Eggless chocolate cake recipe with video & step by step photos – This simple moist, soft chocolate cake has no butter, no eggs, no milk in it except for the frosting which uses little butter & milk. This cake is made with almost very basic ingredients and is popularly known as wacky cake or depression cake. It was born during the world war 2 as a result of introducing the rationing system by the British government to overcome the food shortages.
This cake was baked during those times as it needed only the basic ingredients like flour, oil, soda and sugar. Ingredients like eggs, milk and butter which were in shortage were not needed.
Eggless chocolate cake is one of the quickest and can be made even by a beginner without any hassles. This recipe had been very popular almost a decade ago and had come in many food magazines and columns.
It turns out very soft, moist, spongy and very light. A simple whipped cream frosting or chocolate buttercream frosting goes well on this cake.
Notes on eggless chocolate cake
1. Can maida/ plain flour be replaced with wheat flour? – Yes, But the cake turns dense and the flavor alters too. If you like to try, add in 1 to 2 tbsps more of water.
2. Can I use butter instead of oil? Not sure but melted butter may work.
3. Can I replace water with milk? Milk in a chocolate cake sometimes lend a bitter taste. You can experiment.
Here are some tips to make the best wacky cake
1. Make sure you use good quality baking soda. Do not increase the quantity of soda as it may leave a bitter taste.
2. Use good quality vinegar that is meant for cooking. If possible use apple cider vinegar.
3. If using aluminum cake pan, do use parchment paper to line the cake pan else the cake may turn bitter.
For more Cake Recipes, you can check
Eggless vanilla cake
Sponge cake without eggs
Eggless fruit cake
Chocolate banana cake without egg
Eggless banana bread
Eggfree banana muffins
Eggless chocolate cake recipe
Eggless chocolate cake recipe | How to make eggless chocolate cake
Vegan chocolate cake, called as wacky cake or depression cake. Turns out soft and moist.
Ingredients (240 ml cup used)
Ingredients for eggless chocolate cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or maida, prefer organic or unbleached flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder use good quality cocoa
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup sugar prefer organic, or 1.5 cups jaggery, coconut sugar, palm sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 1/3 cup oil coconut or canola or light olive oil
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar or plain vinegar, use good quality
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
For chocolate buttercream frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter soft but cold
- 3 tbsps cocoa powder good quality
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar or icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 to 2 ½ tbsps milk or whipping cream
How to make the recipe
Preparation for eggless chocolate cake recipe
Preheat the oven to 170 C for at least 15 mins.
- Grease a 8 or 9 inch round cake pan & drizzle some flour on it. or Line with a parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix plain flour, cocoa,salt and baking soda. Sieve the mix at least twice to aerate the flour .
Add sugar and mix it well. I use fine sugar. If you are using coarse one then you can also dissolve it in 1 cup water (called for the recipe) and pour it in the next step.
How to make eggless chocolate cake
- Make a well in the center. Pour water,oil, vanilla and lemon juice or vinegar.
- Gently begin to mix well. Do not over mix.
- Pour it to the cake pan. Knock it a few times against the kitchen counter.
- Bake for 25 to 28 mins. Check after 23 mins. To check if it is completely baked, insert a skewer in the center of the cake and check. It must come out clean.
- Allow it to cool down for 8 to 10 mins.
- Invert it gently on a wire rack. Allow it to cool completely.
- You can frost the cake if you like or just sprinkle some powdered sugar.
- This eggless chocolate cake tastes best the next day.
Making frosting for eggless cake
- Add butter to a large bowl and beat it until soft and fluffy. You can use a hand mixer or just a whisk.
- Add cocoa and powdered sugar to a sieve. Sieve it well.
Pour vanilla and 2 tbsps milk or cream. Mix them up lightly.
- Then whisk or beat until everything turns smooth fluffy and light. It must be of spreadable consistency. If it is too thick, then add another half to 1 tbsp milk or cream. Beat well until it reaches a good consistency.
- Spread a tbsp of frosting on your cake stand. Place 4 - 2 by 8 inch parchment paper strips across the four sides of the cake stand. Place the cake over these papers with the frosting beneath the cake. Do not over beat else the butter begins to melt. If needed you can keep it in the fridge for a while.
- Scoop off a good amount of frosting to the cake. Begin to spread from the center and then towards the sides. Place the cake in the fridge for about 40 mins. Then smoothen the cake with a spatula. Remove the parchment papers gently.
- Eggless chocolate cake is ready.
Recipe Video
Video of eggless chocolate cake recipe
Recipe Notes
Notes on eggless chocolate cake recipe
If using jaggery / palm sugar / coconut sugar, do use one without soda content. Dissolve it in water and then filter it.
