This cake is one of my new favourite recipes for a chocolate cake. It’s super fluffy super soft, just the right amount of chocolate and it happens to be vegan. It’s a little easier to make then the previous chocolate cake that we have in this blog. Begin by adding two cups of sugar in a bowl, brown or granulated sugar is fine. Next, pour half a cup of oil also add a tablespoon of vinegar and two cups of boiling water. Give those ingredients a quick mix to combine them and then you are going to add in two tablespoons of instant espresso powder, one teaspoon of salt and two teaspoons of baking soda.

Coffee has a tendency of intensifying chocolate flavour so I highly recommend adding it in. Add in a heaping cup of good quality dark cocoa powder and two cups of all-purpose flour. You can also make this recipe by mixing all the dry ingredient first then adding them to the wet ingredients. The thing that you are looking for is combing all the ingredients well. Once you are satisfied with the cake batter you can divide it between two 8 inch pans which are generously buttered and lined with parchment paper.

Bake the cakes at 180 degrees Celcius for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at teh centre of the cake comes out clean. Let teh cake cool off completely while making the frosting. Add one cup of vegan butter in a large bowl and melt in a microwave then add cocoa powder and mix in really well then throw in half a teaspoon of salt, vanilla extract. Next, add in non-dairy milk such as soy or almond milk.

Alternate the milk with 6 cups of confectioners sugar. Beat teh icing and teh end results should be a beautiful, thick velvety buttercream. Remove the cake from the cake pan and add the frosting at the centre of teh cake and use a knife to spread it as evenly as you can. Add the other cake layer and layer with the frosting covering the cake entirely with the chocolate frosting.

This cake is rich and chocolatey definitely better than anything you would find in a box and perhaps even the bakery.

Ingredients;

  • 2 cups (400 g) sugar
  • 2 cups (500 mL) boiling hot water
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil)
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 2 tsp instant espresso powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (100 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour

For the chocolate buttercream;

  • 1 cup vegan butter (or regular if you’re not vegan)
  • 1 and 1/3 cup (130 g) cocoa powder
  • 6 cups (725 g) confectioner’s/icing sugar
  • 2/3 cup (160 mL) non-dairy milk (or regular if not vegan)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions;

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F.
  2. Generously butter 2 8-inch (20 cm) cake pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper and dust with flour.
  3. You can also use a bundt pan (but you’ll need to increase the baking time to an hour or longer), or 9 inch (22/24 cm) cake pans.
  4. Next, you’ll need to mix all the cake ingredients together.
  5. When the batter is smooth, divide it between the two cake pans and bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  6. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

For the chocolate buttercream;

  1. If you don’t want to cover the cake in buttercream rosettes, you only need 1/2 of the icing recipe, so make sure to adjust the ingredient quantities accordingly.
  2. Melt the butter either over a low flame or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 15-30 seconds.
  3. Stir in the cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla.
  4. Alternate the confectioner’s sugar with the milk, beating well until smooth, an electric mixer makes it easier to beat.
  5. Taste, and add more salt and vanilla as needed.

Assembling the cake;

  1. Run a knife around the edges of the cake pan and flip it over to release the cake. Do this with the other pan as well.
  2. If the cakes formed a dome while baking, use a serrated knife to trim it off.
  3. Dab a small amount of icing on your cake stand/plate, then place one of the cakes, bottom side up onto the plate.
  4. Add a generous amount of icing (between 1/2-3/4 cup) on top of the cake, and spread out evenly.
  5. Place the second cake top-side up, making sure the sides of both cakes match.
  6. Cover the cake with a thin layer of the icing.