This is such an easy recipe for gluten free and vegan chocolate cake, and it has a great texture and a rich, fudgy flavor. This delicious and simple cake is perfect for a birthday party, holiday, or any day that you want a sweet treat!
If you’re new to gluten free and allergy friendly baking, one of the first things you need is a great cake recipe. Because you may have a birthday coming up, or you might just want to bake one afternoon. You need an easy recipe that’s no-fail and delicious. This recipe checks all those boxes and more.
This gluten free and vegan chocolate cake uses basic ingredients and it is so easy to throw together. Mix it up and pop it in the oven, and 30 minutes later you have a fresh-baked chocolate cake ready to go. It can’t get any easier than that.
Don’t be afraid of this cake, non-vegan friends. The vinegar and the baking soda combine so nicely to give it a nice lift, you would never guess that this cake does not contain eggs. It is really, really marvelous – and it’s a recipe that I have made again and again over the past 10 years.
Be sure to read all my tips if you’re new to gluten free baking. I know it can be really different to bake with gluten free flours and no eggs. But you can still make an amazing cake even without wheat, dairy, or eggs.
And if don’t need to be gluten free, go right ahead and use all-purpose flour! It works very well in this recipe – the cake will be a little lighter and less dense. Whatever flour you choose to use, this dessert is sure to be a big hit.
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Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – This recipe should work well with different gluten free flour blends. I like to use Namaste Perfect Flour Blend, which results in a rich, moist cake with a great texture.
- Cocoa Powder – We use Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, and it works well in this recipe.
- Oil – This works well with organic canola oil, but I have made it with other oils as well. You can use coconut oil or another oil if you prefer – you can even use melted vegan buttery spread.
- Dairy Free Mini Chocolate Chips – I like adding some mini chocolate chips to the batter for a little more richness.
Special Equipment
- I recommend making this in an 8 or 9 inch square baking dish or cake pan.
- If you’re worried about the cake sticking to the pan, lining it with parchment paper can help prevent any sticking. If you’re using a round pan, line the bottom with a circle of parchment, then grease and flour the bottom and sides of the pan as well.
- You can also make this in a round pan, or use this recipe to bake cupcakes. I recommend parchment paper liners for baking gluten free cupcakes.
Step by Step Instructions
- Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients and the chocolate chips and stir well.
- Smooth the batter into a cake pan or baking dish. If you want to remove the cake from the pan, line it with a piece of parchment paper that hangs over two sides of the pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30-33 minutes.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, dust with powdered sugar and slice into squares.
Tips for Success
- Sift the dry ingredients so that the batter doesn’t have any lumps.
- Line your cake pan with parchment paper if you’d like to remove the cake from the pan. That way you can easily pull the cake out using the parchment.
- It’s okay to use a different gluten free flour blend, but it could change the amount of time required for baking. Test the center of the cake with a toothpick to see if it’s done before you remove it from the oven.
- If you use a different flour blend and find that your batter seems unusually thick or dry, try adding a little more water until the batter is easier to stir. Different gluten free flours react differently to liquid.
- If you find that your baking time is consistently shorter or longer than the time suggested in recipes, you may want to check your oven temperature to make sure that it’s accurate.
FAQs
No, that won’t work – you generally need eggs in order for coconut flour to be light and fluffy. If you use it in this recipe, you will have a dense, flat cake.
If you want to use some almond meal, you can try using half almond meal and half gluten free flour blend. The cake will be a bit denser, and possibly more moist. I would not recommend using ONLY almond meal.
I haven’t tried that. I would expect that the texture of the cake may change, and you would also need to use less water. If you’d like to avoid refined sugar, you could use coconut sugar, that would work just fine.
If your cakes sink in the middle, it’s likely because the middle wasn’t quite done baking. Stick a toothpick in the middle of the cake to see if it’s done – it should come out clean or with just a few crumbs. It should not have wet batter on it.
Storage/Freezing
Store leftover cake tightly wrapped or in an airtight container. It should stay fresh for about 3 days.
If you’d like to freeze this cake, wrap it well in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag. It should stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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Recipe
The Easiest Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Cake.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend if you're not gluten free, all-purpose flour is just fine
- 1 cups organic cane sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup organic canola oil or melted coconut oil, or melted vegan buttery spread
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 cup cold water
- ¾ cup dairy free mini chocolate chips
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you'd like to remove the cake from the pan once it's baked, I recommend lining the baking dish with parchment paper so that it hangs over two sides of the pan.
- Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. (This step is important, especially with gluten free flour. Otherwise you’ll have lumps!)
- Add the organic canola oil (or melted coconut oil), vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together by hand, and don’t over mix. Stir in the dairy free chocolate chips.
- Pour into an 8 inch square baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for about 30-33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Dust the top with confectioner’s sugar once the cake is cool.
