This is the best Vegan Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake you make at parties, for guests, when you want to wow them and shock them that vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free can be so darn delicious!
VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE VANILLA CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE
This Vegan Chocolate Chip Cake is so buttery, moist and fluffy and absolutely perfect for parties, especially birthdays! I love a classic vegan vanilla cake but this chocolate chip cake is such a fun special cake!
The inspiration for this cake is my love for the classic chocolate chip cookie. So, I created a cake based on that classic cookie. Chocolate chip cookie becomes chocolate chip cake with a wonderful vanilla flavor. It has that same rich, sweet, buttery flavor that you get from the cookie, but in cake form.
This cake is moist, buttery and rich and using mainly oat flour, gives it a wonderful texture. I ultimately decided on my oat and starch flour combo that I’ve used a few times here on the blog, but instead of potato starch (too crumbly and dry), I swapped it with tapioca for better structure and that was the winner. I wanted it nut-free, so that’s why I trialed so much.
Just skip this recipe if you cannot have oats. No two gluten-free flours are alike. I have another vanilla cake recipe on the blog that is just 2 flours, so you can always make my Vegan Gluten-free Vanilla Cake if you don’t use oats.
The topping is a firm, fudgy ganache, not an oily icing or frosting, but literally like biting into the center of a truffle.
The cake itself is just 8 ingredients (+ salt & water) and just a few minutes prep. The ganache recipe is just 1 extra ingredient needed (plant milk) to complete the whole masterpiece, as the remaining ganache ingredients are repeat ingredients that are also used in the cake.
The secret ingredient used in this cake to make it buttery and moist? Coconut butter! There is just enough to give the cake some needed fat for texture (doesn’t work on applesauce alone!) but not too much, so it doesn’t taste like coconut.
MORE VEGAN CAKE RECIPES TO TRY
- Vegan Gluten-free Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Funfetti Cake
- Vegan Mango Caramel Cheesecake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cookie Dough Fudge Cake
- Vegan Cinnamon Caramel Bundt Cake
- Vegan Gingerbread Cake
- Vegan Almond Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Note: This recipe used to be sold as a cake kit through Cake In A Crate, however, they are no longer in business. Enjoy the free recipe below!
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Gluten-Free Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 1 1/4 cups (160g) superfine oat flour (use a scale! see NOTE, use certified gluten-free oats if necessary)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (48g) tapioca starch/flour (this is the ONLY starch that works, do not sub)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (200g) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup (120g) unsweetened applesauce, room temperature, or slightly warm
- 1 tablespoon (15g) vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (30g) warm water
- 1/4 cup (60g) warmed and melted liquid coconut butter
- 1/2 cup (120g) dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand)
GANACHE
- 1 cup (180g) mini semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons canned “lite” coconut milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch fine sea salt
OPTIONAL CHOCOLATE CURLS
- 1 bar dark chocolate
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- As I always recommend, use a scale for accurate results. If you must use cups, make sure to scoop the flour with your cup, lightly pat down and then level off, so there are no gaps. If you want to make cupcakes, then I would suggest making these with my Truffle Frosting instead. Double the recipe for a double layer cake.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8 inch round (9 will yield too short a cake) cake pan with nonstick spray. Place a round piece of parchment paper on the bottom.
- Add the oat flour, tapioca, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk well.
- It is important to make sure your liquids are not cold, or it will cause the coconut butter to harden. The oil tends to separate from the coconut meat in the jar and be very hard, and it's imperative that it's mixed back up properly before measuring. Otherwise, you run the chance of getting too much of just the oily part or just the meaty part, which will affect the end result. So I like to slightly warm up the jar (like 10 seconds) and empty the coconut butter in a separate container, warm up for just a few more seconds if too chunky still in the microwave until it is warm and soft enough to stir. It should be soft, but don't overheat the coconut butter or it will burn and ruin it. As you stir it, the warmth will melt it and make it more runny. Stir until completely smooth and runny, like the consistency of oil, then measure the weight.
- Make a well at the bottom of the bowl and pour in the syrup, applesauce, vanilla, warm water and lastly, the melted coconut butter. Whip with an electric whisk or beater, starting slow and then gradually increasing. You only need to mix it for about 15 seconds, just to ensure it’s a smooth batter. Otherwise, use a large spoon to gently mix the batter until all moistened and no more flour is visible. Do not over-beat the batter. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 45 minutes before removing to firm up.
