Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe made with Coconut Oil

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Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake

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... 

Total Time: 50 minutes
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This is the most delicious Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake you’ll ever taste!

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake with Whipped Cream

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.

Vegan 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!

Of course not being Vegan I finished it with mounds of fresh whipped cream…….. it was a beautiful thing!

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake

Of course I made it Vegan first before I slathered on the whipped cream, but either way, you make it I know you’re going to love it!

If you’ve tried my Chocolate Cake recipe or any other recipe on askchefdennis.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME  on Instagram @chefdenniseats and @chefdennistravels,  Twitter and Facebook.

4.84 from 25 votes
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Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake

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... 

Author: Chef Dennis Littley
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 516 Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 24g 37%
Saturated Fat 18g 90%
Cholesterol 27mg 9%
Sodium 293mg 12%
Potassium 225mg 6%
Total Carbohydrates 74g 25%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Sugars 43g
Protein 5g 10%
Vitamin A 5.8%
Vitamin C 0.1%
Calcium 4.6%
Iron 15.6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 50 mins
Servings: 12
Calories: 516 kcal
Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients
Cake
  • 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 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
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon hot coffee
Whipped Cream
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
  2. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
  3. With your mixer on low speed beat in the coconut oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water until smooth.
  4. Pour the mixture into the two 9″ prepared pans, coated with pan spray.
  5. 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.
  6. Put the cake pans on cooling racks and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans to cool completely.
  7. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
  1. mix all ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and whip until well blended
Whipped Cream
  1. Place cream, sugar and vanilla in your mixing bowl and whip beginning slowly and increasing speed until cream forms stiff peaks
Assembly
  1. place one layer on cake plate and add layer of chocolate fudge.
  2. place second layer on cake and fill in any spots in the chocolate fudge layer.
  3. coat sides of cake with chocolate fudge (wet the blade of your spatula while smoothing it will help)
  4. top cake with whipped cream, cut and serve!

 

 

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About Chef Dennis

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Chef Dennis is a semi-retired Chef, writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis aka Ask Chef Dennis®. Chef Dennis worked professionally in White Table Cloth Restaurants for 40 years and has been developing easy to make, restaurant-style recipes since 2009. Dennis has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for his creative, delicious recipes and travel adventures. For more details, check out his About page.

Comments

  2. Carla says

    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

      • Carla says

        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!

        Reply

  4. Sharon says

    I stumbled upon this recipe because I wanted to make a chocolate cake using coconut oil because I was out of butter. Im not a vegetarian so normally I wouldn’t have even thought to try this recipe, but I guess it was my lucky day because this cake is “to die for” good!! I altered it slightly by substituting the sugar with Stevia and I made one sheet cake instead of a round 2 layer cake.

    Reply

  5. Steve says

    Listen to the chef – don’t cook it in one tin! I did and it was a disaster! Cooked it for an hour before the skewer came out dry. Cut it in half after cooling to put the frosting in and it is like brown play dough apart from the outer half inch

    Reply

  6. Smalley says

    So easy to cook and tastes great!!! I just finished making it for my daughter’s first birthday cake, we were out of butter so thought we would give this a try. I am so glad we did

    Reply

    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      hi Malorie

      its going to increase the cooking time if you use only one tin, and may affect the cake by having it be drier on the outside. I haven’t had much success with making one big cake as opposed to layers

      Reply

  10. Patty says

    I made cupcakes from this recipe topped with a cream and honey icing and fresh blueberries. The cupcakes were divine and the recipe was perfect and easy. A no fail chocolate cake. Also, the cakes were slightly red. Thank you!

    Reply

  11. Vardit says

    Great tasting cake. Made it today for the first time especially for my vegan son, but the whole family loved it. One little problem: I refrigerated it and the frosting, as it hardened has white spots from oil separation. This in no way effected the taste of the cake and no one except for me noticed it. Did I not mix the frosting enough?

    Reply

      • Vardit says

        I live in a warm climate. My coconut oil is completely liquid. Maybe that is the problem. It had a hard time blending with the cocoa powder. I mixed it for a long time until the texture became smooth. Next time, and there will be a next time, I will refrigerate the oil for an hour or so. Thank you!

        Reply

  13. Kristen Y says

    Hi Chef,
    Thank you for this recipe. Eeveryone is always amazed when I tell them there are no eggs or butter! This is my go to chocolate cake recipe! Everyone LOVES it! I am making this for a friends birthday and I grabbed a bag of Valrhona Dutch processed cocoa.I didnt realize there was a difference between the dutch processed and the natual! Should I alter anything with the mix? Would you recomend that I not use it?

    Reply

    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      I’m happy to hear that Kristen, it is a chocolate wonder. You may notice less flavor with the dutch cocoa but other than that you shouldn’t have any problems, but I can’t tell you for sure since I’ve only used the Natural cocoa

      Reply

  15. Melissa says

    Hi Chef Dennis,

    I just made your cake for my husband’s birthday and it is the most moist cake I’ve ever made. I even used one cup of whole wheat flour (hard white). It wasn’t even a bit crumbly, and just what we were looking for. 10/10.

    Thank you!

