Vegan Chocolate Cake with Ganache Filling
Learn how to bake a deliciously moist, dairy-free, eggless chocolate cake that everyone will enjoy, with this simple recipe.
Equipment
- Stand mixer or mixing bowls
- Three 6-inch cake pans
- Three Bake-Even Cake Strips (optional but recommended)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients for the cake:
- 1¼ cups cake flour spooned and leveled
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1½ cups light brown sugar packed (or granulated sugar)
- ¾ cup natural cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients for the cake:
- 1 cup soy milk hot
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce or plain vegan yogurt
- ½ teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- ¾ cup oil
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
Chocolate Ganache Filling:
- 1 cup dairy-free dark or semisweet chocolate in chips or chopped
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Buttercream:
- 2 sticks vegan butter or margarine (not unsalted) softened
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1¼ cups natural cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ¼ cup soy milk
- ¼ teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
Instructions
Cake Layers:
- Prepare three 6-inch cake pans by buttering and lightly dusting the bottom and sides with cocoa powder. I recommend using cake strips for a moist, even bake. Soak them in water until ready for use. Then preheat the oven to 340°F/175°C.
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar then sift in the remaining dry ingredients.1¼ cups cake flour, 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ cups light brown sugar, ¾ cup natural cocoa powder, 2 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, add the hot soy milk and instant coffee. Whisk until fully dissolved. Add the remaining wet ingredients and mix until fully combined.1 cup soy milk, ½ teaspoon instant coffee, 2 tablespoons vinegar, ¾ cup oil, 2 tablespoons vanilla, ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- Add the bowl of dry ingredients to the stand mixer and while mixing on low, gradually pour in the wet ingredients. You can also mix by hand.
- Mix for about 30 seconds or until most of the flour just moistened. The batter should be smooth with a few tiny lumps.
- Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a large spoon or silicone spatula to mix in any dry flour. Don’t overmix.
- Evenly distribute the batter between the cake pans. If using cake strips, squeeze out excess water, wrap around each pan and secure.
- Place the pans in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes with cake strips or about 20 to 25 minutes without. A skewer or toothpick inserted should come out almost clean or with bits of cake sticking to it to limit the risk of overbaking.
- Fully cool in the pans before removing.
Ganache Filling:
- Heat the soy milk in a pot or microwave-safe bowl until very hot.1 cup soy milk
- Add the chocolate and vanilla to a heat-safe bowl and carefully pour over the soy milk.1 cup dairy-free dark or semisweet chocolate, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Stir until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is smooth and shiny. It may look curdled at first but keep mixing.
- Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until firm.
Buttercream:
- Add the vegan butter or margarine to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Mix on low.2 sticks vegan butter or margarine (not unsalted), 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, 1¼ cups natural cocoa powder
- Add the remaining ingredients then increase the speed to medium and then high speed for 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Gradually add more soy milk if needed.1 tbsp vanilla, ¼ cup soy milk, ¼ teaspoon instant coffee
To assemble:
- Dab a bit of frosting on your cake board, stand or plate. Place the first layer on the board.
- Evenly spread on half the ganache filling then add the second layer.
- Add the remaining filling, then the final layer, bottom side up.
- Place the cake in the fridge to chill and set the ganache for 1 hour.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and spread the top and sides with a thin layer of chocolate frosting to crumb coat. Return to the fridge for another hour or until the frosting is chilled.
- Spread the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Smooth or swirl with a cake smoother or palette knife. See notes for extra decoration ideas.
Notes
- When the cakes are cool to the touch, you can also place the pans in the freezer for about an hour or until cold and firm. This helps reduce crumbs while stacking or trimming if needed.
- To make cakes extra moist, brush with simple syrup. Mix 3 tbsp water with 3 tbsp sugar and microwave for 1 minute or until boiling. Cool completely before lightly brushing (not soaking) the cakes.
- Too much syrup can cause the cake to fall apart. Add no more than a tablespoon of syrup to each.
- If you’d like to skip the ganache filling, make twice the amount of chocolate frosting, or vice versa.
- For extra decoration, I melted about 180g/6oz dairy-free dark compound chocolate. Some were dripped on half the chilled cake and the remainder was used to make a chocolate sail. Use melted chocolate to help secure the sail.
- It may be difficult to find dairy-free compound chocolate in grocery stores but you can use baking chocolate as well. However, you will have to learn how to temper chocolate so that it can hold its shape when making the sail.
- Please check the post for more helpful tips and substitutions.