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Vegan Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache. Sogt, Moist Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake! Use sunbutter or coconut cream to make nut-free. Vegan Soy-free Palmoil-free Recipe.  Jump to Recipe Â
Lets get on with some chocolate goodies for Valentine’s day, shall we. And Make this gorgeous vegan chocolate layer cake! I made this for our anniversary weekend and it worked like a charm to bring a huge smile on hubbs face with each bite. The cake is Moist, not too sweet and just the right amount of decadent for us.
This easy Vegan Chocolate Cake is layered with a smooth chocolate nut butter ganache glaze. I use smooth almond butter. Any smooth nut or seed butter should work. The cake ages really well and tastes best the next day as the ganache adds more moisture to it. Add fruit preserves like raspberry, apricot, blackberries between the layers. I use raw unrefined sugar in this cake, that I blend to powder in my blender before use. Use any fine or powdered sugar of choice.
This makes a big 8 inch layer cake. Don’t want the huge cake? make this individual Chocolate Layer Cake for One. No Bake.
What are your plans for the weekend?
More chocolate goodness from the blog
- Peanut or almond Butter, Chocolate Marble Cake.Â
- Brownies, loads of Brownies
- Vegan Almond Butter Blondies with Chocolate Chips
- Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Cake and Cake Mix In a Jar
- Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake for One. No Bake. Made on stove top.Â
Some No Bake Chocolate Pies here.Â
These sharp and beautiful slices are by my new Kramer knife that hubbs got for me. He knows what will be appreciated!Â
And while you are here, please do read this National Geographic article about how the Tiger Temple in Thailand, one of the premier attractions which claims monks live in harmony with the tigers, is connected to Wildlife parts trade, drugging and abusing of these magnificent wild beings. Updates about the temple can be followed on this facebook page. Â
Vegan Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache
Ingredients Â
Cake : makes two 8 inch pans
Dry:
- 1 cup wheat flour
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup powdered vegan sugar, , 2 Tbsp more for sweeter - blend raw sugar to fine powder to use or use wholesome sweeeteners vegan powdered sugar
- 1/2 scant tsp salt
Wet:
- 1 1/2 cups non dairy milk, divided
- 1/3 cup non dairy chocolate chips or bar, semi sweet chips, or dark chocolate for dark/bittersweet cake
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 tsp vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
Glaze:
- 1/2 cup non dairy milk
- 1/3-1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2/3 cup or more non dairy semi sweet chocolate like Enjoy Life
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter or almond butter or other seed or nut butter
- Fruit preserves like raspberry, apricot, cherry (optional)
InstructionsÂ
Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 170ºc. In a bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients for the cake really well.
- In another bowl, heat 1 cup of non dairy milk and chocolate until just about hot (heat in the microwave or stove top). Whisk until chocolate is melted. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients and 1/2 cup non dairy milk and mix in until smooth..
- Add the dry to the wet and mix to make a smooth batter.
- Transfer batter to two greased or parchment lined 8 inch cake pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees F / 170ºc for 30 to 34 minutes. or until toothpick from the center comes out clean. Do not overbake as the cakes can get crusty or dry.
- Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes then remove from the pan and cool on the rack completely before adding a glaze or ganache. Cover the cakes with a towel while it is cooling to prevent drying out. To shorten the cooling time, cover the cakes with a towel or parchment or a lid and place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
Ganache:
- Heat the non dairy milk + sugar in a pan over medium heat, until just about hot. Mix well. Add in the chocolate, mix once and take the pan off heat. Keep mixing until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Add in the vanilla and peanut butter or other nut butter. Mix until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes to thicken to desired consistency.
- Pour some of the ganache on one cake. Spread using a spatula to even out if needed. Let the ganache set in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes or freezer for 10.
- Add a thin even layer of fruit preserves on the other cake (optional) (warm the preserves to make them easier to spread if needed). Place this cake on top of the cake with the ganache glaze. Pour the rest of the glaze over the top cake. Spread using a spatula if needed. Let the ganache set in the refrigerator for half an hour. If you have more ganache left, pour over the set glaze for another layer. Cover the cake and let it chill for a few hours before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tips to make a great vegan chocolate cake
- Chocolate cakes can tend to dry out or get hard edges if baked too long. If your cake tends to do that, reduce the baking time by 5 mins. Ovens heat differently, the pans, cocoa/chocolate brand etc add to the iffy behavior.
