Recipe and photos updated July 2017.
Several years ago, while my children were still very little, I used to make custom cakes for weddings, birthdays, etc. I loved baking and would often make cakes for friend’s and family member’s birthdays. I started getting orders from friends of friends and pretty soon, had a little side business working out of my home.
I made everything from scratch, buying pounds of butter, sugar, flour and dozens of eggs on each trip to the grocery store. Many of the cakes I made were similar to pound cakes and because they were more dense, stacked well and could be cut into shapes easily without falling apart.
Do you know why they’re called pound cakes? Because they call for a pound each of butter, sugar, flour and eggs! Add that to the loads of butter and powdered sugar in the buttercream and you have almost a whole stick of butter and cup of sugar in each slice. Yikes!
I was determined to create a cake that was gluten-free, made with healthier ingredients, and still be not only edible, but delicious! I mean, what’s the point of eating cake if it doesn’t taste good?!
This recipe is very loosely based off of an old chocolate cake recipe I used all the time. The original recipe uses regular flour, sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and sour cream, which I replaced with gluten free flour, pure maple syrup, flax meal, coconut oil, and mashed avocado.
I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
I paired the cake with this easy and delicious whipped ganache, which only has two ingredients. TWO INGREDIENTS, PEOPLE! Chocolate chips and coconut milk are all that is needed to make this fluffy masterpiece. (If you need dairy-free chocolate chips, I like this Enjoy Life
Ganache is essentially heavy cream mixed with melted chocolate to make a thick glaze, which is great on cakes and truffles. This ganache is made dairy-free by substituting heavy cream with coconut milk. Instead of using it as a glaze, it’s then whipped up and becomes fluffy by incorporating air.
I adapted a recipe I found on Pastry Affair. (Thanks, Kristin!) This was the first time I’ve been able to achieve a fluffy buttercream without the use of powdered sugar or egg whites! It’s not a very sweet frosting, which also depends on the type of chocolate chips you use. I used dark chocolate chips, and although rich, it was absolutely AH-mazing and is my new go-to chocolate frosting!
When frosting the cakes, I like to place some pieces of parchment paper under the edge of the bottom layer, just to help keep the plate clean. Trust me, frosting a cake can get pretty messy and you’ll be happy you took the extra step when after you finish frosting and remove the parchment your plate is still squeaky clean!
Garnish with chocolate shavings or fresh berries. Super simple, yet elegant!
Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite combo, but it can also be super rich. I always have a tall glass of cold almond milk with my slice of cake to wash it all down. It’s seriously a MUST!
This cake is simply the BEST vegan & gluten-free chocolate cake EVER, and I hope you try it for yourselves! Enjoy, friends!
- 2 cups gf flour, I use King Arthur Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour
OR 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dark cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup Coconut Oil
, melted or Olive Oil
- 1 small ripe avocado, mashed well (no chunks)
- 1 cup Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 cup strong coffee (just to enhance chocolate flavor, but you can also use water or almond milk)
- ½ tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- whipped ganache for TWO layers, recipe below
- chocolate shavings from chocolate bar, optional
- parchment paper, extra coconut oil and flour for cake pans
- ⅔ cup full-fat coconut milk
- 2 cups of quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or chips (For dairy-free, I like Enjoy Life
- *Milk or white chocolate will work as well.
- 3 cups gf all-purpose or regular unbleached all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup melted coconut oil, avocado/olive oil or other oil of choice
- 1 large ripe avocado, pureed
- 1½ cup maple syrup
- 1½ cup coffee (can also use almond milk or other milk of choice)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- whipped ganache for THREE layers, recipe below
- chocolate shavings from chocolate bar, optional
- parchment paper, extra coconut oil and flour for cake pans
- 3 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate of choice (dark, semi-sweet, milk, white, etc.)
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- The ganache needs to chill, so best to make this ahead of time or at least before you start on the cake. This frosting takes an hour or more to chill, so keep that in mind if you're pressed for time. Heat the coconut milk and chocolate in a large heat-safe mixing bowl over a double boiler until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Cover and place mixture into the fridge or freezer for 1–2 hours or until chilled and firm. If mixture isn't thoroughly cold, the frosting may be a bit more loose.
- After the chocolate mixture is cold, beat on high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. If it's too thick, add extra milk a little at a time while mixing, until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Lightly grease two or three (whichever recipe you're making) 8-inch round cake pans with coconut oil or palm shortening. Line the bottom with parchment paper and use a knife to cut out a circle to fit the bottom of the pan. Parchment paper helps the cake not to stick to the bottom of the pan. Grease top of parchment paper and set aside until needed.
