Vegan Chocolate Cherry Cake (Easy Recipe) (2024)

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This moist vegan chocolate cherry cake is a super easy and delicious sponge cake recipe that can be also baked in a loaf pan, on a sheet, or as cupcakes! Served with a scoop of vegan ice cream on top, you’ll quickly convince any skeptics with this stunning cake!

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Cake

Chocolate, cherries and ice cream – There’s almost nothing better like this incredibly delicious combination! If you love my Vegan Cherry Cheesecake Browniesor the popularGerman Mole Cake or Grandma’s Danube Wave Cake, you’ll also love this easy chocolate cherry cake! Most importantly, this recipe is really super quick and easy to make, so it’ll be surely become one of your new favorite go-to chocolate desserts!

Ingredients for this recipe

For the chocolate sponge cake you only need a few simplepantry staple ingredients that you may have already in your pantry anyway. Just mix everything together, add cherries and put it in the oven! Of course, you can also use other fruits if you want – here you can get creative!

All-purpose or spelt flour: or use gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour instead. A mix of light flour and whole wheat flour also works well.
Cocoa powder: please use baking cocoa and not drinking chocolate!
Baking powder & baking soda: helps the cake to rise wonderfully!
Pinch of salt: to balance out the sweetness.
Sugar: I used a mix of raw cane sugar and coconut blossom sugar, but you can use any other kind of sugar you have on hand.
Cherries + their juice: Feel free to use other fruit (canned or fresh) and another fruit juice. Or just replace the juice with water or plant milk.
Vegetable oil: e.g. sunflower or canola oil or melted coconut oil. If you’re on a low-fat diet you could also replace some of the oil with unsweetened applesauce.
Vanilla extract: or ground vanilla for more flavor.
Apple cider vinegar: to make the leavening agents react better. However, you can also use another acid such as white vinegar or lemon juice.
Cornstarch: or try arrowroot starch.

How to make Vegan chocolate cherry cake

As always, I recommend checking out these step-by-step instructions first. Then you’ll find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!

Step 1: Prepare the cherries

Drain the cherries and reserve the juice. Then carefully mix the cherries with the cornstarch. Also, prepare your baking pan by lightly greasing the sides and lining the bottom with parchment paper.

Step 2: Make the batter

First sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder into a large bowl. Then add baking soda, sugar, and salt and whisk together. In a measuring jar, whisk together cherry juice, oil, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar. Then pour it into the flour mixture and stir with a whisk or spoon until until just combined.

*Note: Do not stir the batter too long, otherwise the cake won‘t be fluffy, but rather dense.If you like, you can stir some vegan chocolate chips or chopped nuts into the batter.

Step 3: Pour the batter into the pan and bake it

Pour half of the batter into a prepared baking pan and spread half of the cherries on top. Then pour the rest of the batter on top and finally spread the remaining cherries on top. Bake the chocolate cherry cake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Then let cool completely.

Make your cake extra special!

Once your cake is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely. If you like, you can brush some cherry juice, liqueur or cherry compote on top. This adds not only more flavor to your chocolate cherry cake but it also helps the cake stay moist longer.

Finally, I like to decorate the cake with desiccated coconut and fresh cherries. However, feel free to do that however you like! Served with a scoop of vegan vanilla or coconut ice cream, it tastes even better – especially on warm days in the summer!

How can I store the cake?

It is best to store the chocolate cherry cake in an airtight cake box or another container in the refrigerator. This way it won’t dry out and will still taste delicious after 3-4 days. Remove the cake at least 20 minutes before you want to eat it or warm it in the microwave for a few seconds. This will make your piece of cake soft and fluffy again – just like freshly baked! However, leftover pieces can be easily frozen and thawed as needed.

This vegan chocolate cherry cake recipe is:

Quick and easy to make
Egg-less
Dairy-free (lactose-free)
Can be made gluten-free
Wonderfully chocolaty
Fruity and moist
Soft and fluffy
Totally delicious!
Perfect for any occasion!

More Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipes to try

Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Moist Vegan Zucchini Brownies
Best Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
Chocolate Peanut Butter Vegan Snickers Cake
Vegan Chocolate Banana Pancakes
Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Vegan Chocolate Banana Pancakes
Best Vegan Brownies
One-Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake
Vegan Kinder Milchschnitten

If you try this vegan chocolate cherry cake recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you take a photo of your dessert and share it on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your remakes! Happy baking! 🙂

Author: Bianca Zapatka

This moist vegan chocolate cherry cake is a super easy and delicious sponge cake recipe that can be also baked in a loaf pan, on a sheet, or as cupcakes! Served with a scoop of vegan ice cream on top, you'll quickly convince any skeptics with this stunning cake!