    Reply

  16. Alix says

    Can’t wait to try making this cake! Quick question – should the coconut oil be melted before mixing in to the cake batter and into the fudge frosting?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  17. borigitana says

    So, if one wants to make this cake with eggs since I don’t happen to have vinegar in the house, how many eggs would I use?? I was specifically looking for a good chocolate cake made with coconut oil for my daughter’s birthday tomorrow and found yours..but have everything sans vinegar. Can I make it without the vinegar without destroying it?

    Reply

    • Chef Dennis says

      I’m sorry but for this specific recipe, I don’t think leaving out the vinegar will give you the desired results and I don’t know what the equivalent of eggs for vinegar would be.

      Reply

  19. Christine says

    Found you on Pinterest… This cake sounds delish! I want to make for my husbands birthday this week but had a question. The cocoa in the cake ingredients, is that the powdered, unsweetened kind? Just wanted to clarify since it said that for the fudge part but not the cake. Thanks for your help! Going to try making the whipped cream from canned coconut milk (another pinterest recipe). Yum I can hardly wait!

    Reply

    • Chef D says

      Thanks for stopping by Christine and yes the cocoa in the cake is just regular unsweetened, I use Hershey’s most of the time, but any brand will do. You can also substitute olive oil or any other oil in the cake instead of the coconut oil, if you like. The coconut oil, did make the cake a little more firm when chilled.

      If my wife liked coconut, I would have topped the cream with some toasted coconut too….sigh I love coconut, but if mama ain’t happy, nobody happy!
      let me know how it turns out.
      Dennis

      Reply

      • Christine says

        Ooh, this turned out so good! The fudge frosting was amazing. I used Agave instead of Maple syrup since I was almost out. I couldn’t control myself from sampling, I was hoping there would be enough left to frost the cake ! Thanks for a yummy cake my whole family can enjoy together (I’m vegan, hubs not, and one kiddo with egg/dairy allergy). And the ingredients are staples in most kitchens. Kudos!

        Reply

        • Chef D says

          I’m so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the cake! It’s one of the first cakes I teach my students since its so easy and so good!
          thank you!

          Reply

  20. sanam says

    Your website and the blogs I found on it have been my newest obsession for a few months. What makes it so special is the stories. There’s a down to earth, homey charm to them that makes every recipe a little treasure. Too bad they don’t sell coconut oil where I live. Can I just use canola instead or maybe butter?

    Reply

    • Chef D says

      Thank you, I’m very happy to hear that you enjoy my blog! You can use canola oil, or olive oil in the cake, and I would use butter in the fudge.

      Cheers
      Dennis

      Reply

      • sanam says

        Thanks, I did as you said and it turned out great! I just had to try it because there were no eggs involved. Everyone at home thought it was going to be a failure, and they were absolutely amazed at how it turned out! I felt like a magician haha And the frosting… to die for!

        Reply

        • Chef D says

          Thanks for letting me know how well it turned out! It is a wonderful cake, its also the first one I teach my students. They’re always amazed at how good it is!

          Reply

  21. Katherines Corner says

    Oh how divine ,I think it would be perfect for breakfast too, giggle. What a fun memory to share. I love the idea of this healthier recipe. I invite you to share your yummy recipes at my Thursday hops ( it’s still open today) Hugs P.S. thank you for your friendship on Google plus.

    Reply

    • Chef D says

      Thanks Katherine, It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, and I hope to see you in our community when you have time.

      Reply

  25. Rita says

    I have not been here is a very long time; so nice to see you on Google+ Your chocolate cake is a master piece. I also have been using coconut oil; really healthy and tasty. I can imagine it would work really well with a cake recipe. Glad I found you again; always enjoyed your journey at the Academy.
    Rita

    Reply

  28. chitra says

    Wow, wonderful cake. I am planning to try. Please suggest me an alternate for maple syrup and shall i use ordinary coconut oil. Mine is not extra virgin .. Thanks chef 🙂

    Reply

    • Chef D says

      hi Chitra,

      regular coconut oil should be no problem, and you can use honey in place of the maple syrup, or any liquid sweetener that you like, Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply

  30. Paula @ Vintage Kitchen says

    It´s so sad that I can´t get coconut oil here. I still think it will catch on at some point and I will be able to get it everywhere. A fabulous chocolate cake!

    Reply

  32. Wendy Irene says

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe Chef Dennis! I am thinking I could make it with coconut milk whip cream on top and that would be wonderful too 🙂 One of my friends made some for me the other day by whipping the coconut cream from the top of the can with confectioners’ sugar. It was delicious. Happy Holidays, my friend!

    Reply

  35. The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says

    That’s more healthy? I’d be willing to give chocolate another try with a slice of that gorgeous cake. I can see how moist it is. It’s beautiful.

    Reply

  36. Betty Ann @Mango_Queen says

    Chocolate cake never fails to make us all run to the dessert table. And I’m glad you shared one with coconut oil. I grew up in a country that used coconut oil in everything. Glad to see there is a renewed interest in its uses and benefits. Thanks for sharing this, Chef Dennis!

    Reply

  46. Elin says

    Chef Dennis, share a slice of your fudgelicious please…I am hungry just looking at it now…bad timing 🙂 Thanks for sharing another good one with us. Here is me wishing you and loved ones, a Joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year ! Have fun with family and friends 🙂

    Warm Wishes,
    Elin

    Reply

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