- Preheat oven to 325F. In a large mixing bow, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together and then add in coconut oil, mashed avocado, maple syrup, coffee, vinegar, and vanilla. (Make sure your avocado mash is free of any clumps. You can puree the avocado in a food processor or push through a sieve with a rubber scrapper if it is clumpy.) Mix together until thoroughly combined. Use a rubber scrapper to stir the bottom of bowl, making sure to mix in any excess flour.
- Evenly distribute batter into the cake pans. Place on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, just until the center of the cake is set and no longer jiggly. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let pans thoroughly cool on cooling racks.
- The cakes must be thoroughly cooled before frosting or the frosting will melt off. When you remove the cake from the pan, use a knife of offset spatular around the edge of the cake if it is sticking to the pan. Carefully flip onto a plate or rack, removing the parchment paper round that may come out of the pan with the cake.
- Place your first layer on a cake plate or serving platter. I like to place additional pieces of parchment paper just under the edge around the bottom layer to keep the frosting from getting on the serving plate (Like in the photo above.) Place a dollop of frosting on the bottom layer and use an offset spatula or rubber scrapper to spread the frosting evenly across the layer. Place the other layer on top and repeat, frosting the sides of cake with remaining whipped ganache. Carefully remove parchment pieces from around the cake and serve. I like to serve slices with chocolate curls, which you can get by running a vegetable peeler down the side of a chocolate bar (warm chocolate in the microwave for a few seconds to get better curls) or fresh berries, which helps balance the richness of the chocolate. Depending on the size of the slices cut, this cake serves 8-12 people.
More Recipes Like This:
Salted Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Chocolate Lava Mug Cake
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So l made this cake yesterday and l followed the recipe exactly and the ganache was ah-mazing l used the 3 layer cake recipe for the ganache because more is always better but it still wasn’t enough for a 2 layer cake. I made the 2 layer cake and it was extremely bitter like too much baking soda???? Please help because l want to make it again! Thank you!
I just love this cake and it’s most definitely my go-to when I need to make a cake. I’m curious about making a 9×13 size instead to shape and decorate for a baby shower. I’m thinking the equivalent would be the 2-tier version … thoughts?
Hi Jenni, so happy you enjoy this cake! You can definitely make it in a 9×13 pan using the 2 layer recipe. I also have a chocolate sheet cake recipe (link here: http://www.wifemamafoodie.com/chocolate-sheet-cake-with-whipped-ganache/) if you’re interested. Let me know how it goes!
Hi, I’m wondering if you have metric measurements for the ganache? I live in Australia so I always weigh everything when I’m baking for consistency (especially when measurements can really differ from country to country!). I’ve been searching for a dairy-free whipped ganache forever, and your recipe looks so good so I really want to try it!
Hi Olivia! Sure, 3 cups of chocolate chips is 18oz. and 1 cup coconut cream/milk is just shy of 250 ml., but you may need a bit more coconut milk if you want a looser consistency. Please let me know if you have any other questions I can help you with! Enjoy!!
Hi again,
The dairy free chocolate chips I bought are dark chocolate and not sweet. Can I add powdered sugar or honey when whipping it?
Hi Jerica! I think either would be fine. The honey only if you don’t use too much though, so it doesn’t make the frosting too runny. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Your cake looks beautiful! I have a question. Can I use organic cane sugar instead of the listed sweetener?
Also, when searching for recipes, I naturally passed this one because it didn’t show any ratings but then decided to check it out. Clearly many people have made this cake and given great feedback! Is there a way to show star ratings? I imagine even more people would come across your site!
Thank you, Jahnavi! The liquid actually adds moisture to the cake, so I don’t think replacing with granulated sugar would work, unless you increased the milk some. I have another chocolate cake which uses granulated coconut sugar here: https://goo.gl/VbEbEb. That one would be easier to substitute organic sugar since it’s replacing another granulated sweetener. You can easily omit the berry jam too if you want to keep it a simple chocolate cake. Please let me know if you try either of them!
That’s a great question! I actually used to have star ratings, but took them off because I felt the ratings were not accurate based upon real reviews. I found a lot of people rating the recipes when leaving comments or questions but they hadn’t even made the recipe yet. Maybe I’ll bring them back to try again in the future, thanks to your feedback! 🙂
I see flax egg mentioned as one of the ingredients in some of the comments but I don’t see it in the list of ingredients or in the directions to making the cake. Is there flax egg in the cake?
