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.
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 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 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 chocolate sauce (Frosting 1)
- Mix together milk, cocoa & sugar until lumpfree & smooth. Begin to cook on a low to medium heat stirring constantly until slightly thick & creamy. Taste it and add more sugar if needed. Cool down & pour on the cake. Spread with spatula. For step by step pics, refer this Ragi cake
OR Making frosting for eggless cake (Frosting 2)
- 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.
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. 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.
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.
Cherise says
Was craving chocolate cake and since i can’t eat eggs or wheat for now I tried this recipe with my own flour mixture. Just made the eggless chocolate cake with buttercream icing and had a slice about 30min after it came out of the oven, it was so soft and moist and delicious. I’ll try it again tomorrow and see if it’s better. I will make this cake again for sure.
swasthi says
Hi Cherise,
Glad your cake turned out good. Can you please share which flour you have used? Thanks for rating the recipe.
Seetha Josyula says
Thank you very much, Swasthi. I love trying your recipes as you put health first yet they are all extremely tasty and made with easily/commonly available ingredients. Thanks a lot for all your efforts and great work.
I have a small request for you. Would you please put up a recipe for Coffee Walnut Vegan cake whenever you try? I did check other recipes online but the ingredients used were not convincing or not commonly available ones. Also the measurements were for a huge cake. I couldn’t try for various reasons like this. That’s why I’m requesting you. Hope it isn’t a problem.
Many thanks and cheers again , Swasthi.
Best wishes and love,
Seetha.
swasthi says
Hi Seetha,
You are welcome. Thanks for trying the recipes. No problem at all! Are you looking for coffee flavored cake or coffee cake with crumb streusel?. I can share it when I make it. Thanks again for the wishes.
🙂
Hilary says
This is my first chocolate eggless cake and this recipe turned out so well. I used almond milk and it was delicious. My entire family loved it with the chocolate frosting on top. Thank you very much. I will make this again and again and… again!
swasthi says
Hi Hilary,
You are welcome. Very happy to know your family loved the cake. Thanks for the comment.
Ed says
Two of my three kids have egg allergies and the family absolutely loves this recipe! Quick question about the chocolate sauce, but should the sauce cool before it thickens? If so, how long? I used 3/4 cups of milk like the recipe calls for, but it always seems fluid/runny and doesn’t thicken when allowed to cook over medium heat in a saucepan. Thanks!
swasthi says
Hi Ed,
You are welcome. Glad your cake turned out good. The sauce has to thicken while cooking. It will thicken slightly further after cooling. I made this for another cake. you can watch the consistency in this ragi cake video . I haven’t made a note on how long to cook. Just put back the sauce on the stove & continue to cook until it thickens. Will update the post when I make it next time. Thanks for rating the recipe.
Ed says
Thank you! The sauce came out perfect! Just wish I had been a little more patient the first time I tried it. Thanks again!
Sweety bhatia says
Hi Swasthi,
I always love your recipes…..Thanks for sharing☺…was searching choco lava cake in here but could not find it….could you please add that too in your recipes list.
Sweety
swasthi says
Hi Sweety,
You are welcome. Thank you so much! I haven’t shared a choco lava cake yet. Will share it soon.
🙂
Pooja Sharma says
Hi Swasthi, first of all thanks for sharing your recipe! I have just baked 2 small cakes with this recipe and tried buttercream frosting on one of them topped with walnuts. It’s my best eggless cake so far… how do I upload a photo? please could you also share eggless brownie recipe that is moist?
Thanks so much!
swasthi says
Hi Pooja
You are welcome. So happy to know you made the best eggless cake. Thank you so much! Love to see your pictures.Currently we do not have the option on the site to upload reader’s images. You can send me to swasthis recipes fb page or instagram or just email me at contact(at)indianhealthyrecipes.com
Yes sure I can upload an eggless brownie recipe.
🙂
Neha says
Hi,How can we make this in a microwave?Please share the time and other details.
swasthi says
Hi Neha,
I have not tried it in a microwave. You will have to experiment with the timings. Just halve the recipe and try it in a 4 or 5 inch glass bowl or tray. It should work for 2 to 2.5 mins on high (1000 watts). I cannot assure you if the timings work perfectly as the mirowave ovens come with different watts – anywhere from 600 to 1200 watts. So the cook time of the cake will vary depending on that. Would love to know how it turned out if you try.
