This is a simple vegan chocolate cake filled with heavenly layers of chocolate mousse and topped with a chocolate ganache drip. Perfect for any occasion, small or big.
Sometimes… Vegan Chocolate Cake
My sister and I came up with a saying for this vegan chocolate cake:
“Sometimes… Chocolate cake.”
It was me trying to justify having a piece of chocolate cake in the middle of the night after a long and stressful day. I just finished a week of lean eating, lots of exercise, and not a lot of sweets. It was nice to be able to acknowledge that breaks are sometimes needed, and sometimes well deserved.
Everything in moderation, right?
You don’t always need a birthday, a holiday, or a special event to have a delicious chocolate cake. Sometimes, all you need is a craving and an easy recipe like this one to throw together in a pinch. You deserve to indulge your cravings. I say, go for it!
Not to say that this cake isn’t perfect for birthdays or the upcoming holidays. It’s a versatile crowd-pleaser without a doubt. Everyone’s sure to love it, and it’s bound to impress.
This is an easy to follow cake recipe with lots of detailed instructions to make your life a little easier. Let’s get into it, and get you that chocolate cake you so desire.
Making the chocolate cake
Making this chocolate cake is a piece of cake! (hahaha… I had to)
It’s helpful to use an electric stand mixer for this part, but if you don’t have one, no worries! This batter is just as easy to whip up by hand.
Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8″ round cake pans by spraying them with nonstick spray and placing 8″ round parchment circles in the bottom of each pan. Set these aside for later.
(note: you can cut the parchment circles by hand. I like to trace the pans over a sheet of parchment paper and cut each circle out just a tiny bit smaller than what is traced. Repeat three times for each pan.)
Start by mixing the plant milk and vinegar in a medium bowl. Set this aside to clabber for at least 5 minutes.
Next, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate medium bowl. After the milk from earlier has finished it’s clabbering time, add the boiling water and espresso powder to it and give it a good stir.
Electric mixer or by hand, either works!
Now, if you’re using a stand mixer add the vegetable oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 3 – 5 minutes. If you are mixing this batter by hand, grab a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon, and do the exact same thing by hand. (Make sure to use the paddle attachment and not the whisk! We don’t need to whip air into a cake batter.)
Once the oil and sugar mixture is well combined, begin adding the wet and dry ingredients in alternating batches. Start and finished with the dry ingredients, and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition. Stop mixing as soon as the last addition is incorporated after scraping down. Do not over mix.
Distribute the batter evenly between the three pans. I use a scale to help me make sure each pan has the same amount of batter in it. (It’s pretty important to be precise if you want even cake layers.)
Bake the cakes for 25 – 35 minutes on the center rack of your oven. You’ll know they’re done when a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, and edges of the cakes have pulled away a bit from the pans.
Pull them out of the oven and allow them to cool in their pans for 10 minutes before turning them out to finish cooling. If you want to place them in the fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling process, be sure to wrap each cake with plastic wrap first.
Preparing the chocolate mousse frosting
I have a whole separate guide on how to make this vegan chocolate mousse. It’s super easy though, and only takes minutes to whip up.
The trick though is that you have to have chilled the coconut cream for at least 24 hours. I’ve found (oddly enough) that it actually varies how long you have to chill the coconut cream.
I’ve left cans of coconut cream in the fridge for days before and they still hadn’t solidified and separated the way they were supposed to. I don’t understand coconut cream cans yet, they just do whatever they want I suppose.
BUT ANYWAYS: you’re looking for that nice separation to happen where the solids rest on the top, and the liquids are hidden below.
If you open your coconut cream cans the day of use and they haven’t separated, cover them back up with plastic wrap and throw them in the freezer or fridge again to chill. Sometimes, taking the lid off the cans and opening them up speeds up the process.
Regardless of how long it takes, chilled, separated coconut cream is key
I always keep coconut cream in my fridge by the way. It’s great to have chilled on hand so that you can make coconut whipped cream (among many other treats) in a pinch. Almost every vegan recipe that calls for coconut cream calls for it chilled anyway, so it’s just good practice to store it in the fridge.
If you live in an area where coconut cream is not readily available, you can use coconut milk instead. If you’re substituting it for a recipe that calls for coconut cream specifically, you’ll probably need to buy double the amount of cans. There’s just more solids and fats in the coconut cream cans than there are in the coconut milk cans.
