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Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake

February 19, 2012 by Joy the Baker 288 Comments

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The Sunday Panics.

Do you get the Sunday Panics?  Let me describe the symptoms and you can tell me whether or not I’m a strangebird, or if you relate.  The Sunday Panics are most often characterized by:  afternoon over-caffeination, tremendous amounts of NOT quality time spent on Twitter, a kitchen full of dirty dishes, a lengthy and daunting weekly to-do list, a fair amount of brain worry, possible nail biting, an intense desire for take-out Chinese food, and low motivation coupled with nagging laziness guilt.

Do you ever get the Sunday Panics?

Yea…. me neither.   Of course not.

…except I totally do.

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I’ve developed a cure for the Sunday Panics.

Movement! Up. Up.  UP!!  In the kitchen.  Make a super easy cake.  Definitely do the dishes.  Make the to-do list for the week, then set it aside to rest until Monday morning.  Write some greeting cards for friends.  Call your mama.  Enjoy cake during a several hour marathon of Grey’s Anatomy or Downton Abbey.  When all else fails… try bourbon in the shower and an early bedtime.  Give those Sunday Panics the boot!

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This chocolate cake is a total godsend.

It’s designed to be made with ingredients you already have in your kitchen.  The Sunday Panics aren’t easy to combat… and a trip to the store is not going to calm our nerves.

If you have cocoa powder and vegetable oil… this cake is yours!

I added dark chocolate chunks and cocoa nibs because they were lingering in my pantry.  Lingering like chocolate always lingers.

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Want to know a trick?  Grease a bundt pan with vegetable shortening and… instead of dusting it with flour, try cocoa powder!

When the cake comes out of the pan, there will be no white flour powder!  Just chocolate.  Just cake.

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This is our everyday chocolate cake.

It’s always super comforting when we can turn what’s in our pantry into a warm, moist, flavorful chocolate treat without softening butter, cracking eggs, or running to the store.

This cake is a tool.  It combats the impulsive sweet tooth, the accidental grumpies, and the Sunday Panic.  Consider yourself armed.

vegan cake and leg candy

ps.  Real Life.

 Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake

makes 1 9-inch chocolate bundt cake

Print this Recipe!

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm coffee

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

small handful of chocolate chunks and/or cocoa nibs (optional)

Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9-inch bundt pan with vegetable shortening and dust with cocoa powder.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together coffee, oil, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chunks and cocoa nibs, if using.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  The batter will be relatively thick.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Cake will last, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 3 days.  

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Filed Under: Cakes, Chocolate, Recipes, Vegan

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gabriela (@cluelesspixie)

    June 11, 2016 at 2:10 pm

    I’ve just tried this, and it worked out great. Thank you so much for the recipe!

    Reply
  2. Cookouvagia

    April 27, 2016 at 2:40 pm

    Hello Joy!
    This cake looks amazing,but i have a question..
    Could i substitute the sugar for honey?
    I’m not a fan of sugar at all!
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      May 24, 2016 at 9:44 am

      Adding honey will change the moisture of the cake and make the cake more dense. I have not tested this recipe with honey, so I would recommend finding a chocolate cake with honey instead.

      Reply
  3. Shellipp

    April 15, 2016 at 8:56 am

    Sadly, a total failure.
    the batter was too firm to mix, it burned before it had a chance to rise, it was not fun trying to get the baking pan clean. Oh my, so much for my high hopes.

    Reply
  4. Victoria

    January 26, 2016 at 3:41 pm

    I don’t have a bundt pan – do you think I could make this in a regular cake pan?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      July 5, 2016 at 12:02 pm

      Yes, but I would split it between two to three pans

      Reply
  5. Charly

    December 23, 2015 at 12:28 am

    This cake is becoming a yearly tradition :)

    Reply
  6. Alyssa

    November 19, 2015 at 9:19 pm

    Can we substitute the coffee with anything? I absolutely hate coffee, and don’t have any in my home, haha.

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      May 24, 2016 at 1:33 pm

      I’m not sure, I haven’t tested it without coffee.

      Reply
  7. Mari

    June 9, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    I have to leave a comment…
    This is such a thing, why so brown and mysterious…
    So moist and beautiful…. so delicious coffee-chocolate flavored!??

    yum in Essex!

    I love this recipe and i always do it when i feel like chocolate cake. Thanks for sharing such a amazing thing! Xx

    Reply
  8. skat

    April 30, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    I love your cake recipe, but also your recipe for the “Sunday Panics”. Excellent! I get the SPs when I have to make a dinner for two vegans (me and my husband) and my senior carnivore mom who lives with us.

    Reply
  9. Susan

    March 19, 2015 at 3:05 am

    Just made this and it came together exactly as you said. Amazing recipe, thanks.

    Reply
  10. olivia

    March 13, 2015 at 7:45 pm

    I made this for my mom’s birthday. I turned it into a layer cake, though– doubled the recipe and put it into two round pans, and baked for 35 minutes. They came out very brownie-like; this is an extremely dense cake recipe. I would actually just use it as a brownie recipe; it didn’t quite have the crumb I would expect for a cake. That being said, it was very delicious!

    Reply
  11. Nikky

    March 5, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    How About measurements of coffee

    Reply
  12. Jenna

    December 1, 2014 at 4:13 pm

    Make this cake! I made it for the first time a few weeks ago and have made it 4 times in less than a month!

    Reply
  13. isha

    July 1, 2014 at 5:36 am

    hi joy!! can you please add more eggless cake recipes..other than chocolate..this one is awesome..but since i bake from home..ppl want to order eggless cakes too..but i have nothing much to offer..need help!!! and this choc cake came out awesome..thanks!!!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      July 16, 2014 at 10:06 pm

      I’ll have to start brainstorming and see what I can do!

      Reply
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  1. Vegan Chocolate Wacky Cake - Namely Marly says:
    June 15, 2016 at 7:40 am

    […] Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake by Joy the Baker […]

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  2. Vegan Desserts that Taste Like Heaven says:
    February 8, 2016 at 8:55 am

    […] Nothing is ever quite as good as a simple, classic chocolate cake… except a good vegan chocolate cake, of course! Check out the recipe on Joy the Baker. […]

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