Easy recipe for chocolate cake without eggs (2024)

This easy recipe for an eggless chocolate cake is mixed by hand without a mixer, in one bowl, just like cake mix. This recipe is perfect for a chocolate layer cake or for cupcakes.

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Did you know that commercial cake mixes sold in grocery stores were actually developed to be made without eggs? But home bakers found it odd to make cake without using eggs, so cake mix brands quickly added eggs to the instructions to make home bakers feel more comfortable using cake mix.

What you need to make this recipe

To make a chocolate cake without eggs, you actually don't need anything special, and you likely already have the ingredients in your pantry!

• milk, non-dairy beverage (like soy milk), or even water will work in this recipe
• vinegar, either plain white vinegar or cider vinegar, to react with baking soda to help the cake rise as it bakes
• all-purpose flour to give the cake structure
• baking soda to help the cake rise. Do not use baking powder here.
• cocoa powder, preferably a high quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder like Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder, which is my favourite
• salt, preferably Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• sugar, specifically brown sugar, either light or dark, or even granulated sugar
• neutral-tasting oil like canola oil, vegetable oil, or a very light-tasting olive oil. Don't use extra virgin olive oil which has too much flavour for this cake
• vanilla extract to enhance the flavour

Substitutions

This eggless chocolate cake recipe is made with milk, so it's vegetarian, not vegan, but you could replace the cow's milk with your favourite non-dairy beverage, like soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk, if you want a vegan chocolate cake.

The brown sugar can be replaced with regular granulated sugar or granulated cane sugar. Either will work great! Do not use turbinado or a coarse sugar, which won't dissolve properly and will have a negative impact on taste and texture.

How it's made

This chocolate cake couldn't be easier to make because it uses the two bowl mixing method (also called the muffin mixing method). It's the same method as cake mix, actually, where the wet ingredients are added to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stirred together to combine them.

Special equipment

You don't need anything special to make this recipe. You don't even need a mixer! The ingredients are mixed in a bowl using a whisk or a Danish dough whisk.

This recipe fits three 6-inch round cake pans, or you can use two 8- or 9-inch cake pans, if you prefer.

I have also baked this cake as a single layer, in a 3-inch tall 6-inch cake pan, but note that it will take almost double the time to bake the cake as one layer because it's so tall. You can top the cake with chocolate ganache poured when still warm, like a glaze, which adds a ton of chocolate flavour!

Another option for the ganache would be to let it firm up and then to whip it with a hand mixer or a stand mixer to make a whipped ganache frosting.

Make sure to invest in a good quality baking chocolate if you can, like this one from Cacao Barry. It yields a smoother ganache with an incredible flavour. Worth every penny!

What to use this cake recipe for

Once you've mastered this recipe for chocolate cake without eggs, you can pair it with:

• chocolate fudge frosting
• thick cream cheese frosting
• italian meringue buttercream

Use it to make:

• berry chocolate cake which is a frosted chocolate layer cake topped with fresh berries
• chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, which is decorated with chocolate sprinkles

Other eggless baking recipes to try

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