But other then that, you just add all of the chocolate mousse ingredients to a bowl and whip them up on high with an electric mixer until they’re light a fluffy.
Store this mousse in the fridge, and rewhip before use if you are prepping it far in advanced.
Easy!
Creating the perfect drip ganache
Drip cakes are deceivingly tricky. I compare them to messy buns all the time. They have to be perfectly messy in just the right way to be beautiful, and that can take multiple attempts and lots of practice to get. The only difference is that you get one shot with drip cakes. Not much room for error there.
Fortunately, there are some neat hacks and tricks we can use to help keep our drips looking lovely without messing up the whole cake.
Drip Tricks 101:
Tip #1: Wait until the ganache is cool enough.
If you pour ganache that is too hot over the cake, it can melt the frosting, and will definitely drip way too far over the edges. You’ll know your ganache is ready when it leaves a nice ribbon when dripped and won’t immediately dissipate.
Tip #2: Using a piping bag or spoon to hand drop the drips.
Sometimes, If there’s A LOT of pressure on me to have perfect drips, I use a spoon or pastry bag and drip along the edges by hand. You have a lot more control this way, but it doesn’t look as natural of fluid. If you do go this route, you would do the edges first and then fill in the top with warm ganache and smooth.
Tip #3: Don’t over pour it.
Pour the ganache on slowly and watch it pool carefully. Stop pouring when it’s about halfway covered the top. Spread it to edges to drip with your spatula. Don’t keep pouring it until it’s dripping over unless you want a completely ganache covered cake. Trust me on this, you have to stop sooner than you think.
If you keep these tips in mind when you do your dripping, I’m sure the ganache will turn out beautifully over your vegan chocolate cake. (send me pictures so I can see how your cake turns out!)
Assembling the cake
For cake assembly, you will need a cake turntable, a metal spatula, and a cake board or plate to build it on. For the spatula, you can use either a straight edge or offset. Whatever you prefer and feels best in your hands.
Start by placing your cake board or plate onto the turntable. Set your first cake layer down, and add a large scoop of chocolate mousse to the center. Spread the mousse around while rotating the turntable until the layer of filling is approximately 1/2″ thick, and 1/2″ from the edge. Repeat with the next cake layer until all three have been stacked.
To finish off this vegan chocolate cake, lightly frost the top and sides with the spatula, and smooth to finish. Pour your ganache drips once they reach the perfect temperature. Set the cake in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes to help set the ganache.
Top the cake with fresh berries and snow sugar, and voila! Your beautiful, simple, vegan chocolate cake is complete.
Serving suggestions and more
This vegan chocolate cake pairs beautifully with vanilla bean ice cream and a dollop of fresh vegan whipped cream. Serve it with fresh berries (especially if it’s summer time), and don’t forget a pretty sprinkling of powdered sugar.
This cake will keep in the fridge anywhere from one to two weeks. Use small squares of parchment or wax paper to press up against the cut edges of the cake to help prevent them from drying out in the fridge.
I’d absolutely LOVE to see how your chocolate cake turns out! Share some pictures to you social medias and tag me @alderspirit or use #alderspirit so I can see what you come up with.
Drop a message in the comments sections below and let me know any questions you may have. I’m always here to help.
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups plant milk
- 1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
Chocolate Drips
- 2 oz chopped chocolate dark or semi sweet
- 1 oz plant milk (high fat) (oat or cashew is preferable, something higher fat)
Chocolate Mousse Filling and Frosting
- 2 13.5 fl oz cans coconut cream, chilled for at least 24 hours
- 1/4 cup dutch cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup powder sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350° and spray 3, 8" round cake pans with non stick spray. Place 8" parchment paper circles in the bottom of each pan, and set them aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the plant milk and apple cider vinegar. Set it aside, giving it atleast 10 minutes to clabber.
- In a separate medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Whisk lightly until combined. Set aside.
- After the milk from the first step has had time to clabber, add the boiling water and instant espresso powder. Stir to combine, and set aside.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), begin mixing together the vegetable oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla. If using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed for 3 – 5 minutes.
