This easy vegan chocolate cake is light, moist, and made with simple pantry ingredients — perfect for birthdays, parties, and special occasions. A longtime family favourite, it’s loved by kids and adults alike!
There are some recipes that become part of your family story — passed from celebration to celebration, baked with love, and enjoyed by everyone. This chocolate cake is one of ours.
It’s the cake that my son, Lil’ L requests for every birthday. It’s also the one I’ve baked for my parents’ birthdays, family gatherings, and countless vegan festivals over the years. Without fail, it receives great reviews — even from people who say they’re “not cake people”! ☺️
What makes this cake so special? It’s light, moist, and perfectly chocolatey — without being too rich or overly sweet. It’s made with simple pantry staples (no fancy ingredients required!) and it’s incredibly easy to whip up. It also holds together beautifully when sliced and keeps well for days, which makes it perfect for parties and prep-ahead occasions.
And let’s not forget the decorating fun. For birthdays, we love to frost and top it with colourful vegan-friendly sprinkles. For a more classic presentation, a layer of raspberry fruit spread and a dusting of icing sugar is beautifully elegant.
However you choose to dress it, this cake is a real crowd-pleaser. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Recipe Card
Vegan Chocolate Celebration Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 480 ml / 2 cups soya milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 200 g / 1½ cups plain (all-purpose) flour
- 200 g / 1½ cups fine wholemeal (wholewheat pastry) flour or chapatti flour
- 60 g / ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ½ tsp salt
- 140 ml / ⅔ cup rapeseed (canola) oil or other neutral oil
- 330 g / 1⅔ cups unrefined cane sugar (e.g. golden caster sugar)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Decorating options:
- Chocolate frosting (see recipe below) and vegan-friendly sprinkles (see Notes)
- OR raspberry jam/fruit spread for filling and a dusting of icing (powdered sugar) on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) / 350°F. Lightly oil two 23cm (9-inch) springform or loose-bottomed cake tins and line the bases with non-stick baking paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar. Set aside for a couple of minutes.
- In a separate large bowl, stir together the flours, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.
- To the milk mixture, add the oil, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk with a hand (balloon) whisk until fully combined. Sieve in the dry ingredients in three batches, whisking gently each time. Avoid over-mixing.
- Divide the batter evenly between the tins and place them on oven racks as close to the centre of the oven as possible. Bake for 40–50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. (In my oven, the top rack cake is ready after 40 minutes; the lower one often needs 5-10 minutes more.) If both cakes are domed, decide which one will be the bottom tier, cover with a clean tea towel and gently press down to level.
- Leave the cakes in their tins for at least an hour to cool (they’ll firm up as they cool), then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, sandwich with fruit spread or frosting and top with your chosen decoration. Chill before serving for clean slices.
Notes
Vegan Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 150 g / 1 cup icing (powdered) sugar
- 35 g / ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 50 g / 4 TBSP dairy-free spread or vegan butter e.g. Vitalite, Flora, Pure
- 1 – 1½ TBSP water
Instructions
- Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa into a large bowl. Add the dairy-free spread/butter and 1 TBSP water. Stir with a metal spoon until it starts to combine, then beat with electric beaters until light and fluffy. If the frosting looks a little stiff, add another ½ TBSP water and keep beating.
- This frosting will keep for a week in the fridge. It is also freezable.
For those of you that dislike the traditional Christmas fruit cake, I think this would make a great alternative. You could even add some festive sprinkles!
Happy Baking!
With love,
