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. It turns out very soft, moist, spongy and very light.
A simple chocolate syrup, whipped cream frosting or chocolate buttercream frosting goes well on this cake.
This eggless cake recipe & a no bake biscuit cake recipe had been very popular almost a decade ago and had come in many food magazines and columns.
Faqs on eggless chocolate cake
1. Can maida/ all-purpose flour be replaced with wheat flour?
Yes, But the cake turns dense and the flavor alters too. If you like to try, use very fine ground wheat flour. Next add in 1 to 2 tbsp more of water.
2. Can I use butter instead of oil?
Yes oil can be substituted with melted unsalted butter. But oil makes the cake more moist.
3. Can I replace water with milk?
Yes I have made this cake many times using full fat milk. The texture turns slightly dense.
4.Can I use baking powder instead of baking soda?
No, Baking powder cannot be used to make this eggless chocolate cake recipe. Baking soda & baking powder are different.
5.How to bake this cake without a oven?
If you do not have a oven you can also bake this cake in a cooker or a heavy bottom pot. You can check this post on How to make cake in cooker.
6.Can I make this cake with dry fruits & nuts?
Yes you can use about half cup fine chopped tutti fruttis or mixed dry fruits. Toss them in 1 tbsp flour and gently stir them with the prepared batter at the last step.
7.What adjustments should I make if using wheat flour, butter & milk?
To make this eggless chocolate cake with wheat flour, butter & milk just use little more water or milk. Then to improve the taste & texture pour some sugar syrup over the cake to keep it moist.
For the sugar syrup, boil 2 tbsps sugar in 4 tbsps water until the sugar dissolves and begins to boil well. Cool this and pour over the cake after cooling completely. Go ahead frosting the cake.
Tips to make the best eggless chocolate cake
1. Test the baking soda before use: Make sure you use good quality baking soda. To test it, add 2 tbsps of lemon juice or vinegar to a bowl. Add half tsp baking soda & stir. If it is fresh then it will bubble & fizz immediately.
Next if the mixture does not bubble & fizz up it indicates the baking soda is not good so replace it with a new bottle of soda.
If your baking soda is not good then the cake will turn flat and will not turn spongy.
2.Quantity of soda: Do not increase the quantity of soda as it may leave a bitter taste.
3. Vinegar: Use good quality vinegar that is meant for cooking. If possible use apple cider vinegar. Good quality acidic ingredient will help the baking soda to react well and will make the cake light & spongy.
4. Vanilla flavor: I use vanilla extract for most of my bakes. You can also replace it with vanilla powder or vanilla essence. Often readers ask me if extract & essence are same. They are not same.
Vanilla essence is an artificial flavoring agent so you will have to use only a few drops in the recipe.
I also use this recipe to make the base for Eggless black forest cake
For more Cake Recipes, you can check
Eggless vanilla cake
Sponge cake without eggs
Eggless fruit cake
Eggfree carrot cake
Apple cake – eggless
Chocolate banana cake without egg
Eggless chocolate cake recipe
Eggless chocolate cake
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for eggless chocolate cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or organic maida or wheat flour (180 grams)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder (use good quality cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda (check expiry date)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup sugar (organic, or 1.5 cups grated jaggery)
- 1 cup Water (use milk to make rich cake)
- 1/3 cup oil or 80 ml (coconut or canola or light olive oil or melted butter)
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar or plain vinegar, use good quality)
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract (or vanilla powder or essence as needed)
For the chocolate sauce (Frosting 1 – method 1)
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 4 to 6 tablespoon sugar (or powdered jaggery as needed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
or For chocolate buttercream frosting (Frosting 2 – method 2)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (soft but cold)
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (good quality)
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (or icing sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 2 ½ tablespoons milk (or whipping cream)
How to make the recipe
Preparation for eggless chocolate cake recipe
- Preheat the oven to 170 C or 340 F 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 1 ½ cups flour, ¼ cup cocoa powder, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp baking soda.
- Sieve the flour mix at least twice to aerate the flour. This makes the cake light.
- If using wheat flour then sieve four times.
- Add 1 cup 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 (space) in the center. Pour 1 cup water, 1/3 cup oil or melted butter, 1 tbsp vanilla extract and 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar.
- Gently begin to mix well from the liquid ingredients in the center.
- Mix just until the flour is combined well with the wet ingredients. Do not over mix.
- The batter will be runny. Pour it to the cake pan.
- Knock it a few times against the kitchen counter to release air bubbles.
- 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.
- Keep the cake pan on a wire rack and allow it to cool down for 8 to 10 mins in the pan.
- Invert eggless chocolate cake 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 chocolate sauce (Frosting 1)
- Mix together ¾ cup milk, 2 tbsps cocoa, 1 tsp vanilla extract & 4 to 6 tbsps sugar.
- The mixture must be lump free & smooth.
