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The Best Chocolate Cake
From Matilda | Vegan
Published on: 22 January, 2025 By: Meera
This Vegan Chocolate Cake from the childhood classic, Matilda is absolute madness. It’s as dreamy as heaven and filthy as hell. It’s perfectly sweet, unbelievably moist, packed with the deep decadence of chocolate, and wickedly indulgent.
You know what’s also painful about watching sweet lil Brucey eat that whole cake? Being a vegan and know you’d never enjoy a cake as close to that since the replicated versions are always made with eggs.
But, the day had cometh when I spooned a piece of this dark decadence in my mouth and was knocked off my socks. The overwhelming moistness of the crumb is a mock to dry cakes. Even the non-vegans couldn’t believe it. By the end of the day when I made this cake, not even a sliver of a slice survived to see midnight.
What makes this cake so special?
- Decadent Flavor: Every bite is rich, moist, and packed with chocolatey goodness.
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Allergy-friendly, vegan, and vegetarian: no need for eggs, or dairy.
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Crowd-Pleasing: This cake will wow vegans and non-vegans alike. It’ll even have the vegan skeptics returning for seconds.
Do you see how moist this cake is??? Aaahhh (take me now).
What you’ll need to make this chocolate cake
- All-purpose flour: I haven’t tested this recipe with any other flour (such as spelt or gluten-free) so I cannot say if they’ll work as well.
- Cocoa powder – unsweetened. It doesn’t matter if it’s Dutch processed or not.
- Sugar – granulated or caster sugar.
- Baking soda – this helps the cake rise.
- Salt – enhances sweetness and brings out the chocolate flavour.
- Non-dairy milk – almond, oat, soy, cashew, or even milk milk works. You can get away with using water, too.
- Vinegar – the acidity reacts with the baking powder to help the cake rise. It also curdles the plant milk which creates more tenderness.
- Oil – canola, sunflower, soybean, etc. If using coconut oil, make sure it’s refined or the coconut flavour may come through.
- Applesauce – unsweetened. This increases the tenderness and replaces the eggs. Read on to learn how you can make your own. It’s super easy
- Vanilla extract – enhances the flavour.
- Boiling coffee – THIS! Boiling liquid is what’s ultimately responsible for this cake’s tenderness. Coffee and chocolate are lovers in a dark heaven – they complement each other so well! But, you can use boiling water instead.
How to make a vegan chocolate cake
Step 1: Mix all of the dry ingredients. In a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Add the salt and sugar. Mix well to combine.
Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the non-dairy milk, vinegar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
Step 3: Combine the wet and the dry ingredients. Add the wet mixture to the dry and combine well with a whisk or fork. It will be a thick-ish mix.
Step 4: Add the boiling coffee. Mix in the boiling coffee. Stir well. It will seem abnormally thin but don’t be alarmed. That’s how it’s supposed to look 🙂
Step 5: Bake. Transfer the batter to a greased/ lined 9” round cake pan. In a oven pre-heated at 180 degrees Celsius (or 360 degrees Fahrenheit). Bake the cake for 55-60 minutes.
Step 6: Let cool completely before topping with your favourite ganache/ icing/ frosting.
Frosting the cake
This is the recipe I used to make my ganache. It’s a pretty delicious and simple one: 5 Minute Vegan Chocolate Ganache With Coconut Milk.
You may use your favourite ganache/ icing/ frosting recipe for topping the cake.
Got no applesauce? Yeah, me neither
Applesauce isn’t sold anywhere where I live. So, whenever I use it in baking, I have to make my own. It can be inconvenient at times, but it’s well worth it for this cake. Luckily, it’s quite simple to make.
Just chop up some apples, boil them until fork tender, and blitz the chunks in a blender until pureed.
*Two small apples give me a little extra applesauce than what the recipe needs (which I use up in pancake batters or oatmeal).
The Best Chocolate Cake From Matilda | Vegan
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour* (188g)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (50g)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/3 cups sugar (267g) | granulated or caster
- 1/4 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk (170g) | almond, soy, oat, cashew, etc., or water
- 2 tsp vinegar | apple cider or plain white
- 1/3 cup oil (72g) | sunflower, canola, refined coconut oil, etc.
- 1/2 cup applesauce** (120g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup boiling coffee (170g) | or water
Instructions
- Mix all of the dry ingredients. In a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Add the sugar and salt. Mix well to combine.
- Mix the wet ingredients except the boiling coffee. In a separate bowl, mix the non-dairy milk, vinegar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the wet mixture to the dry and combine well with a whisk or fork. It will be a thick-ish mix.
- Add the boiling coffee. Mix in the boiling coffee. Stir well. The batter will seem abnormally thin but don’t be alarmed. That’s how it’s supposed to look 🙂
- Transfer and bake. Transfer the batter to a greased/ lined 9” round cake pan. In a oven pre-heated at 180 degrees Celsius (or 360 degrees Fahrenheit). Bake the cake for 55-60 minutes.
- Frost: Let the chocolate cake cool completely before topping with your favourite ganache/ icing/ frosting. Check the notes for the link to the ganache recipe I used.
- Storage: This cake can be covered and kept at room temperature for 3-4 days. or in the fridge for 7-8 days.
Notes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please consider leaving a rating, and tag me on Instagram @soggy_cereal77 I’d love to hear what you think. Plus, it would make me happy to have spread the love through this chocolate cake <3
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