“Too much of a good thing is just about right . ” – Jerry Garcia .
Another day. Another chocolate cake. At the rate at which I am using up cocoa and chocolate in my kitchen some days, I do wonder if I ever will get tired of too much chocolate in my life . Wait , its me. So thats near impossible.
I have lost track of the number of requests I get for a good eggless chocolate cake or eggless vanilla cake. While the search for a good vanilla cake is still on (and doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon!), I think this chocolate cake is worthy of sharing. And worthy of you trying of course.
Eggs work in different ways in recipes (sometimes as a binder, sometimes for leavening, sometimes for richness and of course for flavour) and I am generally not one to advocate just dumping in some yoghurt or flax instead – unless it serves the exact same purpose the eggs did in the bake. For me a good eggless bake is not one which is “good enough” inspite of not having eggs. It is one that is GOOD, and just happens to not have eggs.
This is one such good cake. Scratch that . It is pretty darn good! It’s moist and yet light. It has a deep chocolate flavour . It’s not too sticky or fudgy and works a charm in layer cakes . And its a one bowl recipe. Yippee for no extra dishes to clean!
Its pretty versatile when it comes to pan sizes too. This cake makes two good 8 inch or 7 inch rounds. The recipe can be halved and you could bake the whole recipe in one square pan too. But I have found that thinner egg free bakes just have a better texture. Just something I have noticed in my own baking, not sure if there is a scientific explanation for it . There probably isn’t.
The aeration in the cake comes from the reaction of baking soda in the recipe with the vinegar . There seems to be quite a bit of vinegar but don’t worry , you won’t taste it ! The vinegar is added in right at the end and you will see bubbles come up in your batter as you stir. So make sure you bake the cakes as soon as the batter is ready or else you will lose some of the height and texture. For a step by step tutorial, do check out this .
Onto the recipe – which is a mix and match , trial and error result of too many that I have come across and tried .
One bowl eggless chocolate cake
Ingredients
- 280 grams or 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 300 grams or 11/2 cups granulated sugar
- 60 grams or ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 240 ml or 1 cup milk at room temperature
- 240 ml or 1 cup water at room temperature
- 120 ml or ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C or 350 F . Butter and flour two 7 inch round pans . Line the bottom with parchment ( optional).
- In a large bowl , whisk together the dry ingredients - flour, sugar , baking powder , baking soda , cocoa and salt.
- Add the liquid ingredients - water , milk , oil , vanilla and vinegar.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Immediately divide among your two pans and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
- Cool in pans for 5 minutes and then gently unmould and cool completely on wire rack.
Notes
The whole recipe can be baked in 8 or 9 inch square pan for 40 to 50 minutes at 160 C/ 325 F.
You can use apple cider or regular vinegar.
You can use cool coffee instead of the water or substitute ¼ cup of it for some rum.
My measuring cup measures 240 ml.
What do you say? Yay or nay ?
If you don’t mind baking with eggs , I have never had a complaint with my favourite chocolate cake. If you ‘d rather not crack an egg but are looking for a fudgier cake , you might like this eggless chocolate snack cake. If you would rather go all vegan, then do check out the chocolate truffle cake. And if its cupcakes that you are looking for, look no further than these super moist eggless ones!
Because every one needs a good chocolate cake . Apparently I need a zillion . But wait, its me .
Affiliate links : Just so you know, I have baked this eggless chocolate cake in my trusty Morphy Richards 52 Litre Oven 
Happy baking !
How to make a one bowl eggless chocolate cake!
Hi,
I would like to bake this in two 9inch round pans. May I know the conversion, please? Will 1.5 times this recipe be enough?
Hi… yes you can make 1.5 times the recipe , even 2 times if you want two thick cakes… happy baking !
Hello…
I baked this cake yesterday.
