12 vegan chocolate cake recipes

Chocolate is usually thought of as a guilty pleasure but for the Maya civilisation and their ancestors it was a daily staple; the Mayans murals and ceramics capture the abundance of chocolate available to them. Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree which flourished in southern Mexico. Recent studies found that cocoa extract, Lavado, could have a positive effect on cognitive decline, other studies indicate chocolate could help lower the risk of developing heart disease. Let’s celebrate the history and the benefits of chocolate with this enticing, vegan, recipe on the 13th September – National Chocolate Day.

A light, springy chocolate sponge cake made with just six pantry staples and absolutely no eggs or dairy. Two layers sandwiched with fudge icing, dusted with grated chocolate and powdered sugar. Vegan baking at its most unfussy.

Vegan Black Forest cake with whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, and a kirsch syrup. Cashew-tofu icing replaces dairy whipped cream. Three layers of chocolate cake, cherries, and creamy frosting.

Vegan brownies built on the Depression-era wacky cake method: no eggs, no butter, no milk. Vinegar and baking soda do the lifting for a fudgy, chewy chocolate brownie that mixes in one bowl.

Vegan self-saucing chocolate pudding cake with walnuts. Hot water poured over cocoa-sugar batter creates a fudgy chocolate sauce underneath as the cake bakes. No eggs, no dairy, total magic.

Vegan chocolate rum cake made with silken tofu, maple syrup, espresso, and cocoa, layered with rum syrup and a tofu-chocolate frosting. No eggs, no dairy, all decadence.

Crazy cake (depression cake) is an egg-free, dairy-free chocolate cake mixed directly in the baking pan with cocoa, oil, vinegar, and water. Vegan-friendly and ridiculously easy.

Self-saucing chocolate puddle pudding: a cocoa cake batter with boiling chocolate sauce poured over before baking. Vegan-friendly, egg-free, and magically creates its own gooey sauce.

Eggless cocoa cake made with no butter, milk, or eggs. A depression-era style chocolate cake using vinegar and baking soda for lift, baked in a tube pan. Naturally vegan.

Wacky cake style chocolate layer cake made with no eggs, butter, or milk. A pantry-staple Depression-era recipe with deep cocoa flavor and a tender, fudgy crumb that's accidentally vegan.

Whacky cakes are the Depression-era chocolate classic reworked for a pizzelle iron: no eggs, no butter, no milk. Vinegar and baking soda do the lift. Vegan, fast, kid-friendly.

Vegan brownies with chocolate sauce bake into a self-saucing pudding cake with no eggs and no dairy. Soy milk and oil keep the crumb tender, while a layer of cocoa, brown sugar, and boiling water poured over the batter sinks down into a fudgy hot sauce as it bakes.