Hi Cathy, I’m sorry, it was something I used to have in the recipe, but I tried it without it a few times and saw it wasn’t necessary so I took it out. I just forgot to update the instructions, but will update that ASAP! Thank you for catching that!
Oh my goodness! As an avid vegan baker I was perusing the internet for chocolate ganache recipes (as one does on a Sunday evening )and along came this gorgeous cake! My best friend is gluten free and I’m always looking for recipes to share with her and I am ecstatic that I get to try this beaut out! Thanks very much for sharing this lovely treat, can’t wait to see how it goes!
Thank you Cate! Please let me know if you have any questions. This is one of our faves!
This looks so delicious! Would it still work if I cut the ingredients in half for a one layer cake?
Hi Sandy! Thank you! Yes, I cut these recipes in half often and they work well! Just don’t do what I’ve done in the past, which is accidentally forget to half one of the ingredients, like salt or sweetener. The cake either came out super salty or way too sweet, haha! I hope you enjoy this cake…it’s one of our faves! 🙂
Are you able to substitute the gluten free flour to regular flour?
Hi Alissa, I haven’t tried it in this particular recipe so I can’t say for sure, but I have another that can use either or (http://www.wifemamafoodie.com/salted-chocolate-mocha-cupcakes/). I don’t see why it wouldn’t work though. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Ok thank you so much!! And one more question. I wasnt able to get coconut milk, the store was all out. Can i substitute for whole milk?
The use of coconut milk, like heavy cream in regular ganache, is due to the high fat content. Regular milk may be too thin to help the ganache set, so I’d suggest using half milk and half butter. Again, I haven’t tried it, but I’ve seen similar recipes before. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Oh Gosh I just about fainted when I saw this recipe! The vegan chocolate cake of my dreams? With ganache? And… avocado??? I cannot wait to give this a go, it looks like a brownie and I bet it tastes like one too :)`
Haha thanks Rosie. My family absolutely loves this cake and I hope you do too. Let me know how you like it if you try it! xoxo
I found this recipe and made it for my husband’s birthday. I’m not going to lie… even though Im vegan, I was weary of making it. Not sure if it would taste as good as it looks especially without using sugar or milk. But it was incredible!!!! Probably one of the best cakes we’ve both ever had (and that’s coming from my husband, a non-vegan). Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
That’s awesome, Candice! Thank you so much for taking the time to share you feedback! This cake truly is one of our favorites as well and I’m glad you both enjoyed it as much as we do! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I’m trying this frosting today! How long is it stable at room temperature?
That’s great, Kathy! I had my frosted cake at room temperature (in a cool place) for at least 2 days, but after that I’d pop it into the fridge just to be safe. At warmer temperatures the chocolate will begin to melt though, so keep it in an air conditioned room if you can. Please let me know how it turns out!
I am making this cake for my bosses birthday next week so I did a trial run (obviously I need to impress him) the other day and I looooved the icing. It was so simple and so good! I think the avocado I used for the cake wasnt quiet ripe enough so it made the cake a tad bit bitter. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for replacing the avocado. I was thinking maybe an extra 1/4 cup of maple syrup for the moisture and to add a little more sweetness. Thoughts?
Hi Alexa! Glad you liked the icing! As far as replacing the avocado, you could try using 1/2 cup of mashed banana, canned pumpkin, or applesauce, although I haven’t tried any of these myself. Seems like they should work fine since they’re similar in consistency. The banana/applesauce may add a bit of sweetness as well.
Please let me know if you try any of these substitutions.. I’d love to know how they work!
Hello! Great blog!! I was so excited about this recipe, and then I made it…it came out dry and crumbly! I have no idea where I went wrong…I used regular eggs, and water instead of coffee. Any ideas?
Hi Amanda! I’m so sorry the cake didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to for you! The only thing I can think of was something may have been accidentally mis-measured. Did you use gluten free or regular all-purpose flour? Also, if you used a gluten free blend, it could be the particular blend you used. I’ve found that each gluten-free flour absorbs liquid differently, some more, some less. Again, I’m very sorry that it didn’t turn out as expected, but I really want to try and figure out what went wrong because it should be the very opposite of dry and crumbly!
Hi, I found your recipe while looking for an eggless choco cake recipe for my son. Your cake ingredients have baking powder listed, but from what I read you didn’t include it in the directions. Does the cake have the baking powder or is it just baking soda? Iwould really like to make this for him, thank you!
Hi, Brittney! Yes, the cake has both baking powder and soda in it. Thanks for catching that. I will update the recipe to include it!
