Throughout my year and a half of blogging, I’ve gotten several requests from readers asking for specific types of recipes. One that I haven’t done nearly a good enough job of following through with is baking more vegan/dairy free treats. On any given day, I have the baking basics on hand, (eggs, butter, flour, etc.) so shopping for special ingredients isn’t in the cards. But- vegan girlfriends don’t turn 30 every day- so I knew I had to make my dear friend Emily something special.
You may not beleive me until you try it, but this chocolate cake is SO good- you’d never know it was dairy free. It is full of rich chocolatey flavor, moist, soft and perfectly crumbly. And best of all- there are no weird/special ingredients so you can make it without any extra preparation.
To assemble this cake, I used some of the techniques I learned from my Milk Bar Monday project. I baked the whole cake in a quarter sheet pan, and stamped out layers with a 6 inch cake ring. (I didn’t want the finished product to be too big. ) The bottom layer was made of smushed together scraps, and the whole thing was frozen for about an hour to help it all stay solid before I frosted it.
I wanted the cake to have a rustic feel, so I spread the frosting on simply and sprinkled some extra crumbs on top. The frosting was delicious and creamy and the perfect counterpart to this cake. I will be keeping this recipe around for awhile, and I think it would be great as cupcakes too. If you have a vegan friend or family member or if you just like really good chocolate cake, this recipe is a winner!
PS- Do you want to know how to make a cute flag cake topper like the one above? I’m posting a how-to tutorial on Friday!!
- vegan chocolate cake with fluffy vegan vanilla buttercream
- yields one quarter sheet pan cake
- cake:
- ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- frosting:
- 1 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
- 3½ cups powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup plain soy milk or soy creamer
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a quarter sheet pan or a 9x5 inch loaf pan
- Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes- or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Beat the shortening until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.
- Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.
Recipe adapted from All Recipes
Warm Vanilla Sugar says
September 12, 2012 at 11:07 amThis is beautiful! Lovely idea!
claire says
September 12, 2012 at 3:09 pmPrettiest cake EVER.
Jessica_AKitchenAddiction says
September 12, 2012 at 3:22 pmI just posted a cake recipe like this last week! It’s one of my favorite chocolate cakes!
Annie @Annie's City Kitchen says
September 12, 2012 at 4:15 pmMy little sis is vegan and she’s been asking me to make something for her. Perfect timing!
Jackie Hale says
September 12, 2012 at 4:28 pmWhite sugar as in granulated sugar or as in powdered sugar? Thanks,
Jackie
Averie Cooks says
September 12, 2012 at 5:30 pmAwesome looking cake & tried to comment on your post yesterday about Costa Rica but your comments weren’t working for me – but I was at Pura Vida in 2000! Time flies!
Audra says
September 12, 2012 at 5:37 pmGranulated. I edited the recipe :)
Audra says
September 12, 2012 at 5:38 pmI got your comment yesterday! Weird it didn’t show!
Becca - Cookie Jar Treats says
September 12, 2012 at 11:50 pmThis looks so pretty. I like the little cake crumbs on top. I bet your friend loved this cake!
Sally says
September 13, 2012 at 2:48 pmAudra – what a beautiful birthday cake for a vegan best friend. SO sweet of you to bake up for her! I’ve dabbled with vegan baking infrequently, but am always amazed by the science behind it – something SO delicious without dairy! incredible. LOVE that flag topper, can’t wait to read about how you made it!
Yasmeen @ Wandering Spice says
March 28, 2013 at 8:29 pmAudra, I made your frosting today! Our good friend is moving to India for a few years, so I used this lovely recipe of yours to ice her cake. I’ve only had a little taste but it’s fantastic, and I know she’ll love it. Thank you x
Miko says
June 25, 2015 at 12:45 amThank you so much for the recipe! I made this and it tasted wonderful. Even though my cake turned out to be crumbly :( but I guess it’s because I used Pyrex glass and the temp of my oven is too hot. Will give it another go next time :) xx