Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Two layers of rich chocolate cake are adorned with dreamy chocolate frosting and packed with intense chocolate flavor for the best vegan gluten free cake! The best vegan gluten free chocolate cake and my absolute favorite.
The Best Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever
For real. Today’s vegan gluten free chocolate cake is the best one ever! Think: rich chocolate cake, creamy, dreamy chocolate frosting, and beautiful cake layers… all for the best vegan gluten free cake you’ve ever made (and/or eaten!). This cake recipe is not only one of the most popular recipes on Beaming Baker, it’s also the highest rated. Wanna see what the fuss is about? Grab your cake pans, a big ‘old container of your favorite cocoa powder and head into the kitchen with me. It’s time to make cake!
All the Ingredients You Need to Make Vegan Gluten Free Cake
For the Cake
- Gluten Free Oat Flour
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Water + Non-Dairy Milk
- Melted Coconut Oil
- Coconut Sugar + Pure Maple Syrup
- Baking Soda, Salt, Vanilla Extract
For the Frosting
How to Make Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Prepare the Frosting
First things first, prepare the frosting. You’ll want to follow every step up until you’re about to whip the frosting. Don’t whip the frosting until your cake is cooled and ready to be frosted.
Make the Cake
Preheat
I start every recipe by preheating the oven, then preparing my baking pan. Head on over to your oven and preheat it to 350°F. Grease your cake pans with coconut oil. Then, dust with cocoa powder until completely covered. Or, use a parchment paper circle at the bottom of the pan.
Sift
Set out a large mixing bowl and sift together your dry ingredients: gluten free oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set it aside for later.
Heat
Add the water and milk to a microwave-safe bowl. You’ll heat the two ingredients together just until it’s warm—this will prevent the melted coconut oil from solidifying once it touches these liquids.
Whisk the Wet Ingredients, Add the Dry
Set out a medium mixing bowl and add in all of the wet ingredients: the heated water and milk, melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk all the wet ingredients together until its well mixed. Now, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl. Make sure to use a rubber spatula to scrape the wet ingredient bowl clean. Now, whisk the wet and dry ingredients together just until no flour patches remain. You’ve just made your vegan gluten free cake batter!
Pour Batter & Bake
Pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans you prepared earlier. Bake for about 24 minutes.
Cool
Remove pans from the oven and cool for about 25 minutes in the pan, but on a cooling rack. Then, gently remove the cakes from the pan and transfer directly onto the cooling rack to complete cooling, about 1 hour.
Frost, Slice and Enjoy!
Now, it’s time to whip the frosting! Whip until creamy and smooth, then frost the cake, slice and enjoy the best vegan gluten free cake!
The Taste: Vegan Gluten Free Cake: Chocolate Edition
This vegan gluten free cake is one of the most popular on the internet for a reason. It’s GOOD. Like, hella good.
The Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake: is moist and fluffy with rich, deep chocolate flavor and the perfect crumb. It’s not too light and not too dense—landing somewhere perfectly in between.
The Vegan Chocolate Frosting: rich, creamy and delightfully chocolatey. While the cake portion of this vegan GF cake is lightly sweet, the 2 ingredient vegan chocolate frosting is on the sweeter, creamier side to balance out the dark chocolate flavors of the cake.
Together, these two components make for the best vegan gluten free cake recipe ever. Try if for yourself and see. 😉
How to Store this Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipe
To store after frosting: store your cake in an airtight container like this one for 1-3 days, in a cool environment. Keep out of direct sunlight and way from heat sources.
To store before frosting: you may freeze the cake and frost before serving (up to 3 days before). Wrap cake layers in parchment paper or plastic wrap and store in an airtight, freezer-friendly container. Do not make frosting until you are ready to whip and frost the vegan chocolate cake.
Tips for Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Here are a few tips to making your vegan gluten free chocolate cake a success!
Do not make substitutes.
I designed this recipe specifically around the ingredients and amounts listed. If you make any substitutes at all, the recipe is different and I can’t guarantee the results. Any small change, even if it’s swapping one flour for another, can cause terrible results. And definitely do not use almond flour, coconut flour or any other kind of flour expecting ideal results. All of those flours work very differently in this recipe. 🙂
If using homemade oat flour, remember to sift, sift, sift!
It is difficult to grind homemade oat flour to the degree that big companies with fancy equipment can. So, if you’re making your own, making sure to sift out coarse bits that can cause your chocolate cake to become crumbly, or overly moist. Then, after sifting, measure your oat flour and use.
To “Butter” Pans with Coconut Oil
Start with slightly softened coconut oil. Drop about 2 teaspoons onto a cake pan. Using a rubber spatula, spread coconut oil. The more you spread, the softer and easier the coconut oil will be to work with.
To “Flour” Pans with Cocoa Powder
- Use a sifter to evenly drop cocoa powder over pan (or else you’ll just get big clumps)
- Then, tap the pan around to get the cocoa powder to spread.
