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!
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.