It’s come out well. But the cake is not porous. When I cut the cake, inside of it has no pores. But it’s soft. If I take it in my hands I can easily roll nice round tight balls out of it. Sorry about the explanation. Imnot sure how to put it across. I measured the ingredients in grms and used the exact same recipe wiithout any alterations. I halfved the ingredients.. And the tooth pick did not come clean in 35mins. So I baked for another 10 mins. Still it was undercooked. Then again 10 mins…. N again. 5 mins. So in total I baked it for 60 mins. Kindly help about the texture. Thank you. I wish I could attach a pic for reference.
Hi Deepa.! Thanks for trying the cake. The cake sounds like it came out right because although this cake is light, it’s not porous. Its meant to be moist. Sorry if that’s not what you wanted! About the baking time, what size pans did you use. Smaller pans may be the reason for longer baking time. Let me know if I can be of more help!
Does the structure depend on the sugar? I would like to try it with erythritol instead of sugar. Im OK with slight granulation. I believe sugar makes the most difference in browning, but Im not sure about the structure. Guess if it glopped, I could call it “gooey brownies”. Ha!
Hi Diane ! The augar definitely does add to the structure.. but like you said , worth a try . The end result will definitely still be tasty 🙂
Hi dear
Can u please the measurements if I take 1 cup maida
Hi , would love to try this recipe but there’s a small confusion… If I half this recipe whivh size pan should be used and also the temperature and timing?
Thanks for the recipe. Just pulled out two lovely cakes from the oven.
I quite like the name of your blog and especially that you have a ‘what i bake with’ section.
Just starting to take this up as a hobby and blogs like yours are helpful and encouraging
Hoping to tick off a lot more recipes from here. 🙂
Thanks a ton Shraddha for the generous appreciation. It really is so encouraging. Hope you find a lot of recipes here that you enjoy baking and eating!
Hi,
I have tried this cake n it comes out just perfect. Thanks a ton for this recipe. Was so satisfied to check outcome n most importantly the satisfaction on my family members after eating it 🙂
Hey Arti… So glad that you enjoyed baking the cake. You are so right.. The pleasure on others faces while enjoying the treats is the best reward!
Hi mam, how can we use the same better for making cupcakes please tell me the timing too. And suggest frosting ideas for cupcakes
Hi Narmadha… Yes, u can. Follow the recipe and in the end fill cavities of a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Fill each about 2/3rd full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes at 180 C. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Half recipe will give u 12 cupcakes. You can bake in two batches.. First six and then six
Hi, Once I saw the post of the recipe, I got tempted to try the recipe. Immediately I tried this recipe. I was very happy with the output. The cupcakes were soft and the taste was really good. A must try recipe.
That’s awesome Sandhya… Thanks for taking the time to drop a comment. Do try other recipes as well. I am sure you will find others u like…
Hi, can I use castor sugar or brown sugar instead of granulated sugar for reducing the sweetness? My friend wants less Sweety cake.
Hi Neethu.. You can use brown or castor sugar… This cake is not extremely sweet but to reduce the sweetness, you can reduce the sugar by a quarter cup or use a dark cocoa
Thanks for posting such a nice blog. I really found it so useful for me. I have read it and really it was nice too. I really appreciate your posting. Keep sharing such a nice food blog. I am always a great food lover.
thanks Ravi!
Could I make this cake with cooking chocolate instead of cocoa powder?
Hi Shweta, not this particular recipe. There would be too many calculations of how to reduce the oil and sweetness .
Hi, I would love to try this cake for my son who is allergic to eggs. But I was wondering if this cake can be used with fondant in a tiered cake or would it crumble under the weight?
Thanks
hey Grishma… i dont use fondant myself but its a sturdy enough cake and has been used by several readers under fondant. So you can definitely go for it !
Hi , hope I can bake this in 8 or 9 inch square pan, also you have mentioned the temperature as 160 degree for baking, What about the temperature for preheating? should it be 160 or 180. Can we pour Chocolate ganache, if yes, how much and should the cake be cooled completely before pouring the warm ganache?
