The easiest gluten free and vegan chocolate cake recipe. 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. Chocolate cake, to be exact. 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 is that chocolate cake recipe.
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. It is possible to bake a delicious chocolate cake without eggs or gluten.
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 vegan chocolate cake will be a big hit.
You can use coconut oil or another oil if you prefer – you can even use melted vegan buttery spread. You can also make this in a round pan, or use this recipe to bake cupcakes. If you need to make a two-layer cake, just double the recipe.
FAQ about this gluten free and vegan chocolate cake:
Can I use coconut flour instead of gluten free flour?
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.
How about using almond meal?
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.
Can I use maple syrup instead of sugar?
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.
What can I use instead of vinegar?
Try a little lemon juice, that should work just as well as vinegar.
Where can I find gluten free baking powder?
Featherweight Baking Powder is gluten free and you can find it at Whole Foods, in some health food stores, and on Amazon (affiliate link).
My gluten free cakes usually sink in the middle? What am I doing wrong?
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.
My cakes always take less/more time to bake than the recipe suggests – why is this?
If you use a different gluten free flour blend, it could change the amount of time required for baking. You may also want to check your oven temperature to make sure that it’s accurate.
The Easiest Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Cake.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend regular flour works in this recipe, if you are not GF
- 1 cups organic cane sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup organic canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 cup cold water
- ¾ cup mini dairy free chocolate chips
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Sift together the dry ingredients. (This step is important, especially with gluten free flour. Otherwise you’ll have lumps!)
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Add the organic canola oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together by hand, and don’t overmix. Stir in the dairy free chocolate chips.
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Pour into an 8 inch square Pyrex dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 26-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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Dust the top with confectioner’s sugar once cool.
Recipe Notes
I have tried this with Namaste Perfect Flour Blend, King Arthur Gluten Free Multi Purpose Flour, and Enjoy Life Foods All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour.
You can use this to make cupcakes - reduce the baking time to about 13-15 minutes. Makes about 12 cupcakes.
adapted slightly from All Recipes.
Find tips, tricks, and easy recipes to help you with your allergy friendly and gluten free baking in my ebook:
This gluten free and vegan chocolate cake is:
- light and fluffy
- perfect for a party
- delicious with frosting or without
Theresa
Hi Kelly, I’m looking to use this cake in a Truffle type dessert Gf/Df. Can coconut sugar or maple syrup replace table sugar in this recipe? So many in our family are now gf/df and some sugar free. We have favorite desserts that I’m trying to convert accordingly. Thank you.
Kelly Roenicke
You can use coconut sugar, that should be fine!
Priscilla Linn
First gf-vegan cake I ever made. Easy to mix, not too sweet and lovely moist texture. I had to use regular sized chocolate chips so it took about 2X longer to bake. So worth it, though!
Carrie
Can the canola oil be substituted for olive oil?
Dawn
I would suggest lining the bottom of your pan with parchment so the cake doesn’t stick. Mine was deplorably stuck, even though I greased and dusted with cocoa powder.
Next time, I’ll also decrease the amount of chocolate chips as I found it too sweet.
Ania
I would love to make this cake but I really struggle with ingredients measurement :(
I always operate in grams and millilitres and all the converters im trying to use giving me all sort of different numbers and apparently 1 cup of flour doesn’t equal 1 cup of sugar in grams :(
Kelly Roenicke
Thank you for your feedback, I will have to consider how I can make these conversions for future recipes.
Emily Sorenson
I made this with Better Batter to use as brownies I served with homemade dairy-free vanilla bean ice cream and crushed candy cane for a holiday dinner. It was such an easy dessert and it was delicious! I got several compliments and there were lots of clean plates. Most importantly, it was safe for my son who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy and wheat. Thank you for the winning recipe! A new staple at our house.
Barbara
Would this cake hold up to being cut and shaped for a novelty birthday cake? My grandson wants a helicopter shaped birthday cake – eek!
Ann James
Will try this tomorrow. In the UK now we can buy a GF, DF, Egg free, nut free, vegan chocolate in big supermarkets made by a company called Kinnerton from Australia. It’s dark & intense & not too sweet, never seems to seize when heated I use it all the time for recipes that call for melted chocolate. Just e mailed them to ask if they do chips too as I’m having trouble finding DF/GF ones but they sold their bars (80g) direct to me via internet for a box (26) bars which I know won’t take too long to use! May be worth trying for those of our community outside UK. x
Kelly Roenicke
Thank you for that information! I’m sure others will find it helpful!
