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Whacky Vegan Chocolate Cake
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This vegan chocolate cake recipe has been around for decades. It’s also called the Whacky cake or the Depression cake. But let me tell you, the taste and texture of the cake is definitely not whacky or depressing. It’s unbelievably moist and tastes like any regular chocolate cake especially with the frosting. At first I didn’t tell my husband that the cake has vinegar in it, so he was not able to tell any difference. He liked the cake very much even after I told about the secret ingredient. But since I knew about the vinegar I was able to feel a very very very mild smell/taste. I guess it’s psychological. I have to stress here again that when eaten with the frosting this chocolate cake is so delicious. This vegan chocolate cake recipe is definitely a keeper. I’m already thinking of the variations I can make each time.
I also wanted to prepare a vegan frosting for this cake, but I didn’t have confectioner’s sugar. Actually I have it somewhere but was not able to find it. I have made a pact that I won’t be buying anything other than dairy products, vegetables, fruits and other extremely necessary groceries for the next 2 months. Recently I did a pantry audit and was overwhelmed by the things I had accumulated in the past months, especially after starting this blog. I didn’t even know that I had bought so much baking/cooking stuff. That’s why I didn’t want to buy confectioner’s sugar, even though I was so tempted to run to the grocery store.
I was wondering what to do for the frosting without the sugar because all the recipes I had called for confectioner’s sugar. I had a few packs of instant pudding mixes and thought how it would be for a frosting. I googled and found that pudding mix frosting is very common. Luckily I had the Cool Whip topping which is required for the frosting. Even though I was skeptical, I had to proceed with it anyway because I had no other go. Surprisingly it did turn out good. So the frosting is not vegan.
| Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe |
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- 1 and 1/2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour (I used Bleached)
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (I used Hersheys)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 cup Canola Oil
- 1 tablespoon White Distilled Vinegar
- 1 cup Cold Water
- 1 cup Cold Milk
- One 4oz Pack Instant Pudding Mix, Any Flavor (I used Oreos cookie flavor)
- One 8oz Container Thawed Cool Whip (I used Fat Free)
- Preheat the oven at 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Lightly oil the cake pan you are using.
- Stir together all the dry ingredients (flour to cocoa powder) and create a well in the center.
- To the well add all the wet ingredients one by one. Mix until just combined. Don’t overmix. It’s ok to have some lumps.
- Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Mine was done by 24 minutes. If baking cupcakes, check around 13-15th minute.
- Cool completely on a wire rack. I left it for an hour.
- To remove the cake from the pan, run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake.
- Cool completely before frosting. Actually frosting is not even necessary for this moist cake. You may simply dust with confectioner’s sugar and top with fresh raspberries.
- Pour milk into a large bowl. Add the pudding mix. Beat until fluffy for 2 minutes.
- Blend in the thawed Cool Whip thoroughly.
- Frost the cake/cupcakes and refrigerate it at least for 3-4 hours before serving.
- For Cake: I read that apple cider vinegar is better than white distilled vinegar when it comes to baking, because you will not even have that very mild smell or after taste I was referring earlier.
- For Frosting: This frosting is not very sweet, but it was perfect with the cake and for us. We don’t like overly sweet cakes and frosting.
- For Frosting: This measurement will be right for a 13×9 inch cake or a layer cake. I had at least a cup of frosting left over, which I intend to serve in ice cream cones for my son.
1. Egg Replacement Event – Vinegar hosted by me.
2. Just for You hosted by Alka. I made this cake for Valentine’s day for my husband.
3. My Favorite Things – Heart Shaped Food hosted by Bindiya.
4. Cook and Create with Luv for Luv hosted by Priyanka.
Also check out the delicious chocolate cake recipe.
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what brand of pudding mix did you use? I can’t find any dairy free at the store i shop at.
Thanks!
As mentioned in the post, the cake is only vegan and not the pudding mix. So it’s not dairy free.
Hi,
I tried the eggless chocolate cake today , as I have Sunday dinner for my children and grandchildren. One of the kids has horrible allergies and asthma.
THANKYOU,THANKYOU!!
My little five year old grandson, who never has anything that is super good in baked items, was ecstatic!
My heart was so warmed by his reaction.
I frosted it with a mixture of flour,margarine, sugar and milk cooked over a double boiler ! was fabulous all in all!
We actually all loved it!
This is the very first cake that was edible, and beyond that it was fantastic!Soft, fluffy and incredibly delicious.
Again, Thankyou,FIVE STARS. Would give you 10 if available!
Gladys LaMastra
Oh, thank you very much Gladys. That was very nice of you to give such a wonderful feedback.
Hi Madhuram,
Tried this eggless chocolate cake, it was an amazing, soft, fluffy cake…..You rock!! The texture tthe texture that I always wanted for a cake before it is iced…. I tried a small quantity, so could not do the icing, but I know for sure the next time I make this it is a bigger quantity.
Had one query..when I baked this in a small square tray, the base was square but when the cake rose the top was round…so it wasn’t even..any tips here?
Usha
Thanks for trying the recipe Usha. I’m glad that you liked it. Unlike cooking, while baking we have to follow the exact measurements be it the ingredients or the pan size, oven temperature etc to get the desired result. Changing the pan size will definitely alter the consistency and shape. Also we should consider the baking time also while changing the pan size.