- A ganache or glaze will help add moisture to the cake. Let the cake chill with the ganache for a few hours for best results of overall moisture.Â
- If the cake is overbaked (too dry). crumble it up, add some ganache and make into cake snack balls
- Use good quality chocolate. It adds amazing flavor and texture.
Is wheat flour the same as wholemeal flour? If not, can I use this as a substitute?
Yes, Whole Wheat Flour in the US is the same as wholemeal flour.
It was my first time baking a vegan cake. I made it using coconut milk and coconut oil. I followed the recipe but my cake turned out very crumbly. I was unable to layer the cake as both the pieces just crumbled away. Any idea what went wrong?
There could be several reasons for crumbly cake. Was the batter of the cake smooth and flowy or too thick? Was the baked cake dry and crumbly or soft/moist and crumbly. If the cake was dryish and crumbly then it got overbaked or the batter was too thick/dry and needed less flour or more wet. flour measurements can vary or the type of flour as well. What flour did you use? If the cake was soft moist and crumbly, then it either needed the batter to be mixed a bit more (for gluten formation to avoid crumbs and breaking) or a few mins of extra bake time.
The batter was thicker than what j usually have for cake. So may be I needed more liquid. How long do you usually mix it for? I just mixed it once. Although the texture wasn’t as good, it was probably the tastiest cake I’ve made. Going to try it again for sure.
You want to mix it until it is smooth. Once smooth and well mixed, dont mix anymore. When you add the dry, fold in half of the dry first and then add more, a few tbsps at a time, so you can stop adding more flour when the batter is a thickish flowy batter. A few tablespoons of flour less or more are ok in the cake since measurements, chocolate, flour etc can change the amount of liquid that gets absorbed. The consistency is what we need for a good cake texture. Great that the taste worked out perfect. Happy baking!
Do you really mean powdered sugar? I used powdered sugar for your molasses cookies, and they didn’t come out well.
Hi Johanna, I powder my granulated raw sugar in a blender and use it.
The cookies might have a different problem like a measurement issue or the kind of molasses etc. What was the problem with the cookies?
Just made this for my husband’s birthday. It was delicious! Thanks, Richa!
For years being vegan & tried many version of recipe, I never been able to make cake with that texture. Mine always had big air bubbles/pockets.
Any hints?
You might be overmixing the batter. Have you tried this recipe? Let me know how this turns out.
Hey Richa this looks fab. I really want to try it out but, I want a boozy cake! Could you please tell me how to incorporate rum in the cake and ganache recipe? Thanks 🙂
You can add a 1/4 cup rum in the batter (replace some of the non dairy milk) or add it to the ganache. (use 1/4 cup non dairy milk in the beginning. add rum when you add the peanut butter and mix in)
Thanks! I’ll send you pictures later 🙂
just made this gorgeous cake today and its absolutely delish and decadent-substituted all the flour for gluten free flour and used guittard dark chocolate chips as i did not have any vegan ones
and coconut oil and coconut sugar – also did not use any fruit
-the cake is delicious but a bit dry – is it because of the BOBS RED MILL G/F flour
does it turn moist the next day with g/f flours -i already iced it so not sure how to moisten it now
how do i post a picture -its awesome
Yes, gf flours generally will make a drier baked result. If you already iced it then the cake will moisten because of the icing over the next few hours. when you make the cake again, once the cake is done baking, cover with a towel to cool, so the moisture while cooling stays in the cake.
you can post a picture on instagram or faceook and tag me!
thxs richa -your the best
i did cover the cakes with a towel after baking
my husband sprinkled a little fresh orange juice over individual slices and its awesome
posting a pic on instagram
Sounds great but could you please clarify the amount of flour
Dry ingredients list says
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour or all purpose flour
Is this a typo? If not what is the difference between 2 types of flour
Wheat flour is whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour which is the whole wheat berry that is ground. you can use either. Whole grain flours usually bake up dense.
all purpose flour is refined wheat flour where only some part of the grain is ground and ground very fine compared to the whole wheat flour. refined flours usually bake up lighter.
you can use all 2 cups of all purpose flour or cake flour.