This dairy free chocolate cake is made up of super moist, rich cake layers, a fudgy chocolate frosting, and a healthy dose of flaky sea salt!
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This dairy free chocolate cake is sure to become your new favorite! It's so rich & moist, and just happens to be dairy free! It's a super easy bowl & whisk recipe, and bakes up in about 30 minutes. The chocolate fudge frosting is just as rich as a whipped ganache frosting but less finicky, so you're sure to come out with a silky smooth, stable frosting. Top the decorated cake with a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt and serve for any special occasion 🙂
Ingredients
- Flour: You'll need about 2 cups of all-purpose flour.
- Cocoa Powders: Use a combination of dutch process and black cocoa powders for a extra rich flavor.
- Sugars: You'll need granulated sugar for the cake and powdered sugar for the frosting.
- Leavener: Baking powder is all you need to give this cake the perfect rise and texture.
- Oil: Use a neutral oil such as light-tasting extra virgin olive oil.
- Dairy Free Milk: I recommend using a sugar-free oat milk for the best flavor.
- Eggs: You'll need 3 eggs at room temperature.
- Hot Coffee: Add freshly brewed hot coffee at the end to "bloom" the cocoa powders.
- Coconut Cream: Use the coconut cream that settles at the top of the coconut milk can or just use a can of coconut cream.
- Vegan Butter: Use your favorite vegan butter for the chocolate fudge frosting.
- Chocolate: Use very high-quality chocolate for the frosting. My favorite is Guittard.
Instructions
This cake is super easy bowl & whisk recipe. Just whisk the dry ingredients, whisk the wet ingredients, then add dry to wet. Lastly, whisk in the hot coffee. Bake the cake layers for about 30 minutes, then make the frosting, and decorate!
FAQ
Cakes may dome in the middle when they bake because the outside bakes faster than the center, so the center has more time to rise. This is not ideal for layer cakes, because it is a pain to have to trim away the top of the cake. The reverse creaming method helps with baking perfectly flat cake layers. But the best way to ensure your cake layers bake up flat rather than doming is to use cake strips. Soak the cake strips in cold water before wrapping around the outside of the cake pans. This will ensure that the outside of the cake does not bake faster than the center.
You can make the cake layers the day before (or even earlier), then freeze them overnight, and decorate the next day. This allows you to skip the crumb coat and makes it so much easier to frost. Just leave the cake out for a couple hours at room temperature before serving.
Cover the cake and leave out at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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Baking in grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed to create incredibly delicious baked goods that you can easily recreate in your own kitchen with success. The only way this is possible is to standardize the way ingredients are measured - by weight. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), I can ensure that you can make the recipe accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Print📖 Recipe
Dairy Free Chocolate Cake
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 3 layer 6-inch cake 1x
- Category: cake
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This dairy free chocolate cake is made up of super moist, rich cake layers, a fudgy chocolate frosting, and a healthy dose of flaky sea salt!
Ingredients
For the cake layers:
- 240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 350g (1 ¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 42g (½ cup) dutch process cocoa powder
- 21g (¼ cup) black cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 227g (1 cup) oat milk* (room temp)
- 150g (¾ cup) neutral oil*
- 3 eggs (room temp)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 113g (½ cup) freshly brewed hot coffee
For the frosting:
- 113g (½ cup) coconut cream
- 227g (1 cup) vegan butter
- 454g (16 oz; 2 ⅔ cups) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate*
- 340g (3 cups) powdered sugar (sifted)
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
For the cake layers:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and line three 6 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Soak cake strips in ice cold water.*
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powders, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oat milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until just combined.
- Lastly, whisk in the hot coffee until fully combined.
- Divide the batter between the 3 cake pans.
- Wrap the cake strips around the pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Add coconut cream and vegan butter to a medium saucepan.
- Place over low heat, stirring frequently until fully melted.
- Remove from heat, add the chocolate, and cover with a large plate for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the plate, and stir until fully melted and smooth. If some of the chocolate has not fully melted, place it back on low heat until melted and smooth.
- Pour the chocolate mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer, and place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes until cool and thick.
- Mix on low-medium speed with the paddle attachment while adding the sifted powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time.
- Once all of the powdered sugar is added, add salt and mix on low speed for 3-5 minutes until completely smooth.
- Decorate the cake as desired.
Notes
- I recommend using a sugar-free oat milk. My favorite is Chobani.
- Use a neutral oil such as light-tasting extra virgin olive oil.
- Since there is so much chocolate in this frosting, it is very important to use a very high-quality brand! My favorite is Guittard.
- Use wilton cake strips to ensure the cake layers bake up flat. If you do not have any, you can dip paper towels in ice cold water and wrap them in aluminum foil, then wrap around the cake pans. This ensures that the outside does not bake faster than center, and result in a domed top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 790
- Sugar: 65.6 g
- Sodium: 441.9 mg
- Fat: 26.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 83 g
- Protein: 7.7 g
- Cholesterol: 37.2 mg
Keywords: dairy free chocolate cake, chocolate fudge frosting
Laura says
Loved this chocolate cake so much! I used unsweetened almond milk instead of oat milk and it turned out amazing
★★★★★
Claire says
This cake turned out so good and was so easy to make! Loved the frosting, rich enough to satisfy that chocolate craving!
★★★★★
Robyn says
Hi Sloane, is there a way to make this into a 3 layer 8 inch cake at all? That would be so helpful as I have those size cake tins. Thank you, Robyn
Sloane says
Hi Robyn, You absolutely can! The layers will just be a little thinner, and the bake time might be a little shorter. Would love to hear how out it turns out!
Josie says
Can I make this in 2 9 inch pans or a 13x9 pan? Or cupcakes?
Sloane says
Hi Josie, Yes, you can use 2 9 inch cake pans or 9x13 pan. For cupcakes, I would recommend this recipe: https://atsloanestable.com/gluten-free-chocolate-cupcakes/ (which could also be made with regular flour if you'd prefer!)
Melissa says
Your gram measurements are WAY off!! Do I go by your grams or your cups??
Sloane says
Hi Melissa,
All recipes on this blog are developed in gram measurements, so they are accurate. I provide cup measurements based on King Arthur Baking Co's conversion chart, which is fairly universal in the baking world. I recommend weighing your ingredients with a kitchen scale, but you can also use volume measurements if you prefer. I hope you get to try the recipe 🙂