Hello! I tried this with the apple cider vinegar as cupcakes. Yum!! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Tracy.
Thanks Tracy.
I just tried this cake.. Used the exact measurements. However, the top and the bottom of the cake tured out hard.. the inside was moist but not super moist like most of the people who tried it. Please advice. Undoubtely the easiest recipe and tasted good on the inside. Also when eating it was sticking to the mouth a little. Please help and advice on what I did wrong.
Maybe you baked it a little too long Shri.
I would like to know what I can use instead of apple cider vinegar, for these things are not easily for it is not easily available in India. And things like egg substitutes are also not available here, So can you tell how i can use ordinary vinegar without getting the smell. I don’t like to use condensed milk too for it is too high is fat, also can i use whole wheat flour instead of maida.
Please can you email these details to me at [email protected]
You could use regular white vinegar Rama. You have to try it for yourself to see if you the smell bothers you because my family didn’t notice it but I did. So you wouldn’t know unless you try it for yourself. The egg substittues depend on the recipe. There is no straight forward substitute for all recipes. You have to choose a substitute depending upon the recipe. As far as I know you can all the substitutes but for EnerG in India. Applesauce can be made at home, but cooking and pureeing it. Regarding using whole wheat flour, again this one too also doesn’t work in all recipes and its also an acquired taste. You have to start incrementing the quantity of whole wheat flour before you can use it fully.
hi
u can find the apple cider vinegar in Namdhari’s fresh …
m from bangalore but i guess u can find it elsewhr also
hope it helps
Hi,
I tried this cake a week back and it came out well. I was overwhelmed as this is jus my 3rd cake
and I should definitely accept tat a partial credit goes to you as well, for an amazing procedure..an excellent effort!! congrats 
hope you post more recipes..
belated Ugadhi wishes..
Thanks Ranjani.
Hi madhu
i just tried this cake today and it was absolutely YUM!!!!
unbelievable that an eggless cake can be so moist n fluffy
the complete credit goes to u and this treasure of a blog ….
but one small thing i tried the chocolate frosting u used for ur
chocolate bottle gourd cake and it had slight smell to it .. i
thought may be the icing sugar had gone bad ???
luv
nandini
Thanks for trying the recipe Nandini. What are the ingredients you used for the frosting?
and if i want to make this without the chocolate flavor can i just
use cornflour in place n cocoa powder??? my husband is not much
into chocolates he prefers vanilla flavored plain cakes better
I think it might not work Nandini. Try this cake instead: http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/11/18/vegan-white-cake/
i used the icing sugar , margarine and cocoa powder … but the
milk i used was quite warm … i noticed that by the next day it
was a wee little bit diminished .. i thought it might be coz of
using the hand mixer on warm milk??? btwn the vegan white cake uses
enerG ??? is thr anyway to substitute that???? i dont get the enerG
here in india
Can I use whole wheat flour for this recipe? If so, how much?
If you haven’t baked with whole wheat flour or used to the taste of whole wheat flour in baked goods, I would suggest using half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour. Plain whole wheat flour “DOES NOT” taste good in all recipes and especially in cake recipes. If you still want to use it, try finding white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour. Bulk Barn has whole wheat pastry flour (its called soft wheat flour) or try the organic aisles of grocery stores/Whole Foods etc. Also you should be careful while preparing batter with whole wheat flour because over mixing whill toughen the cake/cookies.
Check this recipe where I have used barley flour in place of all purpose flour: http://www.egglesscooking.com/2009/11/26/vegan-barley-flour-chocolate-cake/
hi,
is it ok to use bensdorp (dutch-processed cocoa) with this recipe? if yes, should the baking soda be changed into baking powder?
thank you.
mb
If I were to try this recipe using Dutch Process Cocoa, I would use about 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder instead of 1 teaspoon baking soda. Try it and let me know how it turns out.
hi, i just tried it with 1/4 tsp baking powder. the result was flat, not fluffy at all and the texture was kinda gummy. any other suggestions? thanks!
I’m a vegan so I have lots of experience baking vegan goodies. The reason why it didn’t for you is because the vinegar needs the baking soda so it can cause a reaction and make the cake rise. You can just substitute the Dutch process cocoa and not make any other substitutions (keep the 1 teaspoon baking soda as is).
Thanks for the input GS.
Hi,
I’m to the whole vegan baking, and have to say THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE! I have a ton of allergies and have had trouble finding recipes to cook! I cooked this on the weekend and it was delicious!! I followed your suggestions from a comment in the banana chocolate cake recipe, about omiting the vinegar, adding half a cup of banana and reducing the water. It was a very moist cake and my family loved it, way healthier than normal baking too, i’m so happy:)am now looking forward to making more recipes on this site – he he
I’m glad I was able to help you Elle.
Hi, please let me know if I can use butter instead of oil. Also can you tell me if I can bake it in a 9 inch cake pan and make it a layered one using this recipe.
Deepa you can use melted butter instead of the oil. You can also bake it in a 9-inch cake pan but my guess is that the cake will be quite thin, so be patient while slicing the cake into half for making the layers. Allow to cool completely and try using a floss (of course, unflavored) to slice it. Or better bake 2 cakes. Remember that this recipe is for only 1 cake, so you will have to double the measurements.