Looking for a quick and easy vegan dessert? This super moist, homemade Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake is the answer! Easier than a boxed cake, this dark chocolate cake is topped with a creamy chocolate frosting and sprinkles.
Our easy, super moist Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake is pure chocolate heaven! Fluffy and moist cake topped with a creamy vegan chocolate American meringue buttercream frosting – is there anything more perfect? Whether you’re celebrating a birthday or that fact that you made it through another week, this cake is the perfect celebration.
Ever since we started testing vegan egg substitutes we have been more and more curious to use different methods in our baked goods, depending on the texture. One of our newest egg replacement obsessions is carbonated water, and we wanted to put it to test in a fluffy, moist cake recipe. It turned out so well, that we turned it into a recipe for you!
What is an American Meringue Buttercream?
Inspired by a recipe from Shannon Mayes, an American Meringue Buttercream is a delicious hybrid of a Swiss meringue buttercream and an American buttercream. It takes the smooth, velvety texture from the Swiss meringue, and the sweetness from the American buttercream for the most perfectly balanced recipe.
Top tips for making Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake:
- Use cacao powder, no cocoa powder. We like using cacao powder in all our chocolate recipes. The beans are processed at a low temperature compared to cocoa, and contain higher quantity of nutrients, as well as has a more bitter taste – which we tend to prefer.
- Use weighted measurements. When baking, remember that its a science not an art. Keeping this in mind, you want to make sure you’re using the exact amount you need to decrease your risk of a failed baking session.
- Grease and dust your baking pan generously. To ensure that you cake doesn’t stick to your pan, grease with vegan butter or cooking spray, and dust with some cacao powder. This will keep your cake from sticking.
- Use parchment paper if needed. If you have cakes that stick even with the above tips, use parchment paper on the bottom of the pan to make removing it even easier.
- Allow the cake to cool completely. Before applying the icing, you want to make sure the cake has cooled completely. Even a slightly warm cake will melt your icing.
Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake FAQ:
How do you make a cake without eggs or milk?
It’s actually easier than you think! To substitute milk and butter, we just used vegan alternatives from the grocery store. When it comes to eggs, we were looking for something that would give our cake a light and airy texture, while still being moist. We found that carbonated water had the best results! However we also used flax eggs in a test and they worked as well.
Can I make this cake ahead of time?
Yes! If you don’t have enough time to make this at one time, you can split up the tasks. We’d recommend making the cake one evening and allowing it to cool before storing in the fridge. The next day you can make the icing and construct the cake.
Can I replace the vegan butter?
Yes! If you don’t want to or don’t have access to vegan butter you can substitute the melted vegan butter in the cake with oil. However you cannot replace the vegan butter in the icing, at least based on our experience.
Other vegan cake and loaf recipes you’ll love:
- Vegan Butternut Squash Bundt Cake
- Apple Fritter Loaf with Maple Glaze
- Vegan Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vegan Pumpkin Loaf
How to make Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake:
This cake is super easy to make! Just combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients (sugar is considered a wet ingredient!) together. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix until you get a smooth batter. Generously grease your pan and pour in the batter! Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
As the cake cools, make the icing by beating some vegan butter until light and fluffy. Add in dry ingredients and beat. Add in the aquafaba and vanilla and beat until you have a light and fluffy icing. Slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate and beat until you get your desired texture.
Finally once the cake is cool, you just spread on the creamy frosting and top with sprinkles.
Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake
Ingredients
- 210 g (1¾ cup) all-purpose flour
- 90 g (¾ cup) cacao powder
- 5 g (1 tsp) baking powder
- 12 g (2 tsp) baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 480 mL (2 cups) vegan buttermilk, (soy milk + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
- 400 g (2 cups) granulated sugar
- 120 mL (½ cup) carbonated water*
- 10 mL (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- 120 mL (½ cup) vegan butter, melted
Chocolate American Meringue Buttercream
- 113 g (½ cup) vegan butter
- 28 g (¼ cup) cacao powder
- 250 g (2 cups) icing sugar
- 5 mL (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 60 mL (¼ cup) aquafaba
- 100 g chopped chocolate, melted and cooled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- In a bowl combine flour, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- To another bowl combine vegan buttermilk, sugar, carbonated water, vanilla extract, and vegan butter.
- Add wet to dry and mix until just combined.
- Generously grease a 9x13 baking dish, and dust with cacao powder. Pour in the chocolate cake batter into the greased dish.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely while you make the chocolate icing.
- To make the chocolate icing add vegan butter to a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add in icing sugar and cacao powder, and beat until fully incorporated. Add in vanilla extract and aquafaba and beat until light and fluffy - about 5-6 minutes depending on how fluffy you want it. Slowly drizzle in the cooled melted chocolate and beat for another 1-2 minutes or until you get your desired texture.
- Once the cake has cooled completely spread the vegan icing on top and top with sprinkles.
Video
Notes
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