- Remove the cake pans from the oven and set them on a cooling rack.
- Let the cake layers completely cool in the pan before removing and frosting.
Assembling and Frosting The Cake
- Ensure that the cake layers are completely cooled down before you start frosting the cake.
- If your cake layers are not flat, use a large serrated knife to slice a thin layer off the tops of both cake layers to create a flat surface.
- Place one cake layer on the cake stand, cake rotating stand, or serving plate.
- Evenly cover the top with frosting and place the 2nd layer on top of it.
- Spread the frosting all over the top and sides of the cake.
- After frosting, decorate the cake as you desire or enjoy it as it is.
Storing and Freezing Suggestions
- Allow the cake layers to cool completely, cover them tightly with plastic wrap, and store them at room temperature for two days.
- If you want to keep them longer, refrigerate them for 3-4 days.
- Cake layers can be frozen, tightly covered, for up to a month.
- When ready to use them, thaw the cake in the fridge overnight and bring it to room temperature before frosting.
- However, please note that the cake layers will lose some of their moisture and fluffiness after freezing.
Baking Tips For Eggless Chocolate Cake
- Measuring: Measure the ingredients correctly. If you have a kitchen scale, use it to weigh the ingredients for the best result.
- Milk: To make DIY buttermilk, use full-fat or whole milk. You can also use low-fat milk but do not use fat-free dairy.
- Instant Coffee: If you do not want to add coffee, you can skip it and use only hot water instead.
- Mixing The Batter: Do not overmix the cake batter; overmixing will make the cake denser.
- Baking: Every oven is different, so keep an eye on the cake after 24 minutes of baking. Overbaking will make the cake dry and dense.
- Frosting: In the pictures in this post, I frosted the cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, but you can frost it with your choice of frosting. This cake tastes delicious with vanilla buttercream, cream cheese icing, whipped cream frosting, chocolate ganache, and many other cake frostings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Difference Between Cake Flour and All-Purpose Flour?
I made this eggless chocolate cake using both cake and all-purpose flour. And in my honest opinion, I prefer cake flour. Cake flour makes the cake delicate and gives more tender crumbs.
Cake flour has slightly less protein content than all-purpose flour. Less protein content means less gluten will be formed while making the batter, which means the cake will be soft, fluffy, and delicate.
But don’t be disappointed if you don’t have cake flour. You can use all-purpose flour, too, for this delicious cake. Another way is to make homemade cake flour substitutes.
How To Make Cake Flour Substitute?
To make a cake flour substitute at home, all you need is all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
So, for one cup of cake flour, you measure one cup of all-purpose flour (16 tbsp). Then remove two tablespoon flour from this, and there will now be 14 tablespoon of flour. Next, add 2 tablespoon cornstarch to 14 tablespoon of all-purpose flour.
Sift the mixture of all-purpose flour and cornstarch twice. And your cake flour is ready.
For this recipe, you need to remove 4 tablespoon (30g )of all-purpose flour from 2 cups and replace it with 4 tablespoon (30g) cornstarch. Again, sifting is critical to incorporate the air to make the flour light and fluffy.
Which Cocoa Powder To Use?
If you are confused about which cocoa powder to use, Dutch-process or natural, go with what you have in your pantry. So that means you can bake this cake with either one.
However, I have used Dutch-process cocoa powder to make this eggless chocolate cake. I love how Dutch-process cocoa powder provides the cake with a darker color and a mellow taste.
But you will get an amazingly delicious Eggless Chocolate Cake with either one.
Can I Use Store-Bought Buttermilk?
Yes! Use the same amount of buttermilk instead of the milk + vinegar mixture.
How To Divide The Batter Into Each Pan?
Generally, eyeballing is good enough to divide the batter into each pan. But if you want to be very precise, there are a couple of techniques.
Take the batter into a large measuring cup and check how much batter you have in total. Then, divide it in half and pour it into each pan.
The other way is to use a scale. First, weigh your batter and check the weight of the pan. Then, divide the batter equally into each pan.
Can I Make Eggless Chocolate Cake Ahead Of Time?
You can make the cake layers two days in advance. Once they cool completely, tightly wrap them with plastic wrap and store them at room temperature.
Can I Half The Recipe And Make Only One Layer?
