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A simple vegan 1-layer chocolate cake that’s moist, fluffy, and easy to bake in one pan is perfect for any occasion.

This recipe makes 1 quarter sheet cake or 24 slices of chocolate cake.

Table of Contents

(click the links below to skip to the section you’re looking for)

• Vegan Cake Recipe
• Cake Decoration
• Tips and FAQ
• Ingredient Substitutions
• Video
• Nutritional Information
• Contact Me with Questions
• Similar Recipes

This single-layer chocolate cake is the perfect quick dessert. Sometimes you just don’t have time to make a layered cake, but you still need a delicious chocolate cake to celebrate something. If you want a smaller cake (although I can’t imagine why anyone would), simply divide the recipe in half and bake it in an 8” square pan.

This 1-layer cake is so soft and moist that you can even eat it without frosting and it tastes so good!

Ingredients you need for a 1-Layer Chocolate Cake

(jump to the substitutions section to see ingredient details and suggestions for substitutions)

• ¾ cup (54g) cocoa powder
• ½ cup (110g) hot water or hot coffee
• ⅔ cup (135g) safflower oil
• 1 ½ cups (355ml/365g) almond milk
• 1 ⅓ cups (300g) organic, raw, or vegan sugar
• 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
• 3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons (9g) baking soda
• ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder
• 3 pinches of salt (optional)
• 3 tablespoons (45g) vinegar

How to Make this Easy Single-layer Chocolate Cake

prep time: 25min | bake time: 30min

Cut parchment paper and set it in the bottom of a lasagna pan. This step takes me 3 minutes. Alternatively, you can just coat the inside of your pan with oil and skip the parchment paper.

Preheat the oven. Turn on the oven to 335ºF (170ºC).

Bloom the cocoa. Stir ¾ cup (54g) cocoa powder (try to buy fair trade, if possible) with ½ cup (110g) hot water or hot coffee. It should be thick like chocolate ganache or melted chocolate chips. Tell the child in you not to taste it, even though it smells good. I will never forget the horror that was the first time I tasted vanilla extract. This step takes 4-5 minutes. Set the bloomed cocoa aside for now.

Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. They are ⅔ cup (135g) safflower oil, 1 ½ cups (355ml/365g) nondairy milk, 3 tablespoons (45g) of vinegar, 1 ⅓ cups (300g) sugar, and 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract. You can use a handheld electric mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer (or mix by hand if you don’t have either). Mixing the wet ingredients takes around 5 minutes.

Sift the dry ingredients. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. They are 3 cups (390g) flour, 1 ½ teaspoons (9-10g) baking soda, ½ teaspoon (2-3g) baking powder, and 3 pinches of salt. The salt is optional. Measuring or weighing and sifting the dry ingredients takes about 5 minutes.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Check the oven temperature before the next step. Make sure it’s at least up to 300ºF (150ºC) before doing this step. Mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients until you can no longer see any dry ingredients. Do this by hand if you want to make sure not to overmix the cake batter. I use a with a silicone spatula so I can scrape the bottom and sides to make sure no dry ingredients are sneakily hiding. This should only take a minute.

Add the cocoa. Mix the bloomed cocoa powder into the batter (remember that chocolate mixture you made at the beginning?). Stir until it’s all one color. This takes 2 minutes.

Transfer batter into the pan. Pour the chocolate cake batter into the parchment-lined lasagna pan and use a spatula to get it as even as possible on top. The spatula will also help to make sure you get all the batter and don’t waste any. This takes about 3 minutes.

Bake the cake. Bake at 335ºF (170ºC) for 30-35 minutes, or until you can stick a toothpick in the center of the cake and it comes out clean. I baked mine for 30 minutes, but my oven runs hot.

Cool the cake. Remove the cake from the oven when it passes the toothpick test. Set it on a cooling rack. Let it cool for 2-3 hours. You want to touch the middle of the bottom of the pan and feel no warmth. If you don’t have that kind of time, stick it in the freezer, and it’ll cool much faster.

How to Decorate the One Layer Chocolate Cake

Check out my vegan buttercream frosting recipe if you’re making frosting for your cake. For a tutorial for a fancy way to frost the cake right in the pan, check out my vegan easter sheet cake recipe.

If you like Sanrio, you can follow my instructions to make a Pompompurin cake or a Hello Kitty cake.

If you prefer a simple decor that takes fewer than 5 minutes and only uses a single baking spatula, do what I did with this one. Just dollop the frosting onto the cake and use a side to side spreading method along the length of the cake. Then add vegan sprinkles.