- Place the cooling rack over a large plate before adding the ganache. This is necessary so that the excess ganache can drip through the cooling rack and keep your cake mess-free.
- For the ganache, add the chocolate chips and milk into a bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and then another 15-30 more seconds until it’s almost melted. Stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Pour all the ganache over the cooled cake, directly over the center. Using the back of a spoon, gently spread the chocolate out to the sides evenly, dragging the spoon gently back and forth, while guiding it along to drip down the sides. Take a knife and drag along the sides to smooth the edges.
- Place in the fridge to firm the ganache for about 30 mins. Then keep covered in a cake dome container or loosely secured with foil at room temperature until serving.
- To make the chocolate curls, simply place a bar of dark chocolate on a plate and place in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, just to soften it enough to make the curls. Use a peeler and drag it along the sides of the chocolate, making curls.
I’ve made this quite a few times since you came up with it and every time it’s been amazing! I love a good chocolate chip cake especially one that can be easily thrown together. My kids love it too!
Thank you so much Sophia, so glad you and the kiddos love it, thank you!
Love this! Took me awhile to find coconut butter, but glad I did. I needed a birthday cupcake my two allergic kids could eat and the rest of us (family of 5) could also enjoy. I made this cake into cupcakes without frosting and they were amazing! Delicious, tender, and light. Thank you for all your hard work creating these recipes!
Yay! I’m so thrilled you and your whole family loved these as cupcakes! Thank you so much for making them and the wonderful feedback! Thank you Monica!
will it work if i get box mix and just get the wet ingredients?
No, I wrote recipe based on the exact ingredients listed and using a box mix would be a completely different set of ingredients. Not to mention, they are all different.
If I can’t eat coconut, do you think it would be ok to use canola oil….? Or should I melt down Spectrum shortening? Or use soy free Earth Balance ?
I’m trying to figure out what still might make a deliciouscake. This one sounds fantastic.
Thank you!!
I honestly have no idea, my thinking is that one of those might make it dense and greasy. But I would try earth balance first. I don’t know it if it will work though since it’s oil basically and coconut butter is much more firm once cooled. You can always try it!
Hi Brandi,
Do you have a recipe for coconut butter and what is it? Everyone seems to have their different opinions and I never see it in the shops in the UK.
Thanks so much,
Sarah
Yes, here it is! It should be a runny liquid and then it’s done. https://thevegan8.com/2013/10/14/homemade-coconut-butter
Hello, I just popped in to say thank you for the work you do creating your recipes. This one is fantastic along with all the others I’ve tried. You clearly put in a lot of work into your recipes, and it shows because they are top-notch. As a former professional pastry gal I appreciate the weight measurements!
How very kind of you to say Jen, thank you so much! So glad you loved this cake!
Hi there,
I’m keen to try out this recipe of yours tomorrow! Can I please check if the chocolate chips quantity is critical to the overall cake outcome as I don’t think I’ve the 1/2 cup it calls for (cake only). Thanks!!
Hi Rac, if you don’t want a chocolate chip cake, then just make this recipe instead without chocolate chips. This cake above I wrote based on the inclusion of chocolate chips, so they are needed in my opinion. https://thevegan8.com/vegan-gluten-free-vanilla-cake/
Thanks Brandi. I’d have tried your other recipe but it contains nuts which we are allergic to – can I sub nuts in the other recipe? I don’t mind the chocolate chips just that I don’t have the full quantity in my pantry at the moment 😫 so do you mean to say it will affect the overall cake texture if this was reduced?
Oh ok, I think it should be okay! The chocolate chips are meant to enhance the overall cake but as long as you have close to the amount I think it should be fine. It doesn’t affect the texture, just the overall flavor.
Hi Brandi,
It is my birthday and plan to make many of your tasty cakes and brownies, blondies…
#HOT WATER
For this one can I replace hot water by more Coconut Milk?
More Creamy like this maybe?
#STORAGE
Can I store in the freezer the whole finished cake with Ganache?
Please let me know
I see you on other recipes pages for questions and tips..
Many thanks
Henri 🙂