This eggless chocolate cake can be made with only one layer. The recipe is very straightforward, with only a few ingredients, so you just have to divide each element in half and bake the cake in one pan.
We can either frost the one-layer cake with the frosting or enjoy it with a dollop of ice cream. The other best way is to top the cake with whipped cream, and a delicious dessert is ready post-dinner.
If you like a sweet treat with your cup of tea or coffee, do not frost the cake; enjoy it as it is with your afternoon tea or coffee.
More Chocolate Cakes
Recipe Card
Eggless Chocolate Cake (Super Moist)
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) cake flour or all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (63g) cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¾ cups (350g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120ml) sunflower oil (or vegetable or canola)
- 1½ cups (360ml) milk
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans and line them with parchment paper.
- Add white vinegar to the milk, stir well, and let it stand for 5 minutes. It is the DIY version of buttermilk. But if you have store-bought buttermilk, you can use that.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of instant coffee into hot water. If not using coffee, use 1 cup of hot water. Set aside.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk well. Add sugar and mix well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk oil, milk+vinegar mixture, and vanilla. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Now add hot coffee, and whisk the mixture until well combined. However, do not overmix. The cake batter will be very thin.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake the cake for 26-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Keep an eye on the cake after 24 minutes because every oven is different.
- Remove the cake pans from the oven and set them on a cooling rack. Let the cake layers completely cool in the pan before removing and frosting.
Assembling and Frosting the Cake
- Ensure that the cake layers are completely cool down before you start frosting the cake.
- Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of both cake layers’ tops to make a flat surface.
- Place one cake layer on the cake stand, cake rotating stand, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting and place the 2nd layer on top of it.
- Spread the frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. After frosting, decorate the cake as you desire or enjoy it as it is.
Storing and Freezing Suggestions
- Allow the cake layers to cool completely, cover them tightly with plastic wrap, and store them at room temperature for two days.
- If you want to keep them longer, refrigerate them for 3-4 days.
- Cake layers can be frozen, tightly covered, for up to a month.
- When ready to use them, thaw the cake in the fridge overnight and bring it to room temperature before frosting.
- However, please note that the cake layers will lose some of their moisture and fluffiness after freezing.
Notes
- Measuring: Make sure to measure the ingredients correctly. For the best result, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients if you have one.
- Milk: To make DIY buttermilk, use full-fat or whole milk. However, you can use low-fat milk but do not use fat-free dairy.
- Instant Coffee: If you do not want to add coffee, you can skip it and use only hot water instead.
- Mixing The Batter: Do not overmix the cake batter; overmixing will make the cake denser.
- Baking: Every oven is different, so keep an eye on the cake after 24 minutes of baking. Overbaking will make the cake dry and dense.
- Frosting: I have frosted the cake with chocolate buttercream frosting in this post’s pictures. But you can frost the cake with your choice of frosting. This cake tastes delicious with vanilla buttercream, cream cheese icing, whipped cream frosting, chocolate ganache, and many other cake frostings.
Unnati says
I made this chocolate cake today… came out so good…. awesome …. Thank you so much..
Jigna says
Hi Unnati, I am glad you like the cake recipe. Really appreciate your feedback.?
Farheen says
How many cupcakes will you get out of these?
Jigna says
Hi Farheen, we may get 18-20 cupcakes from this batter. However, the baking time will be less, 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Also, fill the muffin tin up to 1/2 or 2/3 only.
Tania says
Thank you for sharing an amazing recipe.
I’ve tried a few veg choc cakes and this is by far the best.
Everyone loved it, and was so easy to make with your instructions.
Jigna says
Hi Tania, thank you so much for your feedback! I am very glad that you liked the cake.😊
Elizabeth says
Just came across this recipe , can this be used for 1/2 sheet pan, or should i double the recipe
Jigna says
Hi Elizabeth, yes, this recipe can be used for a 1/2 sheet pan. Use an 18×13 sheet cake pan for this recipe.
I hope this will help!
Irene says
Hi Jigna,
Thank you for sharing the recipe..
Have you made before the pandan gula melaka eggless cake? If yes could you pls share the recipe?
Jigna says
Hi Irene, I have never tried Pandan cake with gula melaka. But I will surely check if I can try it without eggs.