Rebecca
Can I use a round pan instead I need to make my sons birthday cake tomorrow and it’s a round one I love the design of!
Kelly Roenicke
Yes it will be fine, just watch it and don’t overbake it! Happy Birthday to your son!
Reshma
@ Kelly The pretty bee ?
Thank you, this cake was surprisingly light and decadent.
Mine did get a little crisp at the ends though- should I have left it in for a little less time?
But otherwise thanks, being ggless it was great!??
Reshma
Kelly Roenicke
So glad it worked out! THanks for sharing! Yes, maybe a little less time if it was a bit overdone.
Phoebe
Hi there, just wondering if this can be baked in a round tin?
Kelly Roenicke
Yes it can! Just keep an eye on the baking time so you don’t overbake it.
Jackie
Hi! what can I use to replace the oil? Applesauce?
Kelly
That’s what I would try!
Sandra
Hi. Can you tell me what size the ‘square’ dish should be?
Thanks
Kelly
8 inches! But 9 would work, too, although the baking time would be less.
Karen
Freaking delish! Finally a cake I can eat! Made as prescribed and topped with avocado cocoa frosting! Will be my go to recipe! !!!! Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Kelly
Yay! So glad to hear it! Thanks for letting me know!
Loretta
Do you also have a Vanilla cake recipe, please?
Kelly
I need to work on a gluten free vegan vanilla cake. Thanks for the reminder!
Marion
Fantastic recipes! I too would love a vanilla cake recipe please :)
Kelly Roenicke
I hope to share one soon!
Dima
Hi I just tried making this as vanilla cup cake by replacing the coco powder by extra flour as the chocolate chips are enough chocolate falvour for me and added some orange zest to give it some extra flavor, and it turned out good ?
Taso
Love this recipe! I made cupcakes and frosted them with the Hines chocolate frosting (which is accidentally dairy-free!) and added some sprinkles on top :) .
Very easy and so delicious , you could never tell that its vegan or gluten free. Only thing is that mine were done baking in like 15-20 mins, but that may just be my oven.
Cant wait to make them again!!
Hannah
Kelly, I have made the All Recipes version of this lots of times before we had to go gluten free, so it’s neat to see that you’ve already adapted an old fave! :) I notice that there is 2x the cocoa in your recipe and just wondered why that is. Does it just help enhance the flavor? Also, I was going to mention that this recipe is definitely aided by some added xanthan gum if your flour blend doesn’t already have it. I’ve made it with 1 tsp. added and it came out well. I’ve also made this same recipe with a flax “egg” added to see if that would make it even lighter, but it didn’t turn out as well–the top and bottom of the cake were more dense with the flax egg. Just sharing in case it might be helpful for others! :)
Kelly
Thank you for your helpful tips, Hannah! I just like a richer chocolate flavor, that’s why I double the cocoa powder. :)
Bridget
How long do I bake if making cupcakes and how many does it make? Much Thanks!?
Jennifer
I just tried to make this and the batter was very dry, not watery at all. Am I missing something? I am using coconut flour.
Kelly
I have never made this using coconut flour, it sounds like it does not work well in this recipe. I used a 1-to-1 gluten free baking mix like those from Bob’s Red Mill, Trader Joe’s, and NOW foods.
Alena
I used all the ingredients according to the recipe, I just changed canola oil to avocado oil. I made capcakes — the dough is too dry, it’s not possible to eat, I had to throw it away. The batter was very dry I didn’t understand what the mistake was … I wanted to love this, but…
Kelly Roenicke
Which brand of gluten free flour did you use? With gluten free recipes I find that there is a variation on how different flour blends work.
Lyn Dobransky
I know that is you use coconut flour you must increase the liquids because the coconut absorbs it more than other GF flours.
Dawn
Coconut flour absorbs just about everything it comes into contact with! Use it in small amounts. Think, 1/4 cup or less in any given recipe. I use coconut flour to replace xanthan gum. May I suggest purchasing a gf flour blend? Or you can make your own using a combination of different flours. Google gluten free four conversions or search for it on Pinterest and you’ll have many options to choose from.