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.
Jump to:
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.
👩🏻🍳 Are you ready to learn more about gluten free and vegan baking? Join my community today and get emails with delicious recipes that really work!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
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.
Health Care Medicine Information
My son like chocolate cake and the recipe for “The Easiest Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Cake.” It is excellent; I would like to say thanks to you for sharing the nice recipe of chocolate cake.
Health Care Medicine Information
My sone liek chocolate cake and the recipe for “The Easiest Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Cake.” It is excellent, I would like to say thanks to you for sharing the nice recipe of chocolate cake.
Sheri
Thank you for these recipes! My husband has Celiac’s, and my son is vegan. It’s difficult to find delicious recipes that satisfy both.
Katie Nolan
Hi,
Does anyone know how long this cake will last before going stale?!
Rachel
Absolutely perfect!
cristine
Hi there,
I just baked this for my son – we recently found out he has a egg and gluten intolerance so I’m new to this. It was really gooey – almost like a gooey brownie – did I do something wrong or is this the right consistency? the flavor really good – just want to make sure I got the consistency right :)
Trish
Hi,
Just wondering whether to use baking powder or baking soda. You mention both, and they’re different products here in Australia.
Thanks, looks yum. Hoping to make it very soon.
Trish
Alecia
Hi! What would you suggest for baking time for a bundt pan? Thanks!!
Kelly Roenicke
Try 25 minutes and then check regularly! It will probably take between 25 and 40 minutes.
Rachel
I can’t wait to try this! We make a similar cake recipe that used cold coffee instead of water… my dad is now GF and I was hopping to make this soon for a upcoming birthday party… I’ll just have to get the chocolate chips! Thank you for the measurements!
Linda Duncan
Hi there,
I am based in UK and I don’t work in cups… What would be the equivalent in grams or ounces?
Lisa
Can I leave out the sugar all together and just use the chocolate chips?
Kelly Roenicke
No, you need some kind of sweetener.
Stanha
This looks great!! Do you think you could freeze the cupcakes?
Karen
I don’t have chocolate chips, can I just omit? Would that change anything?
Kim Luong
Looks like a good chocolate cake recipe! I would suggest using a different oil than canola as canola is a rancid inflammatory oil. It doesn’t matter if it’s organic. Because it’s inflammation inducing, it’ll end up making someone’s body more prone to allergies and illness. I wonder if avocado oil or coconut oil can be used instead of canola?
Lesley Fullard
Can I use Xylitol? Instead of sugar?
Kelly Roenicke
I haven’t tried that, so I don’t know.
Diana botero
hi! Love the recipe. Just to put here that i used half the sugar and 5 or 6 stevia packs. Also the oil was cut to 1/4 cup and replace with 2 tablespoons of milk. Came out amazing! And i used bobs red mill gf mix.
PJ
I made cupcakes from this recipe yesterday. They are absolutely delicious and moist. I think I prefer this recipe over my regular chocolate cake recipes!
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! Thank you for letting me know!
Tania Genel
Hi! this cake seems delicious and I’m planning to bake it tomorrow. But I have a question: I don’t see baking powder in the ingredients. But you even clarify in the Q&A where it can be bought. Do I need baking powder for this recipe or no? Thank you!
Tania
Jamie
Hello.
Can i use cacao instead of cocoa?
Thank you
Kelly Roenicke
I haven’t tried that, but it should be fine I think!
Estii
Hi Kelly!
This recipe looks yummy. Can i replace white vinegar with apple cider vingegar?
Kelly Roenicke
Yes, you sure can!