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 → 
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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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cannot wait to make this cake for my mother’s birthday. xD
Yum! Love the look and sound of this cake 🙂 I actually think some vegan recipes are way better than the traditional ones x
Thanks Mehreen! Happy baking!
What can I use instead of maple syrup. As it’s expensive where I live. Would golden syrup work or is it to thick. Many thanks 🙂
Hi Lauren! Hm, I haven’t tried it with golden syrup so I can’t say for sure, especially because of the thickness. I know some readers have used honey before and reported good results, but I can’t say for sure. If you do try one of those, please let me know how it turns out!
Ive made this several times. Its wonderful!! The last time I used honey and it worked great!
I would to see some more cakes like this in different flavor variations.
Glad to hear you’re enjoying the recipe Keri, and that the honey sub worked out! 🙂
Hello Demeter,
I hope that all is well.
I found your lovely website online while looking for cake and I am glad. Can you please help me with me following? I am interested in making this cake for my infants first birthday next month. He is allergic to oats and soy. How can I make this wonderful cake of yours for such an awesome day?
Lots of love from Canada
Tia
Hi Tia! Aww, how sweet of you. 😊 I do know that other readers have used 1:1 GF all purpose flour blends with good results, so you could try that to replace the oat flour. Different brands can yield different results, so you might need to try a few in order to find one that works for you and your little one. Hope your son has a truly wonderful 1st birthday! 🎂❤️
Hi, i want to try the recipe as well but i dont have coconut sugar, can i use normal white sugar or should i try finding and buying some?
Hi Violeta! I haven’t tried it with regular sugar, but I think a few other readers have with good results. If you do give it a shot, let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Hi Demeter! I hope you’re doing well, I made this cake a few weeks ago and it turned out amazing! I am so glad I FINALLY found an AMAZING VEGAN CAKE RECIPE! I would like to make this cake again for my grandma’s b-day but I have a quick question: If I make this cake in only one 9-inch round cake pan, would it change the taste, texture or time my cake would need to cook for? Thank you so much for the support!
Hi Camila! I’m so thrilled to hear that you loved my vegan cake recipe! 🙂 I wouldn’t recommend pouring all of the batter into one pan, as you’d likely end up with a cake that dry on the outside and potentially uncooked on the inside. Wishing your grandma a wonderful birthday!! Hugs!
Thank you so much! I made this cake and my grandma absolutely loved it…she definitely has great taste! I made it in 2 9-inch pans, one was half full and the other less than half (I don’t have exact measurements) and they still turned out great! Lovely recipe!!
Oh that’s wonderful that your grandma enjoyed it! You both definitely has good taste. 😊❤️
Hi Demeter!! I just want to thank you sooo much for creating and sharing this recipe! My heart is overjoyed. My daughter turns 1 year old later this month. We found out she’s allergic to many different foods, and I’ve been trying to find a cake recipe free of many things like wheat, eggs, peanut, tree nuts, and dairy. I recently tried another GF cake from another site, and it was a fail. GF and vegan baking without nuts is a whole new animal! I was struggling with what to make for her first birthday that wouldn’t just be for the rest of the family to enjoy. I found it in this recipe!! We can all enjoy this one and you can’t tell it’s GF! I seriously want to cry! I know she will not even remember this, and she won’t be eating very much of it, but oh my, how happy I am to have a cake for her! I am wondering though if you have any suggestions on how I can make it less on the dark chocolate side and more of a German chocolate cake? I’m not sure if just cutting out some cocoa would do the trick without compromising the texture? Thank you, thank you!!
Hi Kat! You are so very welcome! Oh boy, vegan gluten free baking without nuts certainly is something else… Heehee. I’m so glad your daughter can enjoy cake! 🙂 To reduce the chocolate: try subbing 1/3 cup of the cocoa powder with 1/3 more oat flour. You might need to play around with it a bit to get exactly the chocolate flavor intensity you’re looking for, but 1/3 cup is my best guess. Good luck & let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Thank you so much for your response!
