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    Home » Recipes » Cake Recipes

    Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe made with Coconut Oil

    Published: Dec 18, 2012 · Modified: Jun 19, 2022 by Chef Dennis Littley

    632 shares
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    • Yummly
    4.77 from 30 votes
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    pinterest image for vegan chocolate fudge cake

    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

    Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!

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    Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake
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    4.77 from 30 votes

    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… 
    Prep Time20 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time50 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 516kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    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 tsp vanilla extract
    US Customary – Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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: 516kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 225mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2.8mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

    More Restaurant-Style Cakes

    • Blueberry Coffee Cake
    • Double Chocolate Banana Bread
    • Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
    • Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

    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. The second phase of his reinvention from chef to blogger has earned him a place at the Worlds Dinner Table. Join him on his Culinary Journey enjoying his easy to make Restaurant Style recipes and travel adventures. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Syd Reginato

      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

        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

      November 20, 2017 at 9:32 pm

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

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        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

      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

        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

          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!

    4. georges

      December 29, 2015 at 7:42 am

      4 stars
      Made this cake at least 6 times best cake ever!!

      Reply
      • georges

        December 29, 2015 at 7:44 am

        5 stars
        Five stars

        Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        December 29, 2015 at 9:21 am

        Thanks for the feedback, I’m happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying the recipe!

        Reply
    5. Sharon

      June 03, 2015 at 10:06 pm

      5 stars
      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
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        June 04, 2015 at 11:46 am

        I’m glad you enjoyed the cake Sharon, it is pretty darn good!

        Reply
    6. Steve

      March 16, 2015 at 7:42 am

      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
    7. Smalley

      February 09, 2015 at 5:35 pm

      5 stars
      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

        February 09, 2015 at 5:55 pm

        thanks for the feedback, I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the cake!

        Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        February 13, 2015 at 8:58 am

        I’m very happy to hear that the cake turned out well for you!

        Reply
    8. Kitty

      January 17, 2015 at 1:35 pm

      4 stars
      Pur délice! Very moist and tasty! Topped it with whipped coconut cream so it was entirely vegan and perfect. Thx!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        January 18, 2015 at 1:45 pm

        Happy to hear you enjoyed the cake Kitty!

        Reply
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