4.88 von 8 Bewertungen

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Ingredients

2 cups (240 g) all-purpose or spelt flour or gluten-free flour*
6 tbsp (40 g) cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp (8 g) baking powder
1 tsp (6 g) baking soda or 2 tsp more baking powder
1 pinch of salt
¾ cup (150 g) sugar
1 cup (240 ml) juice from the cherries or sub water or plant milk
⅓ cup (90 g) vegetable oil e.g. sunflower or canola oil or melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 (350 g) can of sour cherries 12.3 oz drained weight or use fresh cherries
1 tbsp cornstarch

To serve (optional)

desiccated coconut
cherries
vegan ice cream

Instructions

*Note: Be sure to check out the recipe video as well as the step-by-step pictures + tips at the top of the post!

Preheat the oven to 356 °F (180 °C). Lightly grease a 9-inch (22-24 cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Drain the cherries well and reserve the juice. Then add the cornstarch to the cherries and gently toss to coat.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder into a large bowl. Then add baking soda, sugar, and salt and whisk together.
In a measuring jar, whisk together cherry juice, oil, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar. Then pour it into the flour mixture and mix with a whisk or spoon until just combined (do not over-mix, or the cake will be dense).
Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread half of the cherries on top. Then pour the rest of the batter on top and finally spread the rest of the cherries on top.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool completely (if you like, you can brush some cherry juice, liqueur or cherry compote on top which helps the cake to stay moist longer).
Sprinkle the cake with desiccated coconut and garnish with fresh cherries. Serve with a scoop of vegan ice cream and enjoy!

Notes

Flour: Instead of all-purpose or spelt flour, you can use gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour. A mix of light flour and whole wheat flour also works well. If using whole wheat flour only the cake may be too dense.
Oil-free: If you are on a low-fat diet, you could replace some of the oil with unsweetened applesauce.
Sugar: I used a mixture of raw cane sugar and coconut blossom sugar, but you can use any type of sugar. If using syrup, you should use a little less cherry juice.
Variation: Feel free to fold some vegan chocolate chips or chopped or nuts into the batter last.
Please read my blog post for more information about this recipe!

Nutritions

Nutrition is calculated automatically and should be used as estimate.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @biancazapatka or tag #biancazapatka!

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Vegan Chocolate Cherry Cake (Easy Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is a secret ingredient for cakes? ›

Mayonnaise: The Hidden Gem in Cake Recipes

Made up of eggs and oil, mayonnaise acts as an emulsifier, adding creaminess and moisture to your cake.

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Why is my vegan cake chewy? ›

You added extra flour

If you add too much liquid to your cake batter, it may seem like a good idea to thicken it up again by adding extra flour. Usually, this will only make the problem worse and you'll end up with a gummy, dense vegan cake. To ensure best results, always follow the recipe as closely as possible.

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Vegan cake is cake made without eggs, dairy butter or dairy milk. Each of these standard ingredients is easily replaced by plant-based substitutes, such as banana or flaxseed for eggs, non-trans fat margarine or oils for butters and plant milks for milk.

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Which 2 ingredients help the cake to rise? ›

Most cakes will call for a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. These create the bubbles you need for the cake to rise. If the flour you use is self-raising, it already has a leavening agent in it. Make sure your butter is room temperature, and beat the butter and sugar together until properly creamed.

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One common ingredient swap that is known to help make cakes remarkably moist is using milk instead of water. Try switching out any water in your recipe for full-fat milk or buttermilk for a moist, decadent texture. Another ingredient that can enhance the moisture of your cake is mayonnaise.

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Vinegar works a little bit differently from flax and chia; it reacts with the baking soda in the recipe to create extra lift, resulting in the lightest, fluffiest vegan chocolate cake you'll ever have. And no, you won't taste the vinegar—it simply enhances the overall flavour of the cake without distracting from it.

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In vegan cakes, the absence of the egg makes it so that it's all about taking advantage of gluten formation to build structure. This means that when you take the egg out of a cake recipe, you're going to be taking out the primary structure builder, which means that the cake is going to fall flat.

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CAKE NOT RISING

This can be caused by a few things already mentioned such as using the wrong egg replacer or over mixing. I always recommend using fresh raising agents. Generally, baking soda and baking powder only stay active for 3 months after opening.

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Ingredient Costs:Vegan cakes rely on alternative ingredients such as plant-based milk, egg substitutes, and non-dairy butter, which can be more expensive than their conventional counterparts. Ingredients like almond flour, coconut oil, or specialty vegan chocolate may also contribute to higher costs.

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Vegan cakes are made without dairy products like milk, eggs, or butter. Instead, vegan bakers use plant-based substitutes such as bananas, flax seeds, or dairy-free butters. Gluten-Free cakes, on the other hand, use non-wheat flour to avoid the complex gluten protein present in regular wheat flour.

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Rich chocolate cake coated in thick chocolate ganache. Delicious decadence in every mouthful.

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