Notes
Nutrition
This post is part of my series, 31 Days of Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Egg Free Comfort Food.
Casandra
Going to make this and use my donut pan. May use some coconut instead of chips just because I don’t have any chips in the house. My only question is what elevation are you at, I am at a high elevation so wondered if that would make a difference.
Kelly
I am in Michigan, so not a high elevation. I don’t have any experience with higher elevation baking, I’m sorry!
Teresa Carrillo
Beautiful photo~looks divine! Can I substitute coconut oil for canola? Thanks!
Kelly
Thank you! Yes, you sure can!
Lorena
Hooray, I was just wondering the same.
I’ve made this cake a number of times as is, but today I only have coconut oil. Thrilled it will work!
Christine
Would I be able to substitute the sugar for a non refined sweetener such as maple syrup or honey ?
Kelly Roenicke
A liquid sweetener won’t work here. You could use coconut sugar or date sugar for a less refined option.
D
How the cup of water should be ?hot water or cold?
Kelly
The water should be cold. :)
Ruth Je
would you share with me/us, what was in your gluten free flour blend … I know everyone has their own twist when it comes to the flour blend. Thanks a ton : )
Kelly
I just use storebought blends…Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour blend works well here, as does King Arthur brand. Also Trader Joe’s, or Namaste.
Explorer
Does it work the same way with any other gluten free flour?
Dori
It needs to be a BLEND of flours for the best results. That’s why the store bought blends are recommended.
Connie
What does the vinegar do in this recipe? Have you ever made this recipe without the vinegar – I am wonder if there is a detectible difference in either texture or flavor.
Kelly
The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise. I have never made it without vinegar. My guess is that it would not rise as well.
Mamine
This is the easiest and best chocolate cake I’ve made! I am so glad you posted this recipe. 32 minutes and its perfect, moist and stays that way even in the fridge. Highly recommended!
Kelly
So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!
Sarah
Wonder if this is suppose to come very runny as mine did?
Chelsea
I just made this cake in the slow cooker (1 hour on high and substituted white vinegar with apple cider). Yummy
Kelly
What a fantastic idea to use the slow cooker! Thanks for letting us know that’s an option that works! Love it!
Maureen
I just made cupcakes using this recipe and they are really delicious! I didn’t like the taste of the batter so I was very happily surprised at the results. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Kelly
Glad they turned out! Sometimes GF batter can taste a little funky, isn’t that weird? :)
Bridget
How long do you bake the cupcakes and how many did it make? Thank you.
Kelly
It should make a dozen cupcakes – bake for about 12-14 minutes. :)
Natalie
Can you use different sugar other then cane sugar?
Bridget
Thank you for your prompt reply. I’m making these on the weekend!
Sue Gail
so easy and delicious. I added dried cranberries but you could add any fruit and it would still work. blueberries?
Kelly
Sure, I bet they would be good as well!
Lauren
Is there xanthan gum added to the recipe?
Kelly
I always use a mix that has it included, like Bob’s 1-to-1 Gluten Free Mix, or Pamela’s Artisan blend, or 123 Gluten Free Flour blend. Hope that helps!
Anna
I was so excited to try this!! For the most part, it turned out amazing! But it seems raw/underbaked to me. Is that normal? This is literally my 1st attempt at a cake like this. I do not have glass bake ware small enough for this, so I used a springform pan. I baked it an extra 10 minutes, yet still underbaked… any ideas?
Nina
Is 1 t. baking soda equal to 1 tsp.? You wrote out teaspoon for other ingredients so wasn’t sure…. Thx!
Kelly
Yes, thank you for catching that, I will have to correct it! t = teaspoon
Tristy
Where do you buy Vegan chocolate chips? thanks!
Fabi Tirotto
This looks soo good! Do you think i could just blend some oats and use that for the flour? :) I’m wanting to make this for my dad tonight as it’s his birthday :D xxx
Janelle
You are definitely not the only one – chocolate cake calls out to me on a regular basis. :)
Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating
Glad to know it’s not just me!!
Lisa Howard
I only have one word for this…YUM!
Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating
Thanks, Lisa!
Jo and kids
Vegan and gluten-free Fabulous recipe both as cake and cupcakes!
Great with chocolate sauce as a pudding too, and it’s even better the next day ( if there’s any left) !!
Kelly Roenicke
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Judi Williams
Does this recipe work well as cupcakes?
Beth
This has been our go-to for my son’s birthday cake for the last several years. He has multiple food allergies. We almost always use Great Value (Wal-Mart brand) gf flour and it always comes out wonderful. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Kelly Roenicke
So glad this recipe works for you!
Michaela p
Cake cam out very mushy, I am wondering if there is a fix for this? It seems that many gluten free/vegan cake recipes always have a mushy texture. Is there anything I can do to combat this?
Kelly Roenicke
What gluten free flour did you use? I’m sorry you had trouble!