How to make eggless chocolate cake
1. Preheat the oven to 170 C. Grease a cake pan and drizzle some flour all over on the sides and bottom. Invert it & pat it off over the kitchen sink to remove the excess flour. If using a aluminum pan, I highly suggest using parchment paper to line the cake tray. If not then the cake may turn bitter due to the soda in the cake batter.
2. Place a sieve over a large mixing bowl. Add flour, cocoa, salt and soda.
3. Mix them gently. Sieve them together twice. This aerates the flour and makes the cake light.
4. Add sugar and mix well. I used organic fine sugar. If using coarse sugar then you can also dissolve it in 1 cup water (called for the recipe) and use in the next step. If using jaggery, dissolve and filter it.
5. Make space for the liquid ingredients in the center.
6. Pour water.
7. Pour oil. I have used organic virgin coconut oil. Do use some light oil otherwise the cake may smell oily.
8. Next add vanilla extract.
9. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice or vinegar. Make sure you use a good quality vinegar. I have used organic apple cider vinegar.
10. Mix all these well gently just until well combined.
11. You will notice that the cake batter begins to bubble up. The acidic ingredient vinegar or lemon juice begins to react with the baking soda. Do not over mix at this stage, it may make the cake dense.
Baking eggless chocolate cake
12. Pour the cake batter to the pan. Knock it to the kitchen counter a few times.
13. Bake it in the preheated oven for 25 to 28 mins. Check after 25 mins. The timings may vary depending on the oven. So bake it until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
14. Allow it to cool down for 8 to 10 mins. Invert it on a cake rack.
15. Remove the parchment papers. Cool it completely. If you prefer to frost you can do a chocolate frosting or you can just dust some powdered sugar and some sprinkles.
This eggless chocolate cake tastes best the next day. It keeps good at room temperature for 2 days and in the fridge for 6 to 7 days.
I made a super quick chocolate buttercream frosting, please follow the recipe card for details.
Preety says
Hello…do we need to powder sugar?
swasthi says
Hi Preety
I used fine sugar and not powdered one. If you are skeptical about it, then just dissolve the sugar in water and pour it. Thank you so much for rating the recipe.
Rasmi says
Thank you for this recipe. It comes in handy when you need to make something immediately and don’t have much ingredients at home. I also like that the cake is vegan friendly. It’s delicious!
swasthi says
Welcome Rasmi
Thanks for the comment
David K says
Thanks for the recipe, it looks delicious. You suggest using aluminum free baking soda, but baking soda never has aluminum. It is baking powder that may have aluminum, which is why I use Rumford aluminum free baking powder.
swasthi says
Welcome David
Thanks for the mention. I corrected it.
🙂
Sunitha says
hi swasti,
nice recipe……hope u r doing well…..regarding the recipe i need ur help on measurements…i only have a 250 ml cup set and when i try your baking recipes should i make any changes in the measuremnts……
thank u
swasthi says
Hi Sunitha
I am doing good. Thanks for asking. Hope you are not affected with the rains.
You can use 250 ml cups for all my baking recipes without making any changes.
Sunitha says
dear swasti,
with god’s grace we were not much affected with rains…thanks for your quick reply as usual…i shall surely try your baking recipes and share the results…
thank u
Gunjan says
Would like to know why have you not opted for both baking powder and baking soda in this cake recipe.
Also I wish to add almonds, raisins, walnut and cashew to this recipe, will the recipe ingredients require any variation?
swasthi says
Hi Gunjan
If using baking powder, it will need about 3 tsp which is a lot and may make the cake bitter. The cake turns very soft and delicate not sure how it will turn with nuts. You can check this fruit and nut cake. Just remove 4 tbsp of flour and add 3 tbsp of cocoa
lavanya says
Hi. Thanks for the recipe. Could you please explain point 5 under frosting. Parchment paper on the sides on top of frosting on the cake stand ? Just curious to know the benefit of doing so. Thanks again. Going to try this soon.
swasthi says
Welcome Lavanya
The parchment paper helps to keep your cake stand clean without messing up. After you finish working on the frosting, gently remove the paper. Any excess frosting that falls while you decorate will come over on the paper. Your cake stand is neat and tidy.
Arva Painter says
Hi..thank you so much for the recipe..I am planning a try it sooner basically for my grandma who has diabetes ..I just wanted to know if I can replace sugar with date syrup and if so how much quantity should I use….??can I also add almonds to this batter..thank you
swasthi says
Hi Arva,
You are welcome. I am not sure if dates syrup works in this recipe. I had made this with palm jaggery a few times before and it turned out good. If you plan to try with that, then just dissolve it in water and filter it to the dry ingredients. The cake turns out very light so probably almonds may make the cake crumbly while slicing. Since you grandma is diabetic, you may want to try this cake eggless banana chocolate cake made with wheat flour. This one too works well with jaggery or palm jaggery.