This is the BEST vegan chocolate cake I have ever made. Here’s the story. I used organic white flour, because the crowd I was making it for definitely isn’t the GF type. I omitted the cornstarch because I’m pretty experienced in vegan backing and didn’t think it was necessary since the flax eggs were already in the batter. I turned it into a single-layer cake using a larger square springform pan lined with parchment paper. The plan was to make a mock McCain’s Deep ‘n’ Delicious cake. Though your whipped ganache sounds amazing, I ended up using Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s “Chocolate Mousse” cake topping from “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.” I had made it countless times before and always thought it tasted like the chocolate topping on the McCain’s cake. Anyway, I made your cake recipe and then used the mousse as a topping (piping bag and all). My omnivorous crowd raved and raved about it. I don’t know what exactly made it so magical–the avocado? People kept going back for more. This is a winner. It is so moist yet NOT heavy like some vegan cakes can be. Will be making this on a regular basis. I also love that I could use maple syrup in a cake for once and not cane sugar! TOTAL WIN.
Wow, thank you so much for your feedback, Ves! I’m really glad you and your friends enjoyed this cake! The cornstarch is only to make the flour lighter, more like cake flour, but as you’ve stated, isn’t necessary. I think the avocado and maybe the maple syrup (having more liquid?) in this cake make it very moist. The fact that there aren’t any eggs to add extra structure may help to make it more tender as well. I’m glad that you were able to use your favorite frosting to finish it off and I can imagine that all the piped stars on top made it very pretty too! Having it made with healthier ingredients, yet still be delicious, is what I love most about this cake. I’m so happy you agree! 🙂
Made this for a friends birthday today!!!….turned out great everyone loved it!!!
Yay, I’m so happy you all enjoyed it, Chrystal! Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your feedback as well! I truly appreciate it 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend!
Do you have to separate the coconut water from the cream to make the ganache? Or just use the whole can as it is?
Hi Angie! You use a cup of the milk after the cream and water are mixed together. Please let me know if you run into any problems or have further questions!
I love the ingredients for this wonderful cake. However, unlike everyone else here, I came into an issue that isn’t simple to solve. The batter was quite lumpy although I’ve mashed the ripped avocado quite well! I spent 15 minutes trying to smash the final batter together, but it wasn’t smooth since I got tired and my wrist gave up on me. I ended up pouring the batter into the baking pan since further mixing/ mashing will truly create too much gluten and I was afraid I’d end up with a rather depressing result. I should have known when I read the instruction on this recipe that it was not that simple. I may have to use a small blender to blend the avocado, oil, and syrup together really well before attempting to mix it in with the batter. I’m still hoping the cake will turn out ok, but I am disappointed.
Besides the point, thanks for the recipe – I personally think the instruction could use a slight improvement. But, that’s my personal opinion.
Thank you for your helpful feedback, Adelina! I’m sorry you had trouble getting your avocado smooth. I’ve tried mashing up avocado that wasn’t quite ripe yet and found it to be very lumpy as well. Pouring the batter through a sieve or blending it in a blender or food processor may be handy to ensure a smooth batter. I will work on updating the instructions and mention some alternate ways to smooth the batter in case that situation happens to anyone else! Have a Merry Christmas and again, I’m so sorry for the inconvenience!
I used a small food processor for the avocado and had no problems.
I`m so sorry but what could i replace avocado with as i really dislike it! This looks amazing by the way
You honestly can’t taste the avocado at all..it just adds moisture. But, you can try 1/2 cup mashed banana or applesauce instead. If you’re not dairy-free, sour cream would suffice too. Any food with a similar consistency to avocado that would add moisture to the cake should work. Please let me know what you end up using and how it turns out for you, Anya!
Wow, this looks amazing! It’s too good to be true!
Thanks, Kait! It’s so delicious, I hope you get a chance to try it!
Wow. Joscelyn, I’ve never been tempted to try a gluten-free cake before but now I definitely will! Looks so rich and delicious 🙂
Thank you, Minna! You can’t even tell that it’s gluten or dairy free! Please let me know how it turns out for you!
Oh my goodness! This cake looks heavenly! Chocolate is my all time favorite and I can’t wait to try it!
You will LOVE this cake then, it’s a chocoholic’s dream! Thanks for stopping by!