If you don’t care for buttercream frosting, you can make my vegan chocolate ganache.

Tips and Questions and Answers

Tip 1: Make the cake in advance.

If you want to make this cake in advance, cover the pan of cake with cling wrap. Leave it in the fridge or freezer until cake decorating day. Don’t make this cake more than 3 days in advance, or it will start to dry out, even when covered.

How can I save the leftover cake?

Transfer leftover pieces of chocolate cake to an airtight container. Leave it on the counter or in the fridge for 3 days. If you don’t plan to eat it within 3 days, wrap each slice in cling wrap and transfer to a freezer bag.

Freeze them for a few months, and thaw them for an hour before eating.

Can I bake this recipe in a square baking pan?

This recipe will make two 8-inch or 9-inch square cakes if you don’t have a lasagna pan. Or you can divide the recipe in half and just bake one square cake.

Can this recipe be used to make cupcakes?

This recipe will make around 24 chocolate cupcakes. Bake them for 18-21 minutes, using the same toothpick test for doneness that I mention in this cake recipe. Alternatively, you can use this vegan chocolate cupcake recipe to make 12 vegan chocolate cupcakes.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Cocoa Powder: I use fair trade, organic cocoa powder, but you can use whatever kind you have. Just don’t swap it with dutch cocoa or else you’ll have to adjust the other ingredients.
• Coffee: If coffee is not something you have in your house, you can use ½ cup (110g) hot water in its place.
• Sunflower Oil: I usually use safflower or sunflower oil for baking cakes. You can use other plant-based oils, Avocado oil and coconut oil are good high-heat options if you avoid seed oils. Vegetable oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, and even olive oil will also work. For a lower fat version, I have replaced the ⅔ cup (135g) sunflower oil in this recipe with half (72 grams) oil and half (72 grams) applesauce.
• Almond Milk: Instead of the 1 ½ cups (355ml/365g) almond milk in this recipe, you can use any kind of nondairy milk you prefer. It can even be water mixed with non dairy creamer. Or it can be coffee or just plain water. I’ve used macadamia milk, almond milk, soy milk, and even chocolate oat milk successfully. Just avoid any high protein milks (like Ripple), as they can dry out the cake.
• Vegan Sugar: You can use organic sugar or granulated vegan or raw sugar. Just be careful of conventional granulated sugar, because it’s sometimes not vegan.
• Vanilla: If you want to get creative, substitute the vanilla extract with another flavor or extract. Or you can use an equal amount of powdered vanilla in the place of the extract. Vanilla flavor is also an option, but make sure it’s vegan before you go that route.
• Vinegar: I used 3 tablespoons (45g) of apple cider vinegar, sometimes called ACV. But you can replace it with distilled white vinegar or even lemon or lime juice. You just need something to interact with the baking soda to make the cake rise in the oven.
• Flour: I use unbleached all-purpose organic flour because it’s super cheap at Costco. If you avoid gluten, or if you have friends or family who are gluten free, you can easily substitute the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend to make a gluten-free cake.
• Baking Soda: If you don’t have 1 ½ teaspoons (9g) baking soda (or yours is old), you can replace it with 1 ½ tablespoons (22-23g) of additional baking powder.
• Baking Powder: I use the non-aluminum baking powder, because I need all the brain cells I have left. However, if you need to, you can replace the ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder with ⅛ teaspoon (1g) additional baking soda.
• Salt: I use pink sea salt, but this is an optional ingredient, so you can omit it. Or use any kind of salt you have.

Nutrition Facts

This nutritional information is for one serving. I’m assuming that a serving is a slice of cake without frosting.

• Servings: 24
• Calories: 168
• Fiber: 1g
• Saturated fat: <1g
• Total fat: 6g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 95mg
• Sugars: 13g
• Total Carbohydrates: 26g
• Protein: 3g
• Calcium: 38mg
• Potassium: 68mg
• Iron: 1mg

Comments or Questions?

If you make this perfect chocolate cake recipe, I would love it if you’d snap a pic, post to instagram, and tag me @vegandollhouse. It seriously makes my day/week/month!

Please message me (instagram or email) if you have any questions or feedback about the recipe.

Similar Recipes

If you like quarter sheet cake recipes, you might also like my vegan chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting and my vegan vanilla cake.

You can use this cake recipe to make my hello kitty cake.

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I mostly cook with organic ingredients, but only specify organic when it’s necessary to ensure the item is vegan.

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