Vegan Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting

The BEST vegan vanilla cake that is moist, fluffy, and SO perfect with chocolate frosting! This cake is so easy and comes together in less than an hour! We’ve updated this recipe to have even more vanilla flavor and improve the flavor and texture. Now, instead of olive oil, we’ve used coconut oil to make the cake moister and reduce the notes from olive oil. We also added coconut milk to the cake batter for a light, fluffy texture and more vanilla extract (can’t go wrong there). We opted to add on our own homemade vegan chocolate frosting that has only three ingredients! We used Nestle Toll House Plant Based Dark Chocolate Morsels and unsweetened coconut cream in the original recipe to provide natural sweetness and a deeper/more natural chocolate flavor – of course we also added Rodelle Pure Vanilla Extract to compliment the chocolate flavor and pair well with the cake. The end result makes a vanilla cake that is subtle and pleasant with a slight marshmallow and floral note from the vanilla extract. The sweet, earthy and rich notes from the chocolate lend a bit bitter/fruity (in a good way) and make it the perfect compliment to the light cake. Our favorite part – the perfect bite of dense moist cake, slight crumb that doesn’t fall apart, topped with that smooth, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth frosting!

 

  • Easy
  • 50 mins
  • 9 servings
Ingredients

For the vegan vanilla cake

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tsp Rodelle Vanilla Paste
  • 2 tsp Rodelle Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • ⅓ cup vegan chocolate shavings or vegan chocolate chips, for garnish (optional)
  • ⅓ cup raspberries, for garnish (optional)

For the vegan chocolate frosting

  • 8 ounces semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
  • 12 ounces unsweetened canned coconut cream
  • 1 tsp Rodelle Pure Vanilla Extract
Uses
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, add the coconut oil, vanilla paste, vanilla extract, coconut milk, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk to combine.
  4. With the mixer on medium speed, add in the liquid mixture a little bit at a time, stirring to combine between each addition.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out in an even layer.
  6. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (our bake time was about 40 minutes - cooking time may vary based on your oven and preferences)
  7. Allow to cool for 30 minutes, then transfer to a serving platter before frosting the cake.
  8. For the frosting, place the canned coconut cream in the fridge to chill until semi-solidified, about 4 hours.
  9. Add the chocolate chips to a glass bowl, and heat in the microwave on 30-second intervals until melted, mixing in between each interval. This should take about 3 intervals.
  10. Let cool for 2-3 minutes to come to room temperature, then add to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
  11. Whisk the melted chocolate on medium-high, slowly adding in the cooled coconut cream, until lighter in color and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract.
  12. Transfer to an airtight storage container and cool in the fridge for about 4 hours or overnight.
  13. To assemble the cake, transfer the cake to a serving platter and remove the frosting from the fridge. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting on the cake in an even layer. Option to garnish with chocolate shavings or chocolate chips, as well as fresh raspberries.

Note: this recipe was originally prepared for Rodelle by Abby at Heart of a Baker. We have updated in 2024 with the support of ADM intern, Katie Scheid.