- For the sides, you have to aggressively tap and hold the pan on its side, getting the cocoa powder to fall down onto the opposite side. Rotate as you tap so the cocoa powder will fall and coat more and more of the side of the cake pan.
For a Visual Guide + Tips on Making Homemade Chocolate Frosting
- Check out this post: How to Make Homemade Chocolate Frosting.
Best Tools for the Best Gluten Free Dairy Free Cake
- Black Stoneware Plate & Black Cake Server – there’s just something about black stoneware & black utensils that scream “cool” and understated elegance. 😉 These two are the plate & server you see in all of the photos.
- Vegan Chocolate Chips – the key ingredient in my 2 ingredient vegan chocolate frosting.
- Cake Essentials: Frosting Spatula | Cake Stand | Cake Carrier
- The frosting spatula is actually secretly my go-to tool for doing everything in the kitchen. It precisely picks up everything like a champ, and, shocker, it’s awesome at spreading frosting! 😉
- The Cake Decorating Set + Stand make frosting the cake so, so easy. It grips the counter like a boss and allows you to spin the cake around smoothly so you can frost the cake like a pro.
- The Cake Carrier with Locking Lid is what I’ve used for years to transport my carefully made cake from one location to another. Also, it’s basically a big, perfectly shaped Tupperware for storing your vegan chocolate cake so you can enjoy it tomorrow! 😉
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer – one of the most quintessential baking favorites of bakers around the world. It’s sturdy, lasts decades and is the gold standard for bakers everywhere. 🙂
- KitchenAid Hand Mixer with Hand Mixer Whisk Attachment – let’s be honest, not all of us have the counter space in our kitchens for a stand mixer. That’s when this handy little guy comes in. I’ve lived in all of the small city apartments and this hand mixer was my go-to tool for whipping up the perfect vegan chocolate frosting. More importantly, you’ve got to get the hand mixer whisk attachment. Yep, I’ve tried using the attachment it comes with, and nope, it didn’t work! Boo…
- Where to Buy Ingredients: Vegan Chocolate Chips | Coconut Oil | Coconut Cream | Gluten Free Oat Flour | Maple Syrup | Coconut Sugar
Vegan Gluten Free Cake Recipes & More
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Vegan Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes
- 50+ Gluten Free Dairy Free Desserts!
- 35+ Best Vegan Gluten Free Desserts
- Chocolate Espresso Martini
- 3-Ingredient Cream Cheese Frosting
Who Says You Can’t Have Your Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake and Eat It Too?
Ignore the haters! Haha. Just, don’t think that you can’t have your vegan gluten free cake and actually eat it too. This one’s not gummy, not weird, and totally can sneak by as a “traditional” chocolate cake. If you make this recipe, make sure to leave a comment and rating below. You know I love hearing from you! ‘Til our next sweet adventure…
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
🍰 📸 🍫
Did you make this vegan gluten free cake recipe? Take a pic and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #beamingbaker & tag @beamingbaker. I’d love to see it!
Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 9 minutes
- Yield: 12-16 slices 1x
Description
Two layers of rich chocolate cake, adorned with dreamy chocolate frosting and delicious chocolate flavor for the best vegan gluten free cake! The best vegan gluten free chocolate cake!
Ingredients
FROSTING
- 2 batches Vegan Chocolate Frosting
CHOCOLATE CAKE
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten free oat flour – if using homemade, make sure it’s very finely ground (not coarse)*
- 1 1/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the frosting: The night before, begin preparing a double batch of this Vegan Chocolate Frosting. Do not whip the frosting until the cake is cooled and ready to be frosted.
- Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans as follows: coat with softened coconut oil, then dust completely with cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Add water and milk to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 10-second increments until just warm. This will prevent the melted coconut oil from solidifying once mixed with these liquids.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients: water, milk, coconut oil, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Whisk until just incorporated, making sure no flour patches remain.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Tap the pans several times to even out the batter and release bubbles that have formed in the batter. Bake for 22-26 minutes. Mine took 24 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick—it should come out clean when done.
- Place pans on a cooling rack to cool for 25 minutes. Afterward, use a plastic knife to cut around the interior edges of the cake pan to loosen the cake. Shake the pan a few times until you hear the cake pop loose. Place a large plate or cooling rack upside down, on top of one cake pan. Grasping both the pan and the plate tightly, flip the cake onto the plate/rack. Repeat with second layer. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting (about 1 hour).
- Frost the cake: Whip the frosting as instructed. Frost the cake. Enjoy! Storing instructions below!
If you prefer cupcakes, try these Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes or these grain-free Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes!
Equipment
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
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Whisk Attachment for Hand Mixer
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Buy Now → Notes
*If using homemade oat flour, make sure to sift the flour to remove coarse bits of oats that could create grainy, overly moist cake without fluffy texture.