Yes Ranju.. you can bake it in a 8 or 9 inch square pan.. if you are baking the full recipe in one pan, so make sure your pan is tall enough and don’t fill it more than 2/3 rds full. You can preheat the oven at 160 C itself. If you are just pouring on top.. you can use 300 grams chocolate with 200 ml cream , to cover the top and sides. You might have excess but since you are pouring , you will need more. Pour while ganache is warm and cake is cool. Do place the cake on a wire rack and place another plate under the wire rack. so that the lower plate catches the ganache that drips off and you can use it for something else.. Hope this helps!
Hi
In the ingredients it says 300g of sugar which is more than the flour needed although it says less sugar in cup size compared to cup size of flour if that makes sense. I was wondering if it’s a mistake and it’s meant to be 200g of sugar?
I’m looking forward to trying this. Thankyou
Hi Margaret … The amount of flour is more than the flour needed. Its just that flour being lighter than sugar – 2 1/4 cups of it still weighs lesser in grams than 1 1/2 cups of the sugar. Hope I am explaining it right! Do give it a try !
On our 6th anniversary I made half of this recipe and topped it with chocolate ganache ..i must tell u it came out so so good..your recipes are so easy to follow and never go wrong…i also tried ur whole wheat carrot cake and that also was superb..i have a request could u please teach me wholewheat apple cake pleeeeeeeese…out of all the blogs i follow i like urs the most..they come out so good and are hassle free…pleeese teach us whole wheat apple cake also
Thanks a ton Damini for this super feel good and encouraging message! Glad you liked found recipes you liked on Flours and Frostings. Will surely share whole wheat apple cake also soon !!
Made the cake today. Awesome recipe. Beautiful texture. Thank you so much.
thank you Sujata… both for trying the cake and taking the time to share your result ! Really happy the cake turned out well for you!
Just made this cake now…it was awesome
Thank u so much Divya !Glad it turned out well for u !
Thanks for getting back.. Will try this receipe and update my feedback.
Hi,
Can i use 8 inch round pan to bake without halving the ingredients. Kindly let me know. Thanks 🙂
Hi Sharanya… U can.. if u have tall pan, atleast 3 inch sides. Also bake at a lower temperature like 160 c. Personally i feel that eggless cakes bake better as thinner layers. But u can definitely bake as one thick layer..
Hi Akshata. Can I use aata instead of all purpose flour? And can I add eggs to this recipe?
Hi Ankita… you can use aata if you want – the texture and taste will differ though. About the eggs, this cake is specifically eggless. Adding eggs will give u different results. You can try several other chocolate cakes on the blog that have egg in them, they might give you better results.. 🙂
Hi Akshata can I use lemon instead of vinegar??
Yes Harshitha… U can use lemon juice instead….
Can I use this cake as a base for Black Forest cake
yes u can Vaishnavi !
Can I substitute butter for oil.
you can if you wish.. an equal amount melted butter..
How much does the cake weigh in pounds and will serve how many people? And what should be the recipe for a 5 pound cake? And would like to make it a photo cake, so if you can plz give your tips and suggestions.
Hi Meena…This recipe will make around one kg cake.. so for 5 pounds (2 and half kgs) , you will need 2 and half times the recipe or 2 times the recipe ( with the remaining weight in frosting and filling ). For the photo cake , you can just frost it with whipped cream , buttercream or ganache and place the edible print on top. The number of servings will depend on the shape and size of the pan you bake it in and your serving size ..
I just made this and it’s amazingly good. To top it, it’s sooooooo damn easy. This is going to be sure shot regular for me.
Great to know Reny !!! Thank u ☺
Can i use soda water instead of vinegar?
Hi Anjali… not really.The reaction of baking soda with the vinegar causes the aeration in the cake. Soda water wouldn’t quite work the same way…
Hello.. Half tsp bakingpowder is enough?? Also I am using 250ml cup.. How can i convert
Hi Riya… The baking powder is enough as there is baking soda too in the recipe. You can use your cup for all measurements as the difference will not be significant.
Hi,
Can we substitute milk with water in this recipe? As, I want to make this a vegan cake.
Also, can I replace granulated sugar with icing sugar (or) castor sugar in this recipe.
Hi Sheetal.. you can replace the milk with soy or almond or coconut milk to make the cake vegan. You can use castor sugar instead 🙂