Shiny says
Awesome receipe mam… you have said it tastes better the next day so shall i prepare and keep it in the fridge ?
swasthi says
Hi Shiny,
Thanks. Yes it tastes better the next day. I usually keep it on the dining table at room temperature and cover. If you do not have a cake plate with cover just invert a large bowl over the cake to cover it. The next day you can keep the leftovers in the fridge.
KC says
Awesome Recipe ! Followed your recipe exactly and it turned out so good. Keep up the good work.
swasthi says
Thank you so much KC
Meg says
Fantastic! I’m no master baker, but I’m trying to learn some good basics. Followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out perfectly—moist and chocolatey without being too rich. It might be dangerous to be able to make chocolate cake so quickly and easily!
swasthi says
Hi Meg,
Thank you so much!. HAHA! Yes it is dangerous for chocoholics. Glad your cake turned out good.
🙂
Mangai Pravin kumar says
Hi ,i am planning to bake this cake for my son’s birthday . For the crowd of 20 guests. Should i double or triple the recipe ? And what size pan i should use . I have 2 8inch pans .pls help me in doing this . And also can i use whole wheat pastry flour .?
swasthi says
Hi Mangai
Yes you can use whole wheat pastry flour. You have to bake in 2 batches. Just make one 8 inch cake in the first batch. For the second batch make 2 8 inch cakes by doubling the recipe. You will have a 3 layer 8 inch cake. It should serve about 22 to 24 people. Hope this helps. You can also make a black forest cake using the same base. I have mentioned the link in the post. Hope this helps
Mangai Pravin kumar says
. Thank you very much .will try and let u know the outco.e.
Gangka says
Hi Swasthi,
Thank you so much for sharing. I tried this recipe a number of times. I love each time I bake this cake. Never fail. Keep sharing.
swasthi says
Hi Gangka
You are welcome. So glad the cake turns out good. Thank you so much!
Anitha says
Hi Swasthi,
Can whipping cream be used instead of butter cream?
swasthi says
Hi Anitha,
Do you mean you want to make a chocolate whipped cream frosting?
Aleja says
HI Swasthi,
This cake is soooo delicious, my 6-year-old daughter loves chocolate but does not fancy chocolate cake that much but after eating a slice of this one she has not stopped asking for more, that says a lot to me. I bake once or twice a month and this was my first eggless cake – with the chocolate sauce- I dare to say one of the best ever. thank you for sharing the recipe.
swasthi says
Hi Aleja,
You are welcome. Yes this chocolate sauce is one of the best. So glad to know you all liked the cake. Thanks a lot for the comment.
Gayatri Mohan says
Hi Swasthi
I want to make this cake in a 9 by 13 inch rectangular pan. How much do I scale up the ingredients? Would it be double or triple? Also regarding the cup measurements 1 and half cup flour meaning i have to use 240 ml plus 120 ml cup of flour? Sorry i am very much confused between grams and cup measurement. Pls help?
swasthi says
Hi Gayatri
you can scale up the recipe by 2.5 times. If your pan is deep then you may triple. Make sure you add the flour in 3 to 4 batches to the wet ingredients. This avoids lumps and over mixing. You can also use a hand mixer. Yes 1 & half cup is 240 ml+120 ml. Hope this helps. Thanks for rating the recipe.
🙂
Gayatri Mohan says
Thanks a ton Swasthi for the prompt response. I Shall try today and check.
Esther says
I absolutely love this recipe! I used it along with the chocolate frosting 1! It was a delightful treat! Thanks for sharing your recipe! I wish I can post the pictures….its that good!!!
swasthi says
Hi Esther
You are welcome. Thank you so much for the comment. Happy to know the cake turned out good. Would love to see the image. If possible mail me the pics.
Catherine joseph says
Hi
Wanted to try this eggelss choc cake. Is it ok to use it as a base cake for a choco truffle..
Means filled and frosted with dark choc ganache
Thanks in advance
Hugs
Catherine
swasthi says
Hi Catherine,
Yes you can use it. I made a black forest cake recently using the same recipe
Narmadha says
Hi Swasthi, I tried your chocolate cake recipe n it turned out to be awesome.. but I got a dome shaped on the top….please share some tips on how to get a flat top.
swasthi says
Hi Narmadha,
A dome on top is due to wrong size of the pan (too small). It can also be due to the pan sides being too high, meaning the pan is too deep. The one i have used in this post is also a deep one – 3inch but since the size is correct i didn’t get a dome. Just use a 2 inch deep pan. You can check this post to understand Apple cake. I have used a 2 inch deep pan there.