This incredibly easy vegan chocolate loaf cake is delicious, loaded with dark chocolate flavor, moist and tender and just sweet enough. Perfect to meal-prep snack or dessert ahead and made dairy-free and egg-free.
This is a super simple vegan chocolate loaf cake recipe that everyone will love and that's perfect as an everyday treat.
I love making this amazing vegan chocolate bundt cake smothered with a simple vegan chocolate ganache on special occasions. But for prepping snacks and desserts (and even breakfasts) ahead of a busy week, then a loaf cake recipe is perfect!
This vegan date loaf cake is a regular in our house for breakfasts and we enjoy this sourdough blueberry cake in the summer. But now this chocolate loaf cake is such a treat and so easy, a must-try!
It is super moist, tender, fluffy, ultra chocolatey and packed with chocolate chips. Plus, it is very easy and fast to make without any fancy kitchen equipment. Drizzle some chocolate orange ganache over for a delicious treat!
Let me know if you give it a try! ❤️
🗒 Ingredient notes (+ substitutions)
- Flour: I used all-purpose white flour from King Arthur. Do not use bread flour since this could make the loaf too tough. Although I haven't tried it, you could probably make the bread gluten-free by using a 1:1 GF flour.
- Dairy-free milk: I used oat milk, but any plant-based milk will work, such as almond milk or soy milk.
- Apple cider vinegar: mixed with dairy-free milk to make it thicker and super creamy with a consistency similar to buttermilk. You can also use lemon juice.
- Cacao powder: I usually bake with raw cacao powder for its unprocessed nature and dark chocolate flavor, but regular cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa works too!
- Coconut oil: use refined to avoid coconut flavor. Can also swap for a neutral-flavor oil, such as canola oil.
- Chocolate chips: I used the vegan mini chocolate chips from the brand Enjoy Life.
⭐️ Full list of ingredients (+ quantities) down below in the recipe card!
📝 Variations
- Instead of covering the loaf with chocolate chips, pour a vegan chocolate ganache or a peanut butter caramel sauce over the loaf once done and cooled down for a decadent dessert.
- Deep chocolate flavor: swap half the amount of milk for brewed coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor.
- Spices: Swap the vanilla extract for cinnamon.
🍽 How to make a vegan chocolate loaf cake
Step 1: Add flour, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Step 2: Mix together the milk and apple cider vinegar to a medium bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then, add the oil (melt it first if using coconut oil), sugar and vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients over the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until combined and there are no dry spots of flour anymore (but do not overmix).
Step 4: Fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 5: Pour the chocolate cake batter into a parchment paper-covered loaf pan.
Step 6: Garnish with more chocolate chips and bake in a preheated oven (350ºF) for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool down into the loaf pan, then unmold, slice and enjoy!
⭐️ Detailed recipe (+video) down below in the recipe card!
💡 Baking tips
- For best results, I recommend weighing the ingredients if you have a small kitchen scale. They are easy to find online and not expensive! If you don't have any, then use the spoon and level method to measure the dry ingredients.
- Don't overmix the ingredients for a light and fluffy cake. To avoid overmixing, you can combine the ingredients by hand using a large whisk, spoon or spatula instead of electric beaters.
- Every oven is different, so check for doneness using a toothpick, it should be coming out clean! And make sure not to overbake the loaf cake! Keep in mind that it will keep cooking once out of the oven.
❗️ Storage
Keep the loaf well covered so it does not dry and try to slice as you need to preserve its moisture. You can keep it on the counter at room temperature for 2 days, but then transfer to the fridge for up to 5-6 days.
You can also freeze the loaf for up to 3 months. You can pre-slice the loaf and separate each slice with a small piece of parchment paper to be able to grab and go one slice at a time. Let the bread thaw at room temperature for 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.
I hope you like this vegan chocolate loaf cake recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!
Let's stay in touch with Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. Also, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter to be sure not to miss anything.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Loaf Cake
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Large whisk
- Spatula
- Scale or measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour or 2 cups
- 50 g raw cacao powder or ½ cup
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon balking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 470 g dairy-free milk or 2 cups
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 175 g cane sugar or ¾ cup
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 110 g coconut oil (melted) or canola oil or ½ cup
- 90 g vegan dark chocolate chips or ½ cup, plus more for topping the loaf before baking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the milk and apple cider vinegar, then stir. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Then, add the oil (melt it first if using coconut oil), sugar and vanilla extract, and whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine until there are no dry spots of flour (do not overmix!). Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and garnish with more chocolate chips. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake completely cool down in the loaf pan before unmolding and slicing. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For best results, I recommend weighing the ingredients if you have a small kitchen scale. They are easy to find online and not expensive! If you don't have any, then use the spoon and level method to measure the dry ingredients.
- Don't overmix the ingredients for a light and fluffy cake. To avoid overmixing, you can combine the ingredients by hand using a large whisk, spoon or spatula instead of electric beaters.
- Every oven is different, so check for doneness using a toothpick, it should be coming out clean! And make sure not to overbake the loaf cake! Keep in mind that it will keep cooking once out of the oven.
- Storage: Keep the loaf well covered so it does not dry and try to slice as you need to preserve its moisture. You can keep it on the counter at room temperature for 2 days, but then transfer to the fridge for up to 5-6 days.
- You can also freeze the loaf for up to 3 months. You can pre-slice the loaf and separate each slice with a small piece of parchment paper to be able to grab and go one slice at a time. Let the bread thaw at room temperature for 1 hour or overnight in the fridge.
- Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.
Anonymous says
We all loved this chocolate cake, thanks for sharing!
jessica says
So glad it worked out, thanks for your comment! 😊