You’re so welcome! 🙂
Hello Demeter! I made this cake a few weeks ago for my sister’s birthday and it turned out great! It was moist, sweet and the chocolatey flavor really punched through. We surprised all the guests as they were skeptical about my cake – it was fun proving them wrong! 😉 I am making this cake again for another birthday and I have a quick question: I would like to make my cake in only one 9-inch round pan instead of two, would that make any significant changes in the taste, texture or time that my cake would need to cook? Thank you so much for your support!
My husband has been on a strict diet due to health reasons so we tried this for his birthday…everyone loved it!! No joke, I think I prefer it to a cake with gluten, dairy, and sugar. It was delicious! We iced it nicely and added some chocolate covered strawberries. We even added a thin layer of strawberries to the middle of the cake, which cut the richness of it just the right amount! Thank you for this recipie!
Oh I’m so pleased that your husband was able to enjoy the cake on his birthday! And I’ll bet it was so good with those strawberries. 😋 Wish him a happy b-day from me!
Hi I’m planning on making this cake for Valentine’s Day! Do you think it would be enough to make a two layer cake in a 9 inch heart cake pan?
Hi Alexis! Hm, I haven’t baked this in heart-shaped pans (which sound super adorbs btw), but if they’re also 9-inch then it should be okay. Do let me know how they turn out!
This recipe looks amazing! Can it be made in a Bundt pan? Thanks! 🙂
I made it in a Bundt pan and it worked fine. Just hard to make a layered cake, but kind of obvious. Still a delicious cake in a Bundt pan.
ALOHA! OMG Im 70 and havent baked in over 20 yrs ago – simple sheet cakes vegan for kids school BirthDays!Just made this for my 33 yr old Sons BDay 🙂 I dont have oven so mixed dry ingrd & took all to vaca rental I caretake on Kailua Hawaii beach = Mixed Baked in 22 mins to perfection!!!!
I was so Excited it worked as I am NOT a kitchen person. Blender juicer stir fry is all I do!
Frosted with simple cream cheese & honey becuz my Boy likes that. At first the cake turned gummy when chewing…I think it was a bit too much coconut oil becuz I didnt have 1/8 cup to measure HALK recipe for 8×8 pan. ANYWAY I decided to refrigerate to see if it helped texture BINGO = ITS LIKE FUDGE CAKE!!!
I madly texted my Son to refrigerate HIS BIRTHDAY CAKE as he’s a lil afraid to taste things I make!?
Moral of Story: YOUR RECIPE ROCKS DEMETER <3 MAHALO HELPING MAKE MY SONS BDAY!!!!!
Hi Ellen!! Aloha!! Oh wow, I had such a ball reading your comment!! I love that you were already making simple sheets cakes vegan 20 years ago. NICE!! How cool that you care take a place in Kailua (sounds like paradise there)! I’m so happy that you were able to make my cake recipe work even without the measuring cup! 🙂 I hope you and your son had a wonderful time celebrating his birthday. Please wish him a big ol’ HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! for me. 🙂 Hugs!
Demeter, this cake is so incredibly delicious! You would never know that it has an oat flour base. I was honestly gobsmacked by how well it held together without any gluten or flax egg! I love the rich, deep chocolate flavour, and how it’s sweet but not too sweet. 🙂 I now have a new favourite birthday cake. Thank you for this recipe!
Oh I’m so happy to hear it Allison! 😊 The dark chocolate flavor is definitely my favorite part of this recipe. And happy belated birthday!
I was wondering if you can sub the oat flour for plain gf flour?
Hi Kahla! I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for sure. If you do try it out, let me know how it goes!
I am going to try on this recipe! However, i struggled abit since I am using the metric system. Would be lovely if it already has it whenever sharing the recipes ! =D thank you !
Hi Lee! I’m in the process of measuring all my ingredients and testing those measurements in the recipes so I can add weights, but it’s a slow process. I want to make sure everything is correct before adding it. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Hi! I am so thrilled to find your recipe! We absolutely love the vegan chocolate cake/cupcakes and frosting! I will be making them for my brother-in-law’s wedding next weekend. I have two questions: 1) I am hoping to make a two or three tier cake from 5” pans for the top of the cupcake tower. How should I adjust the cooking time and recipe quantities? 2) Is it possible to use the same batter for the cupcakes and mini cakes, or is it important to use only the cupcake batter for the cupcakes and only the cake batter for the mini cakes? Thank you so much for your time and for being so generous in sharing this special recipe!!
