This rich and delicious chocolate cake is made without eggs or milk! It's the easiest cake you can make. The whipped chocolate ganache frosting is made with just 2 ingredients!
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Why This Recipe Works
If you are shocked at the prices of eggs these days, you are not alone. Add milk and butter and our holiday treats will be quite expensive. But not this cake! This is the easiest cake you can make with simple pantry staples. No eggs, milk, or butter needed!
So if you are wondering if you can make a moist and fluffy yet simple chocolate cake without those ingredients, I am here to tell you yes! Yes, you can! Just look at the results! This cake is rich in flavor, the crumb is soft, fluffy, and moist.
I used coffee as the main liquid to make the cake and the house smelled like a bakery while the cake was baking. I'll be baking my cakes with coffee from now on!
The easiest cake calls for the easiest frosting. This one is made with just 2 ingredients: chocolate and heavy cream. It starts as a ganache and once chilled, it's whipped until fluffy. It has no sugar added!
Ingredients:
- flour: all-purpose, sifted or fluffed before measuring;
- baking soda: necessary for proper rising;
- sugar: granulated, white sugar to sweeten the cake;
- salt: enriches the chocolate flavor;
- cocoa powder: unsweetened, best if Dutch processed;
- coffee or water: either works great, but coffee adds richer flavor because it pairs with chocolate so well; you can use decaf;
- vinegar: white or apple cider vinegar; it acts with baking soda to rise the cake and make it fluffy;
- oil: vegetable or canola;
- vanilla extract: adds delicious dessert flavor to the cake, you can use an almond extract as well.
How to make chocolate cake without eggs?
- Preheat the oven and line an 8 or 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Combine all wet ingredients in a large glass measuring cup.
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- Add liquid ingredients to the flour mixture.
- Whisk together until smooth. Make sure all dry ingredients are mixed in.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake until the top is dry and a toothpick inserted in a few places comes out clean.
- Make the frosting: pour hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit. Stir in the mixture until smooth and all chocolate is melted. Place the bowl with ganache in a fridge for 30 to 40 minutes. The cake will cool in the meantime.
- Whip the ganache with an electric mixer until fluffy. Spread over cooled cake.
Helpful Tips!
- Always make sure to measure the flour properly: fluff it with a fork or a whisk in the container you store it in. Then scoop it with a spoon into a measuring cup and level off the top. Never dunk the measuring cup into a bag with flour. You will end up with too much of it and the cake will be dense.
- I highly recommend using coffee to make this cake. It enriches the chocolate flavor. You can use cold coffee from the morning or make a fresh one. You can use decaf, instant coffee, etc.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper. It will make taking the cake out a breeze!
- You can use a chocolate bar or chips to make the ganache.
- Make sure not to boil the cream for the ganache. It needs to be hot but not boiling.
Chocolate Cake Variations:
Chocolate cake is a classic dessert. This one could not be easier. You can make many variations by using different extracts, and frostings, or baking it in different size pans.
- Chocolate Peppermint: use peppermint extract in the cake batter and frosting; crush candy canes and sprinkle on top of the frosting for a festive touch!
- Chocolate Caramel: bake the cake, poke it with a wooden spoon handle, pour room temperature caramel sauce over the cake, then frost it!
- Chocolate Vanilla: make the cake as directed but use my fluffy vanilla frosting to decorate it!
- Chocolate Orange: add orange zest and use orange extract in the cake; frost with chocolate frosting and decorate with candied orange peel!
- Chocolate Berry: bake the cake, slice it into two layers, fill it with raspberry, blueberry, or strawberry jam, and frost it with chocolate frosting; decorate with fresh berries!
Recipe FAQs:
Absolutely! You can make 12 regular cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes using this recipe. The baking time for cupcakes is 15 to 18 minutes.
Yes, you can make the cake up to 4 days in advance. Keep it covered so it doesn't dry out. I recommend making the frosting before serving. This is whipped ganache frosting and it is best used right after preparing.
Yes! This cake can be easily frozen. Cool it completely, wrap it tightly in saran wrap, then place it in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Yes, this cake is great baked into layers, filled with frosting, and stacked. It's sturdy and even baked with an even flat top so you won't have to level off the layers.
More cake recipes:
If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!
Eggless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
for the cake:
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup water or coffee room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
for the frosting:
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
to make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line an 8 or 9-inch square or round cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Make sure there are no clumps of cocoa in the mixture.1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- In another bowl or a 2-cup glass measuring cup, mix coffee, oil, vanilla and vinegar.1 cup water or coffee, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. No need for an electric mixer, a hand whisk does the job. Make sure the dry ingredients are mixed in well. Sometimes they get stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the batter into prepared pan and gently tap the pan against the counter. This will release the air bubbles.
- Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes OR until the top is dry and a toothpick inserted in a few places (especially the center) comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool while you make the frosting.
To make the frosting:
- Place chocolate in a bowl.1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Heat up cream in a small saucepan over medium low heat or in the microwave in 20 second increments. Watch it carefully so it won't boil.½ cup heavy cream
- Pour hot cream over chocolate and do not stir. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes. The heat from cream will melt the chocolate. If you are using chopped chocolate bar, this will happen even faster.
- Stir the chocolate mixture until smooth. Make sure there are no chunks of chocolate. Place the bowl with chocolate mixture in a fridge, for 30 to 40 minutes. It will set.
- With an electric mixer, whip the chocolate ganache until fluffy. You may need to add a few splashes of cream to make it desired consistency.
- Spread the frosting over the completely cooled cake using a spatula.
Notes
- You can use water instead of coffee. The later enriches the chocolate flavor. You can use cold coffee leftover from the morning, or make a fresh batch. Just make sure to cool it to room temperature. You can use decaf or instant.
- You can use white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar.
- No baking powder is needed for this recipe. Baking soda acts with vinegar to ensure the cake rises properly.
- You can use milk or white chocolate for the ganache, but I only tested it with semi-sweet.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
Vanita Seth says
Can this cake be made with gluten free flour
Olivia says
This cake turned out perfectly! It was so moist and delicious, thank you for sharing this recipe!
Jamie says
Simply the best chocolate cake! Loved the frosting on top!
Kristyn says
Super soft & moist & one of our go-to's!! It super simple to make & everyone loves it!