I never realized until college that people could have so many food restrictions! Luckily, my college provides an excellent array of foods for different dietary needs. I personally don’t have any dietary restrictions though, which means that the foods available for me are not as many as they could be, because why eat a vegan cake when I can eat a normal one? But this one looks so good I think I’m going to have to give it a try! -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Thanks, Audrey! You definitely can’t tell this cake is vegan or even a little healthier for that matter! If you ever need to make a cake for someone with certain dietary restrictions, you’ll have the perfect go-to recipe! 🙂
Never thought I’d see a chocolate cake with avocado in it. I have to try this!
Thanks, Derek! It’s been kid-approved, so obviously you can’t taste any of the healthy ingredients, like avocado! Hope you like it as much as we did! 🙂
Avocado is such a genius replacement! I’ve been starting to think of ways to sub unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones and this is definitely something I’ll look into. Also, I am so impressed by your baking skills! This cake turned out beautifully., I feel like the few times that I’ve tried to bake a cake, it tasted good, but looked hideous! 🙂 Thank you for sharing Joscelyn!
Lisa // Strum Simmer Sip
Thanks Lisa! The avocado worked great and you couldn’t even taste it! The cake skills comes from many years of practice..I’ve made my share of ugly cakes too, haha! The tip is just to have lots of frosting on hand to cover up the holes;-) Hope you’re having a great week, friend!
Such stunning pics girl!! Loving this!
Thank you, Ami! I enjoyed photographing this cake almost as much as I enjoyed eating it! 😉
Omg that cake looks so amazing! It’s super chocolatey, and there’s no way that’s vegan! Too good to be true!! 😛 Pinned!! 🙂
Haha, thank you Christina! That means a lot coming from you, the baking queen! Thanks for stopping by! 😉
This looks absolutely beautiful! I love this coconut ganache idea – I think I’ll have to try it!
Thanks, Michelle! Please let me know what you think! The whipped ganache was my favorite part of the cake. It’s super simple and amazingly delicious, especially with only 2 ingredients! I hope you like it!
This sounds absolutely DELICIOUS, one question though: will it taste like coconut? I’m not a huge fan of the taste of coconut so that’s a worry I have.
Thanks, Ana! Oddly, it does not taste like coconut! I actually just ate another piece just to make sure 😉 I think the chocolate is so rich that it totally steals the show! 🙂
This has to be one of the best cakes I have ever seen!!!! Oh my gosh!!!! It’s absolutely stunning, and it sounds sooo delicious. What an incredible recipe. I love all of the ingredients you used, and the frosting sounds divine! This is such an amazing creation, you are so talented!
Thank you for your kind words, Harriet! The cake was delicious, but the frosting was my favorite part! I hope you get a chance to try it one day! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
This cake is eye popping! The ingredients are seamless and I can NOT wait to make it!!! I love the parchment paper tip, and I love that you used to make cakes as a little side job. I did too! 😉 xo
Aww, thank you Mary! I hope your family enjoys this cake as much as we did! That’s funny that you had a little cake business too..we have a little more in common, no wonder I like you so much! 😉
Oh! My! Goodness! This cake looks and sounds out of this world. I am speechless. Another one for my ‘to make’ list.
Thank you so much, Kimberly! This is definitely one to try! It has become a new family favorite 🙂
I totally agree with you about this kind of cakes – they are excellent, but a cake without cream doesn’t feel like a cake. Huge respect for those following a lactose-free diet, or any similar diet for that matter, it’s not easy at all.
The cake looks perfect though and the recipe is simple. I made the whipped coconut ganache a few times and it’s great. Well done!
I know, it does make it much harder when you have certain dietary restrictions..The whipped coconut ganache was super easy and so delicious. Can’t even tell it’s dairy free! Thanks for stopping by, Oana!
This was so delicious! I really enjoy chocolate cake and this is by far one of my favorites. The frosting came out great as well.
Thank you:) I’m so glad you liked it!
Hi!
I LOVE this cake! I’ve made it more time than I can count. I was wondering how many cupcakes the 2-layer and 3-layer cake can make? I want to make two smash cakes and cupcakes for a joint birthday party this weekend!!!
Thank you!!!
Hi Christine! That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for your kind feedback! In reference to making these into cupcakes, I just checked my other chocolate cupcake recipe, which produces a dozen cupcakes, and it uses 1 cup of flour. I’m thinking then that the 2 layer should make close to 2 dozen since it has 2 cups of flour, and the 3 layer, 3 dozen. It may be a few shy, depending on how full you fill the cupcake liners, but hopefully you can use that as a general guide! I hope the cakes/cupcakes turn out beautifully and that the party is a success!
Please let me know if you have any further questions 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your week!!