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Home » Recipes » Cake Recipes

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe made with Coconut Oil

Published: Dec 18, 2012 · Modified: Feb 11, 2024 by Chef Dennis Littley

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This is the most delicious Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake you’ll ever taste!

slice of Chocolate Fudge Cake with Whipped Cream on a white plate on a red and white striped napkin


 

One of my great childhood memories will always be chocolate cake for breakfast…sigh. It was a wonderful thing! But that was in the days of Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker when mixes somehow began taking the place of homemade cakes. Now I’m not knocking the mixes, everything has its time and place, and they did come up with some pretty darn good cakes. But even as good as they were, they’re not homemade.

I came across an old recipe for a Vegan Chocolate Cake, although at the time they had no idea it was Vegan, or even what a Vegan was, but they knew what delicious was! It was a simple recipe using oil, and vinegar instead of eggs and butter….who knew?

Well evidently those bakers from the depression knew, and when they couldn’t get eggs or butter, they still came up with a recipe for the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had.

With my quest to eat healthier, I’ve been changing my dietary intake whenever possible, using Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream and sour cream, and using coconut oil instead of other oils.

overhead shot of Chocolate Fudge Cake with Whipped Cream

So what could I do but make my favorite chocolate cake of all time, using coconut oil.

I decided to throw a fudge layer in between the layers and used coconut oil instead of butter and it was fudgelicious!

To keep the cake Vegan I finished it with mounds of whipped coconut cream…….. it was a beautiful thing!

overhead shot of Chocolate Fudge Cake dusted with powdered sugar

If you’re not into whipped coconut cream you can always dust the cake with powdered sugar.

If you enjoyed this recipe you may also like these:

  • The Original Pumpkin Crunch Cake
  • Chocolate Valentines Cake
  • Pomegranate Mousse Cake
  • Chocolate Mousse Cake
Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake

Chef Dennis Littley
You’re going to love this over the top fudgy and delicious chocolate cake.  And if you leave off the whipped cream it’s completely vegan… 
4.79 from 33 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12
Calories 516 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Cake

  • 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup Coconut Oil
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups cold water

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

  • 1 cup coconut oil
  • 1 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon hot coffee

Whipped Cream

  • 14 oz Coconut cream
  • ⅓ cup confectioners sugar (10x)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
  • Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
  • With your mixer on low speed beat in the coconut oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water until smooth.
  • Pour the mixture into the two 9″ prepared pans, coated with pan spray.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Do not over bake the cake. It should be firm to the touch, and a cake skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean.
  • Put the cake pans on cooling racks and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans to cool completely.
  • Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

  • mix all ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and whip until well blended

Whipped Cream

  • Refrigerate can of coconut cream, 8 hours or overnight. Place a metal mixing bowl and beaters in the refrigerator or freezer 1 hour before making whipped cream.
  • Open the can of coconut cream, taking care not to shake it. Scoop out the coconut cream solids into a cold mixing bowl. (Reserve remaining liquid for another use)
  • Beat the coconut cream using an electric mixer with the chilled beaters on medium speed for a few minutes then turn to high speed. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 8 minutes.
  • Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract to coconut cream; beat 1 minute more.

Assembly

  • place one layer on cake plate and add layer of chocolate fudge.
  • place second layer on cake and fill in any spots in the chocolate fudge layer.
  • coat sides of cake with chocolate fudge (wet the blade of your spatula while smoothing it will help)
  • top cake with whipped cream, cut and serve!

Nutrition

Calories: 516kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 5gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 293mgPotassium: 225mgFiber: 4gSugar: 43gVitamin A: 290IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 2.8mg
Tried this recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askchefdennis or tag #askchefdennis!

Comments

    4.79 from 33 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Syd Reginato says

    January 13, 2021 at 9:10 am

    will this cake with fudge frosting be ok at room temp for 5 days? I’ll be mailing it!

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      January 13, 2021 at 9:21 am

      I don’t know about mailing it, I’m not sure it will hold up during that process.

      Reply
  2. Monica Salvador says

    November 20, 2017 at 9:32 pm

    Should I make any modifications for making this cake in high altitude?

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      November 20, 2017 at 9:43 pm

      hi Monica

      since I’m not a high altitude cook, I wouldn’t know how to advise you. I would make the changes that you usually do to regular recipes.

      Reply
  3. Carla says

    April 23, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    5 stars
    I made this cake for my sister’s birthday and it turned out beautifully! It was moist and fudgey which everyone loved! =D Smelled like brownies throughout my house! I made it gluten-free too using Cara’s All Purpose Gluten-Free flour blend (forkandbeans.com) and 1 & 1/2 tsps xanthan gum as a gluten replacer/binder. I also made it dairy-free by using coconut cream instead of heavy dairy cream and used confectioner’s sugar with vanilla extract. I didn’t have the coffee but sprinkled some Enjoy Life’s chocolate chips in and on top. I like that there’s no butter in this and think that the coconut oil in this recipe brings out the richness and creaminess of the chocolate! Coconut oil is so good in baked goods! =) Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe, Chef! I received many compliments from everyone at the party.

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      April 23, 2016 at 6:37 pm

      Sounds like you made some delicious adjustments to the cake Carla! Thanks so much for sharing them with us, and for stopping by to let me know you enjoyed the cake.

      Reply
      • Carla says

        April 26, 2016 at 5:40 am

        Certainly. You’re welcome! =) I wanted others who may have allergies or want to make a cake for someone who does that it is possible to make this gluten-free/dairy-free. It’s a fantastic recipe and turns out well either way! 😉 Thanks, again!

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My name is Chef Dennis Littley, creator and owner of Ask Chef Dennis Productions. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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