Hi Stephanie! I’m so happy to hear it. 🙂 1) use this cake batter recipe for the 5-inch rounds. I believe that the quantity will work fine, but you’ll probably have to bake it around 20 mins, give or take. I haven’t tried this myself, so be prepared for a little experimentation. 2) You can use the same batter, but I recommend following the cake recipe for the cake and the cupcake recipe for the cupcakes to avoid confusion with quantities and bake time. Wishing you and your family a safe & wonderful celebration!
HI Demeter, I am curious how this cake turns our in Cupcake form. I sifted through the comments and didn’t see any referenced. I am baking this tonight for my friend’s -First Emmy Nomination- celebration party. We have an eclectic close group with lots of random dietary restrictions and this recipe I know will be a hit! Looking forward to your response. Thanks!
Hi Ashley! Wow, how exciting!! I’d recommend using this recipe if you’re in the mood for chocolate cupcakes: https://beamingbaker.com/vegan-gluten-free-chocolate-cupcakes-v-gf-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/
Happy baking, and here’s to a win for your friend!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have had to take a break from dairy, eggs, and gluten, but I still wanted to celebrate my husband’s birthday! This turned out really well for me. I baked it for 22 min – I felt like I could have good with 20 min with my oven. So I’d advise those with an electric oven to check the cake sooner. It still tasted great, and I especially loved the icing! I was worried to try an icing without butter, but the icing was just as good with coco cream. It did take me a bit to get it to frosting consistency – maybe I left it in the fridge too long. But once it softened, I was sampling it as I as icing the cake, just like I did as a kid 🙂
How sweet of you to make this for hours husbands birthday! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe—and sampling the icing while baking is pretty much the best part. 😉 Wish him a very happy birthday from me! 🎉
Hello, this recipe looks delicious and I can’t wait to make this for my husbands graduation party. I was wondering, would it work out If I did a three tier cake instead of two? I know it says that the cake is moist and just wanted to make sure it will stay if I add one more layer. I’m also planning to make the chocolate vegan gluten free refined sugar free cupcakes as well. I love oat flour and it’s my favorite to bake with. Thank you so much for these yummy recipes. ❤️😋
Hi Tatyana! Aww that’s so sweet of you! 😊 Hm, I haven’t made this as a three tier cake before but that should be fine. I would recommend increasing the recipe to make three total 9-inch round pans, rather than splitting it into smaller pans. Happy baking, and tell your hubs congrats on the graduation!
Hi there! I am planning on making this beautiful cake for my mother’s birthday soon. And i wonder if it’s possible to substitute the maple syrup with honey? I would really love to follow your recipe accurately but unfortunately i couldn’t, because maple syrup price in my country is outrageously high. I’m going to need your advice on this one!
Hi Hani! I can’t say for sure as I haven’t tried it myself. I know some readers have tried that sub in brownies and other recipes with success. I’m worried it might be a bit too thick, but you won’t know until you try right? Good luck & let me know how it turns out. 🙂
I made this tonight, but halved the recipe and used one cake tin only. I topped that with an aquafaba chocolate mousse and a ganache. It was amazing! This cake recipe will definitely be saved for the future. I love how allergy friendly it is- accommodates my family’s many allergies (nuts, dairy, gluten, and legumes)! Thank you so much for this!
Oh my goodness, I am just imagining your vegan chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and ganache on top! 🙂 You’re so welcome!! Thanks for stopping by and letting me know how it turned out for you. Happy baking!
Hi, I am making a baby shower cake for my friend who has auto immune disease and allergic to dairy and nut. Can I substitute regular organic sugar for coconut sugar in the recipe? Thank you 😊
Hi Swathi! That should work just fine. 🙂 I hope you all enjoy the baby shower! 🙂