The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake

Topped with a simple plant-based buttercream in three classic flavors

Jan 12, 2024

∙ Paid

A sprinkle of Maldon lends a bright counterpoint to the sweet, rich cake

This is the cake I make for anyone who is a vegan skeptic, and I have yet to find someone who still believes vegan baking is inferior after trying it! The cake has a generous amount of hot coffee in the batter, which blooms the cocoa powder and results in a decadent, richly flavored crumb. Using vegetable oil instead of vegan butter also means this cake stays moist for days and is actually better on the second day. A thick layer of smooth vegan chocolate frosting complements the slightly bitter edge of the cake, and a generous sprinkle of flaky sea salt offsets the sugar. Even better, this cake comes together in a flash, with no stand mixer required, and no involved assembly, making it an ideal candidate for a quick weeknight dessert.

Now let’s talk frosting. There are many different fancy buttercreams that I learned to make in cooking school, but there is something I love about a simple American buttercream. Sweet, soft, and creamy, I find it so nostalgic and delicious. What's more, it’s a piece of cake (no pun intended) to make by hand. When I developed this vegan version, I wanted to simplify things even more by creating many different frosting flavors from the same base recipe. Therefore, the recipe begins with a "buttercream base" of the vegan butter and the majority of the other ingredients. This forms a thick, vanilla-flavored paste (I happen to think vanilla belongs in basically everything) which can then be turned into a variety of flavors. I've started with three classics - vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry - but feel free to experiment with jam, nut butter, zest, extract, and more.

The buttercream recipe is below for all subscribers, and the chocolate cake recipe is further down for paid subscribers.

This recipe turns one buttercream base into three classic frosting flavors

Vegan American Buttercream

Makes enough frosting for one 8-inch single-layer cake or 12 cupcakes

20 mins active time, 20 mins total time

Ingredients

Buttercream Base

225 g (1 cup) unsalted, margarine-style vegan butter (e.g. Violife) (see note below)

440 g (4 cups) organic powdered sugar

10 g (2 tsp) vanilla extract

3 g (1 tsp) kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or see note below)

For Vanilla Buttercream

110 g (1 cup) organic powdered sugar

45 g (3 tbsp) oat milk

5 g (1 tsp) vanilla paste (see note below)

For Chocolate Buttercream

45 g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder

45 g (3 tbsp) oat milk

2.5 g (1 tsp) espresso powder

For Strawberry Buttercream

107 g (1/3 cup) strawberry jam, pureed in a food processor or strained

5 g (1 tsp) lemon juice

3-6 drops liquid, red food coloring (optional)

Instructions

Make the Buttercream Base

Beat the vegan butter with a firm rubber spatula until it is creamy
Add the powdered sugar and continue beating until the mixture is smooth
Add the vanilla and the salt, and the mixture should thin out a bit
At this point, you will have a thick, paste-like frosting, and you can finish the frosting in any flavor you’d like. I’ve given three options here, but the possibilities are endless!
Buttercream Base keeps for up to one day in an airtight container at cool room temperature or up to one week in an airtight container in the fridge; before using, allow the mixture to come to room temperature, then thoroughly beat it until it is smooth

Complete the buttercream in your desired flavor

Choose the flavor of buttercream you’d like and add those additional ingredients to the bowl
Continue mixing with a firm rubber spatula until smooth
Switch to a whisk and whisk vigorously for about 15 secs, to whip a bit of air into the frosting; the frosting is now ready to use
Buttercream keeps for up to one day in an airtight container at cool room temperature or up to one week in an airtight container in the fridge; before using, allow the mixture to come to room temperature, then thoroughly beat it until it is smooth

Shirtless man in black pants making vegan American buttercream step by step — Making the buttercream base: (1) softening the vegan butter, (2) adding the powdered sugar, (3) mixing in vanilla, (4) the completed base

Notes & Variations

Ingredient Notes

Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which has larger crystals than other kinds of kosher salt, normal table salt or fine sea salt. As a result, when measured by volume (teaspoons/tablespoons) it will add less "saltiness" than an equal quantity of the other salts. If you are not using Diamond Crystal, I recommend measuring your salt by weight, in which case you won't run into this issue. Otherwise, use half the volume quantity of salt
Vegan butter: There are two main types of vegan butter: (1) margarine-style products that are basically butter-flavored vegetable shortening (e.g. Violife), and (2) cultured-style products made from cashew, coconut, or other kinds of fats (e.g. Miyoko's). I generally prefer the first type in cakes, muffins, and frostings, where the more obvious "butter" flavor and greater stability, and yellow color are beneficial. I prefer the second type in recipes where the fat will caramelize, such as cookies, pie or tart dough, and bread, as margarine-style butters can develop unpleasant burnt oil flavors when heated to high temperatures. Also, cultured-style butter can be browned similarly to dairy butter, while margarine-style butter cannot
Vanilla paste: I love seeing little black vanilla bean specks in my vanilla buttercream, which is why I recommend using vanilla paste for that recipe. However, if you don't wish to buy this or have any on hand, feel free to use more vanilla extract