- Begin to cook on a low to medium heat stirring constantly until slightly thick & creamy.
- Taste it and add more sugar if needed & boil. Cool down completely.
- Place the cake on a plate or a tray that can hold the excess dripping from chocolate sauce.
- Pour the chocolate frosting on the cooled eggless chocolate cake.
- Spread with spatula. For step by step pics, please refer this Ragi cake.
OR Making frosting for eggless cake (Frosting 2)
- Ensure the butter is soft yet cold. When you press down the block of butter, it must dent easily yet hold shape without melting.
- Add butter to a large bowl and beat it until soft and fluffy. You can use a hand mixer or just a whisk.
- Place a sieve over the butter bowl. Add cocoa and powdered sugar to the 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.
- Do not over beat else the butter begins to melt.
- If needed you can keep it in the fridge for a while.
- 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.
- 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. Slice & serve.
Video
NUTRITION
Notes
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.
I highly suggest using parchment paper to line the cake tray. This way the eggless chocolate cake comes out of the pan easily.
Prepare dry ingredients
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.
Mixing dry & wet ingredients
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.
You can also make a chocolate sauce frosting with very few ingredients. Please check the recipe card.
Rashmi says
Hi Swasthi,
I tried ur eggless cake recipe. I mixed hot water n used vinegar n oil. It baked very nicely but when I removed from the container it all broke down.
I don’t know where i went wrong.
Regards,
Rashmi
swasthi says
Hi Rashmi,
This recipe hasn’t been tested with hot water. But not sure if only hot water can make the cake so delicate. Hope you didn’t invert the cake when it is very hot.
Roopa says
Hi Swasthi
Which ingredients are best to make the cake light and spongy? I tried with 1. oil,milk and 2. butter, water combo, both the times, the cake sticks to the teeth; Is it meant to be like that?
Regards
Roopa
swasthi says
Hi Roopa,
No! It is supposed to soft, light and moist. This cake turns out light and spongy with oil and water as I have shown in this post. With oil and milk it turns out slightly dense. I have shown this in black forest cake. To me it looks like the cake turned gluey. Am I right? Gluey cakes are a result of overmixing the batter. Easy way to find this is – slice the cake and check if you find streaks of gluey texture in the cake. What kind of oven did you use?
Roopa says
Hi Swasthi
I used an American Micron OTG Oven.
Yes, the cake was gluey. I guess I overmixed to remove the lumps.
Will try again though.
swasthi says
Hi Rupa,
Next time prepare the dry mixture separately and then the wet mixture separately. Then slowly sieve the dry mixture to the wet mixture in 3 batches, mixing after every addition. This also prevents lumps and over mixing.
Roopa says
Thanks a lot. Will try it again.
Tajeswita says
Hi dear.. I recently tried the cake recipe and it is wet from the middle.. still in microwave for more 5 mins.. what thing I missed or what should I do??
swasthi says
Hi Tajeswita,
This recipe has not been tested in a microwave oven.
Roopa says
Hi Swasthi
My batter became lumpy. I used melted butter and water with sugar dissolved in it.
Why does the batter become lumpy? And how to get rid of the lumps?
Regards
Roopa
swasthi says
Hi Roopa,
If any of the ingredients are cold the batter can turn lumpy. It can also be a mixing problem, especially with beginners. Using a spatula or a wired whisk should help. To save the batter & get rid of lumps you can just pass through a strainer but not recommended.
Soni says
Hello Maam
I always make your this recipe for my cakes, but this time in hurry i baked my cake without adding vinegar. I completely forgot. Will cake taste bad ? As i will be using ganache filling for this cake. Please reply. As its urgent. Thank you so much..
swasthi says
Hello Soni,
Thanks for trying. Yes I guess the cake will have a bitter taste without lemon or vinegar. Just take a small portion of the cake and taste it. Then proceed further. Since you said it is urgent I replied you over the mail. The blog comments do take sometime to reflect. Hope this helps.
Soni says
Thank you so much for replying so quick.
Secondly, i wanted to know can i cling wrap the vanilla sponge cake and chocolate sponge cake (both your recipes) and keep it in the room temperature, and frost it next day ?
swasthi says
Hi Soni,
You are welcome. Yes you can keep them at room temperature and then frost the next day. The chocolate sponge cake has eggs in it. If the climate is too hot then I would suggest you refrigerate. First pour some sugar syrup and then refrigerate. This helps to retain the sponge texture. or You can also keep it in a room where air con is ON. Hope this helps.
vivi says
Great chocolate cake!!! Made a triple layer cake for my boy’s birthday who is allergic to eggs and everyone loved it. Didn’t have vinegar or lemon juice so substituted water with orange juice. Trying to avoid vegetable oil in cakes as much as possible so I substituted butter. Tasted absolutely divine!!!!! Moist, great flavor, not too rich but yet damn delicious. Will be using this recipe next time for making black forest cake. I have also tried your carrot cake earlier. Thank you for the quick and simple recipes.
swasthi says
Hello Vivi,
Awesome! So glad your cake turned out good. Thanks much for the comment and sharing the pics too. Loved the idea of using orange juice. Yes it must have tasted divine. Hope you enjoy the black forest cake too.
