Vegan Chocolate Celebration Cake
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!
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
Storage Tips:
The cake keeps beautifully in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. In fact, we find the flavour and texture improve after a day or two!
It also freezes well — simply wrap slices or the whole (undecorated) cake tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.
Baking Tips:
When it comes to vegan baking, I highly recommend weighing the ingredients rather than using cups (the results will be far more consistent). Electronic scales make baking a breeze.
Tesco chapatti flour is my go-to for fine wholemeal baking — inexpensive and works beautifully.
Vegan-Friendly Sprinkles: Try Waitrose Rainbow Stars and Confetti, Sainsbury's Sugar Stars, Morrisons Cosmic Stars, Asda Rainbow Star Sprinkles, or Dr Oetker Unicorn Confetti (all were vegan-friendly at the time of writing). Vegan sprinkles can also be purchased online.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!