To carry your cake On-the-Go: I recommend storing your cake in this cake carrier with locking lid. Even when I’m not carrying the cake to an event, I like keeping it in this cake carrier because it’s like a giant tupperware for cake! 😉
Where to Buy Ingredients: Vegan Chocolate Chips | Coconut Oil | Coconut Cream | Gluten Free Oat Flour | Maple Syrup | Coconut Sugar
Storing Instructions: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Okay to keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, in a cool, dark environment.
Freezing Instructions: Store pre-sliced cake in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for up to 1 month. Allow to thaw at room temperature for 15-40 minutes before enjoying.
Recommended Tools: Frosting Spatula | Cake Stand | Cake Carrier | 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Black Stoneware Plate | KitchenAid Hand Mixer | KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Hand Mixer Whisk Attachment | Cooling Rack | Black Cake Server | Glass Mixing Bowls
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 24 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Hello Demeter,
Love your recipes, can I use coconut flour instead of oat flour.
Hi Gracie! Thanks for the kind words. . Unfortunately, this recipe will not work swapping the oat flour for coconut flour, as the two act and absorb liquid very differently. You could try swapping for a GF all purpose flour blend. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This looks amazing. I’d love to make it for Easter. I’m a little confused on the milk portion. What do you mean by dairy-free? Is that a powder, or coconut milk, or almond milk, or any of those? Seems like these would all do different things in the recipe, so just wanted to know what type of non-dairy milk you used. Thanks!
Hi Marie! This would be like soy milk or almond milk, just like what you’d find next to the dairy milk in the grocery store. 🙂 Coconut milk will work, but it has to be the drinking kind (usually called coconut beverage, and it comes in a carton just like the soy milk). The cans of coconut milk will not work here. Hope this helps!
Hello Demeter,
Thanks for your recipes, have saved me while trying to give my daughter (multiple allergies) a taste of baking without harming her, meanwhile we have changed our culinary lifestyle as well. I am just making this cake, not sure how the final product will be, since I feel the batter is very heavy, not smooth like other cake recipes. Is that ok? I will update this comment with my results thou. Thanks once again!
Hi Deyra! I’m so happy to hear that you and your daughter are enjoying my recipes. 🙂 How did the cake turn out?
Hi ! Thank you for the recipe! I did not taste it yet but it smells very good in my kitchen! Although i was wondering… Is it really baking soda ?? No baking powder? I followed the exact recipe and it seems that my cakes are really thin and dense… Is it normal? They were almost not touching the side of my 9 inches pans.
I hope that it will be ok..!
Thanks ! Doing the icing this afternoon! 🙂
Hi Marieve! Yep, just baking soda in this recipe. 🙂 Hm, it shouldn’t be so thin that it doesn’t fill the pan. Did you make any subs/changes to the recipe?
I made this cake yesterday and it’s so delicious! Added a couple TBSP of cane sugar to sweeten just a tad more, and needed an extra 1/2 cup or so of oat flour, but it’s a perfect cake for a birthday! Added chocolate chips to the batter, too! Frosted with a traditional American (vegan) buttercream. Thanks for this recipe!
So glad to hear you enjoyed the cake Amanda!
This looks delish! Would I be able to sub oat flour for almond flour?
Hi Janine! I would not recommend it, as almond flour acts very differently than oat flour. I hadn’t tried it, but some readers have used a GF all purpose flour blend with good results. Hope this helps!
Hi do you have to use oat flour? & coconut oil & sugar?
Hi Te! Try gluten free all purpose flour instead of oat flour. Coconut oil: try melted vegan butter or a flavorless cooking oil. Sugar: organic brown sugar would work too!
OMG! I made this recipe and it was a HUGE success. I was so glad I could satisfy my cravings, being on a diet. Btw, I switched out the oil for silken tofu + banana and it still turned out amazing (you can’t even taste the banana + tofu in it!).
Love this recipe, thank you so much <3
Wooohooooo!!! That’s so wonderful to hear, Leona. 🙂 Oooh… you’ve got me intrigued about trying this with banana and tofu. Thank *you* for taking time out of your day to comment! Hugs. 🙂
How many calories are in this cake
Hi,
bad news: your recipe has been tampered with!
Good news: the result was AMAZING!
Here is what I did:
– 2 +3/4 cups oat flour, one quarter and a bit more added at the end (because, texture!) of whole buckwheat flour
– only 1 cup of cocoa powder because it was all I had left (was REALLY good like that, but more chocolate is always better in my opinion!)
-only one cup water because…
– I replaced all of the oil with unsweetened apple sauce! (we have a no-oil-in-heated-food rule. Was tough at the beginning, but we are doing fine)
– full-fat coconut milk as milk
– 3/4 maple syrup (in order to make up for the coconut sugar. I would have used this but again, nothing left!)