- Next, add your dry (flour mix) and wet (milk mix) ingredients in alternating portions, beginning and ending with dry. Do not over mix. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix one final time to ensure the batter is consistent and mostly clump free.
- Distribute the batter evenly between the three pans, (I use a scale to help), and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 25 – 35 minutes. Each oven varies drastically. You'll know when your cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, and the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the edges of the pan.
- Once the cakes are finished baking, remove the from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from their pans. Give them cakes adaquete time to cool to room temperature before moving to the Assembly step. You may wrap each individual cake in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process.
- Prepare the Vegan Chocolate Mousse recipe while you wait for the cakes to cool.
Chocolate Mousse Frosting (see recipe linked)
Chocolate Drip
- Set up a double boiler over the stove and bring it to a low simmer. You can do this by adding an inch or two of water to a saucepan and placing a metal bowl over the top.
- Add 3/4 of the chopped chocolate to the double boiler bowl. Stir the chocolate slowly and gently as it melts with a rubber spatula, keeping everything moving fluidly. Remove the bowl of chocolate from the double boiler once the majority has melted and only a few chocolate chunks are left. This whole process should take around 5 minutes. Pro tip: Once the chocolate starts melting, it tends to progress rather quickly. Do not leave your chocolate at this point! Watch closely.
- Add the remaining 1/4 cup of chopped chocolate to the melted chocolate. Give it one gentle stir before allowing it to set for 2 – 3 minutes to help the chocolate melt.
- Stir the chocolate now until the added pieces have completely melted. If you need to re apply some heat to help any remaining chunks melt out, simply place the bowl back over the double boiler for 30 second spurts and stir until each clump has disapeared. Becaureful not to over heat your chocolate by leaving it on the double boiler for too long at any step of the process.
- Once the chocolate is smooth and melted, add the plant milk to the bowl gradually while slowly whisking. Add more if the ganache is too thick, or don't add all of the ganache if it seems too runny. (though keep in mind that the ganace will thicken as it cools)
- Allow the ganache to cool for atleast 5 minutes. You want the ganache to leave a nice ribbon when you scoop some up with a spoon and drizzle it back down. It should be warm, but not hot. Once it has reached this point, it will be ready to drip on the cake. See Assembly.
Assembly
- Have ready: – offset or straight edge metal spatula– cake turntable – a plate or cake board at least 9" in diameter– chocolate mousse frosting and ganache drips in separate bowls to either side– a clean towel
- Place your plate or cake board of choice onto the cake turntable. Add your first chocolate cake layer to the center of the plate.
- Add 3/4 cup of the chilled chocolate mousse frosting to the center of the cake. Using your metal spatula, spread the chocolate mouse evenly over the top of the cake. Turn the cake turntable as you work, and stop spread ing once the frosting is 1/2 inch from the edge of the cake. The layer of frosting should be nno hicker than 1/2" to provent wobbliness in the finished cake. Add the next layer of cake and repeat the process once more.
- Once you have added the third and final layer of cake on top, add 3/4 cup of the chocolate mousse to the top. Before spreading it though, we will focus on covering the sides. Scrape up some mousse with your spatula and apply it to the sides of the cake. Spreaed gently, and give a final once over with the spatula once all the sides are covered to your liking to smooth your any streaks or lumps.
- Rotate the turntable as you spread the top pile of frosting with your spatula. Allow it to pile over the edges. Scrape along the side of the cake to straighten up the overflow and smooth the edges, then use a your spatula or a bench scraper to drag that top corner edge neatly in towards the center. Place your cake in the fridge or freezer to chill for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Once your ganache has cooled to the perfect consistency, pull your cake out of the fridge and set it back on the turntable. Slowly, pour approximately 1/2 – 1 cup of the ganache in the center of the cake. Grab your spatula and spread the ganache out towards the edges, rotating the turntable as you go to ensure an even drip. Try to work quickly, and guess the correct amount of ganache on the first try. Pouring more on later will look sloppy.
- Give the ganache a few moments to drip and settle. Decorate the cake with a blend of fresh berries and snow sugar, and you're ready to serve.
- This cake serves approximately 14 slices. Serve each slice with fresh fruit, and a dollop of homemade vegan whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream. Store this cake in the fridge, with slices of parchment pressed up against each cut edge to prevent drying. This cake will keep for 1 – 2 weeks.
Notes
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