🙂
Neha says
Hi mam,
Your whole wheat chocolate cake recipe is a no fail recipe…
It came out so well… Light n spongy n yummy….
swasthi says
Hi Neha
Thanks much! Glad your cake came out well.
🙂
Lily Pinto says
Hi.
Which oven is good for baking. Can u guide me. Is microwave good for baking.
swasthi says
Hi Lily,
Sorry forgot to reply you. Microwave oven does not yield the best cakes so go for a electric oven. What kind of a oven to buy depends on where you live (which country).
Lata says
Its a great recipe. I made it for my husband’s birthday and he looovvved it .
Your instructions and steps are meticulously detailed for any mistakes to happen.
Loved it!
P.s. Can u share the measurements or recipe for a smaller cake too. Pleasee
swasthi says
Hi Lata,
Glad your cake turned out good. Thank you. For a smaller cake, you can halve the recipe and make it.
Madhu says
Hi Swasthi,
Thank you for sharing such a simple and foolproof recipe 🙂 it comes perfectly and all basic questions are answered. Will this recipe yield a half kg cake or do we have to double the recipe for it? Please let me know.
swasthi says
Hi Madhu,
You are welcome. I haven’t weighed the cake any time. It should come more than half kg with the frosting. Hope this helps
Nandita Menon says
Hi, I tried this recipie in my convection oven but the middle of the cake didnt cook completely and the top started burning. First time convection oven user! Please help.
swasthi says
Hi Nandita,
Carefully cover the pan immediately with a foil and continue to bake until the skewer comes out clean. Please let me know if this helped. I will give you more tips after that.
Abhishek Sharma says
Hello Ma’am I have read and understand the whole recepie, now I m having only one issue that is I m having mivrowave on which their is no temperature readings like 180,100, etc. degree, it has Power like (begining to end) low, defrost, med, m.high, high, grill, combi1, combi2, and combi3. Now how and on which setting I bake this cake?
Please help me as I m going to try it today evening
Waiting for reply
swasthi says
Hi Abhishek,
Please tell me the brand name of your oven. I can help you out.
Abbiahek sharma says
It is godrej microwave plus otg
swasthi says
Please check your manual for baking. I guess it has a preprogrammed options for baking cake. May be under Instacook recipes.
Abhishek Shaa says
Ma’am can I get your number or email because I think that I don’t have the manual, so that we can communicate easier and faster
swasthi says
My email id is in the about page.
Pooja says
Can anyone plz tell me if i have to straight away double each ingredient including vinegar , soda to bake 2 9″ inch cakes..planning to bake tomorrow for my son’s birthday..
Thanks
swasthi says
Hi Pooja,
You can double the recipe and bake two 8 inch cakes. If you are going for 3 layer cake then – 9 inch is better.
Mahi says
This recipe gave me my first perfect cake of my life 😍
Thanks. Way to go❤️
swasthi says
You are most welcome Mahi!
So happy to know you could make a perfect cake. Thanks a lot!
🙂
Abha Gatla says
Is there more star .. I want to give this recipe more than 5 stars.. this is just Perfect… i made one using curd but it came so dense. Then I came across your recipe. And it’s just perfect and moist. It is also bful for black forest cake. Good that you gave how much your 1 cup is equal. It is so confusing coz my 1 cup is 250 ml. However next time I am only going to reduce the amount of sugar. But this recipe so tender and just mind blowing.
Can you please tell me if I can make red velvet out of this recipe??
swasthi says
Hi Abha,
Haha! Thanks a lot for the comment. So glad to know you liked it so much! Yes I use the same recipe for black forest cake.Yes you can use the same recipe to make red velvet cake. I haven’t posted it yet on the blog. Just reduce the cocoa to 1.5 tbsps cocoa, replace water with buttermilk(milk plus vinegar) and then the color – you will need to adjust depending on the brand. around 1 tbsps gel works well for me.
I use the frosting from this carrot cake recipe.
Hope this helps. If you try please share how yours turned out. Thanks again.
🙂
Sonia Ashish says
Tried this yesterday. Came out well. Super happy. Thank you swathi.
swasthi says
Welcome Sonia
Glad your cake turned out good. Thanks for the comment.
Deepali says
Hello Swati,
The recipe is easy. I baked the cake and it came out really well. Thank u. Please advice if I can cover this cake with fondant and layer with chocolate frosting. Thank u.
swasthi says
Hi Deepali,
You are welcome. Glad your cake came out well. I personally haven’t tried fondant on this cake any time. But I did see a few readers doing it & have shared their pictures on pinterest. Hope this helps.