-1/4 cup stevia
– no salt because I always leave it out
– baking powder instead of baking soda
– pure vanilla extract
We ate it as naked cake, without anything! But I am considering adding cashew cream and raspberries next time!
Wow, so many interesting substitutions! 🙂 So glad to hear everyone enjoyed them Audrey!
I’m unable to have cocoa powder. Is there a way to make this recipe plain/ vanilla? Could I sub the coco powder for a bit more oat flour and add some vanilla extract? Thank you! 🙂
You could use carob powder
Such a yummy cake well done. Measurement work each time moist and delicious
Excellent! So happy to hear it Tarj! .
I’ve made this cake twice now—the first time identical to the recipe, the second time in a 9×13 pan and with brown sugar instead of coconut sugar. So far as my taste buds remember, they were identical (identically delicious!). I LOVE this cake. Soft and pillowy, then dense and fudgy. I love how the cake itself is not super sweet (cos that’s the frosting’s job!). Tbh the only chocolate cake recipe I’ll ever need.
Woohoo! . I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the cake so much Claire! Exactly—the frosting comes through to balance the cake out. . Thank you so much for the kind words! .
Wow, this recipe is amazing! Made it for a vegan and GF friend and the cake was moist and rich. My favorite part is that it doesn’t have that “GF” “is that coconut sugar?” taste. It’s very close to tasting like a typical chocolate cake. Thank you for the recipe!
Woohoo! So happy to hear that you and your friend enjoyed it. . I know, the flavor of this cake is seriously one of my fave things ever! .
What substitute ingredients could I use for coconut oil and coconut sugar? I would like to make this cake for a party on Saturday for two different children who have allergies to any kind of nut. Thanks!
Hi Karen! I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve had other readers use avocado oil or canola oil in place of the coconut oil, and brown sugar in place of the coconut sugar. It’s likely going to affect the final taste/texture though. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Hi! This looks delicious. What are your thoughts on subbing coconut or rice syrup for the maple syrup?
Hi Jen! I’ve had other readers use brown rice syrup in different recipes with good results, though I haven’t tried it with this recipe. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I don’t have 2 round pans can I use a bundt pan instead? or what about a glass square pan?
Hi Mina! Glass bakeware works differently than metal, requiring a lower bake temperature and a shorter bake time. I haven’t tried it in a bundt pan either. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Could you chill the cream and then make it like a butter cream icing with using powder sugar?
Perhaps… it’s an idea I’ve been toying with trying the past few months. Let me know if you try it & how it turns out!
I have just made this cake, it’s out of the oven cooling and smells divine.
I made it using measuring cups, but I also weighed in grams as I am in the UK and made a note of the weight so here goes…
430g oat flour
160g cocoa powder ( I used cacao powder)
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2tsp fine sea salt
290ml water
235ml non dairy milk
70g melted coconut oil
80g coconut sugar
170ml maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
Oven temp 180 C gas 4
For the frosting I am going to use a non dairy coconut yogurt whipped with cacao powder and maple syrup. As I can’t get thee chocolate chips recommended here without ordering online
Hope this is useful
Hi Lynda! Thank you SO much for adding in your measurements in grams. I’m sure many people will find this super helpful. Enjoy!!
Yes they will, perhaps you should try??
Looks amazingly moist
I made this today for my sons birthday and it was really delicious! We aren’t vegan, but I just discovered your site and love the healthy recipes using simple, frugal ingredients! I’ve made your peanut butter banana breakfast cookies, ultimate vegan brownies, and this cake so far in the last week. . Thanks for the great recipes; you are now my go-to for gf dessert recipes!
My only comment on this cake (besides how delicious it is!) is that they stuck to the pans and were hard to get out. Next time I’ll cut a circle of parchment to put in the bottom of the pans.
Hi Joanna! Happy belated Birthday to your son. 🙂 I’m so happy to hear that I’m your go to for gf recipes. Woohoo!! Sticking: did you allow it to cool completely before releasing? Also, I like to really coat it with cocoa powder to ensure it doesn’t stick. Hugs!!
So your delicious cake is in my oven right now, trying to make a bundt cake with your recipe.
One question though: is it normal for the dough to be VERY sticky and heavy?
I almost didn´t get it out of my bowl in to the cake pan.
Followed all the directions, didnt change anything, sifted carefully.
Thanky you for the wonderful recipe
Hi Stephanie! How did the cake turn out?
Is the consistency Stephanie described normal? I’d like to try this cake and that would be good to know. Also, how long would I bake a 9×13? I don’t have round pans. Thanks! .
Hi Rose, no, the consistency that Stephanie mentioned is not normal. The cake batter should be runny and only slightly thick, like regular cake batter. Hmm… for the 9×13, it should bake for about 40 mins, give or take. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂 Happy baking! .