Arva says
Thank you so much once again..so happy to have found your blog..I will try the recipe you have suggested but just wanted to know if I can replace the banana purée with eggs..??and if so how many..I also tried this cake with jaggery powder and it turned out great..😊..much love..
swasthi says
Welcome Arva
Thanks a lot for the comment. Not sure about the texture but I guess it may work with 3 eggs.
Bella says
Hello,
I made this cake it tasted good. But it was a bit too moist, and cake cracked while cooling and it was little sticky in the mouth…what wrong did I make?
swasthi says
Hi Bella,
What is the size of your pan? I guess the cake needed to bake a little more. This cake works good in a 8 inch pan. Anything smaller than that will take a little longer to bake and will also come out with cracks on top. Hope this helps.
Jas says
Love this cake and recipe! Made it twice now and turned out perfect! Only thing I used different was vegetable oil since that’s all I had. Would this work for cupcakes too?
swasthi says
Hi Jas,
So glad to know the cake turned out good. Yes you will be able to make about 12 to 14 cupcakes. Baking time is 17 to 19 mins. You can also use the same frosting given in the recipe. Thanks for trying.
Shifali says
Hi! I have tried the cake. Its awesome and super delicious. The only prob i encountered is i can taste and smell the baking soda in the cake once it’s ready. Please suggest something
swasthi says
Hi Shifali
Glad to know the cake turned out good. Usually the quantity or quality of soda affects the taste of the finished product. Are you sure you have used the correct amount of baking soda? If yes then try changing the baking soda and increase vinegar by another half tbsp. Thanks for trying.
Karl says
Fascinating! My Indian friend, here in Silicon Valley told me about your site, after posting a photo of his Chicken Chettinad. This is the exact recipe that my grandmother gave me when I was little, 40+ years ago. She called it “War Cake”, having raised a family in New York State, the 1940s, with the rationing of some foods.
Karl says
…as Anthony Bourdain taught us, food brings people together and crosses all cultural lines.
swasthi says
Hi Karl,
Yes how true – Food brings people together.
So glad to read your comment. Thank you so much for reading!
🙂
Anum says
Baked this eggless version yesterday for the occasion of Father’s Day 17/6/18 for the first time and it turned out perfect. I jus added a tea spoon of coffee n bit of cinnamon and some choco chips as an extra flavour, I made few cup cakes from the same receipe but I made them in air fryer and they also came out perfect.
Moist 10/10
Texture 10/10
Taste 10/10
Thank you for the foolproof receipe.
swasthi says
Hi Anum
So glad to know the cake turned out good. Thank you so much for the details. Will surely help the other readers.
🙂
Priya says
Hey it’s baking powder or baking soda whats d difference
swasthi says
Hi Priya
It is baking soda.
Jayanthi says
Chocolate cake came out very good. I added 1 tsp coffee. Turned out exceptionally good.
ruchi says
hi…why don’t you use the blender to mix the batter in cakes like in all cake recipes
swasthi says
Hi Ruchi,
yes the batter can me made using a hand or stand mixer. Many people may not have it so I just show using a spatula.
akashocd says
thank you for sharing your cake recipe
akashocd says
Wow this recipe is so good thank you for sharing this recipe
akashocd says
this recipe is so good and awesome that anyone will like it
Janhavi says
My friend and I tried many other receipies, but this was the best chocolate cake ever!
Gunaselvi says
Hi Swasti,
First time I tried cake and I tried ur recipe it came out very well.
Every one liked it especially my kids 🙂
Thank you for the recipe.
Amy says
Thank you so much for sharing your cakes, I made the frosting with coco powder and vanilla frosting with a little bit of coconut milk because I am fasting for Easter, so we can’t have milk, eggs, or whip cream. Thank you again
My question the cake is not high like yours.
swasthi says
Welcome Amy,
Wow coconut milk and cocoa! That should have tasted great. Actually mine too was not high. It’s only due to the camera zoom lens it looks high. Next time may be you can try in a 7 inch cake pan. I have tried it but I felt the top got a crust with some cracks since the pan size is small. Thanks for trying. Happy Easter !!
Maricon Fisk says
Hi
Thank you so much for your eggless chocolate cake.. absolutely scrumptious. I finally found a recipe for everybody to enjoy. .My friends feels it’s the best…
Bloss says
Awesome easy recipe… Tried it twice…both the times turned out perfect… My son loves it with garnache made of dairymilk instead of buttercream frosting.. Thanks for this lovely recipe…