This Hot Chocolate Cake is a super-easy cake for any celebration with a moist and fudgy texture, and made with no eggs and no dairy!
While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including ingredient swaps, my cooking tips, and step-by-step shots!
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Hot Chocolate Cake
This Hot Chocolate Cake is a super-easy cake for any celebration with a moist and fudgy texture, and made with no eggs and no dairy!
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Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 221.6 kcal
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Dark Chocolate Chips - (note 1)
- ⅓ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ½ cup Boiled Water
- ½ cup Almond Milk - (note 2)
- 1 ⅓ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ⅔ cup Unrefined Cane Sugar - (note 3)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ cup Mild-Flavor Olive Oil - (note 4)
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Hot Chocolate Sauce
- ¾ cup Almond Milk - (note 5)
- 6 oz Dark Chocolate Chips - (note 6)
To decorate
- 12 Vegan Marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. Lightly oil with cooking oil spray. Set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, warm milk and water until they reach a low boil.
- Remove from heat. Whisk in cocoa powder and chocolate chips.
- Whisk until a smooth hot chocolate forms; no lumps of cocoa powder or pieces of chocolate chips should be seen. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add the lukewarm wet ingredients: oil and vanilla extract.
- Use a rubber spatula to stir and form a smooth chocolate cake batter.
- Pour the cake batter in the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes on the middle rack of the oven at 350°F (180°C).
- Insert a long toothpick in the middle of the cake to check baking time. It should come out clean. If some crumbs stay on it, keep baking in 5-minute increments.
- Let the cake cool down for 10 minutes in the pan, then release it on a cooling rack.
- Cool down for 30 minutes, then prepare the hot chocolate sauce.
Hot Chocolate Sauce
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, warm the almond milk until lukewarm.
- Remove from heat, stir in chocolate chips. Gently stir until the chocolate chips are melted and a lightly thick sauce forms.
- Pour over the lukewarm cake – I recommend you place the cake, which is on the cooling rack, over a large baking sheet. So when you pour the hot chocolate sauce on top of the cake, if some drips down to the baking sheet, you can reuse it on top of the cake, or to dip fruit.
- To decorate the cake, add 12 marshmallows – I am using vegan ones – and a dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder.
Notes
Note 1: I am using 70 % dark chocolate chips. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate chips to increase the cake’s sweetness.
Note 2: Or any milk you have on hand, like oat milk, soy milk.
Note 3: Or sugar, coconut sugar, or allulose for a sugar-free option.
Note 4: Or light flavor oil like canola oil, light avocado oil, or melted and cooled coconut oil.
Note 5: For a thicker sauce, use canned coconut cream, shake the can before opening, whisk the mixture in the can before measuring to combine the two layers that form in the can – coconut cream on top, liquid at the bottom. Soy cream, dairy-free whipping cream, or if you use dairy in your kitchen, use heavy cream.
Note 6: For a sweet cake, use semi-sweet chocolate chips or 50% dark chocolate. For a less sweet cake, use 70% or 85% chocolate.
Storage: Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (from 12 slices) | Calories: 221.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 31.4g | Protein: 3.2g | Fat: 9.8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.6g | Sodium: 170.1mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 1.9g | Sugar: 16.2g | Vitamin A: 1.4IU | Vitamin B12: 0.04µg | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 93.7mg | Iron: 1.2mg | Magnesium: 20.3mg | Phosphorus: 58.1mg | Zinc: 0.8mg
Ingredients and Substitutions
This paragraph gives you all my tips about picking the right ingredients. For the full recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post!Go to Full Recipe
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. Here’s how to pick and swap them.
- Dark Chocolate Chips – These provide a deep chocolate flavor and richness to the cake batter. You can use 70% dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips, depending on your preferred sweetness level. I also use them to create the rich, smooth hot chocolate sauce. Use semi-sweet chocolate chips (around 50% cocoa) for a sweeter sauce, or 70% to 85% dark chocolate for a less sweet, more intense chocolate flavor.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – This gives the cake its intense chocolate color and a strong chocolate flavor. Use some more to dust on top of the cake for an extra touch of chocolatey flavor and a beautiful finish.
- Boiled Water – This helps to bloom the cocoa powder and chocolate chips, intensifying their flavor and creating a smooth base for the cake batter.
- Almond Milk – This adds liquid to the batter, contributing to a moist crumb. You can use any plant milk you have on hand, like oat milk or soy milk. It’s also the liquid base for the hot chocolate sauce. For a thicker sauce, you can use canned coconut cream (make sure to shake the can well before opening and whisk to combine the layers), plant-based whipping cream, or even heavy cream if you use it in your kitchen.
- All-Purpose Flour – This forms the main structure of your cake. You can use spelt flour or whole wheat flour. Don’t use almond flour or coconut flour. I don’t think that all-purpose gluten-free flour would work too well.
- Unrefined Cane Sugar – This sweetens the cake. Other granulated sweeteners like white sugar, coconut sugar, or allulose are also good options.
- Baking Powder – This helps the cake rise, creating a lighter texture.
- Baking Soda – This also contributes to the cake’s rise and reacts with acidic ingredients to create a tender crumb.
- Light Olive Oil – This adds moisture and a rich quality to the cake. Light-flavored oils like canola oil, light avocado oil, or melted and cooled coconut oil also work well.
- Vanilla Extract – This enhances the overall flavor of the cake, complementing the chocolate notes.
- Vegan Marshmallows – These are used for decoration, adding a soft, sweet, and classic hot chocolate topping.
How to Make Hot Chocolate Cake
This cake is super simple to make, here’s how in a few steps.
Prepare a hot chocolate in a saucepan by whisking cocoa powder and chocolate chips in warm water and almond milk.
Combine it with the dry dough ingredients and stir to make a batter.
Transfer the batter to a square baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes on the middle rack of the oven at 350°F (180°C).
Melt chocolate chips in almond milk to make the chocolate sauce.
Spread the thick chocolate sauce on top of the warm cake to decorate.
Carine’s Baking Tips
Let me share a few more tips for a perfect hot chocolate cake
- Sweetness Control – Your preferred chocolate chip percentage impacts the cake’s sweetness. For a less sweet cake, use 85% dark chocolate chips. For medium sweetness, 70% is a good choice. If you prefer a sweet cake, opt for 50% cocoa dark chocolate, also known as semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Malted Flavor – For an different malted flavor in your cake, add 2 tablespoons of malted cocoa powder along with the unsweetened cocoa powder when whisking the dry ingredients.
- Fudgy Texture – Pouring the lukewarm hot chocolate sauce over the lukewarm cake is key. This allows the sauce to melt into the cake’s crumb, making it incredibly fudgy and moist.
- Sauce Consistency – If you want a thicker hot chocolate sauce, swap the almond milk for a plant-based cream, such as canned coconut cream, or a dairy-free whipping cream.
- Optional Sauce – While the hot chocolate sauce adds a lot, the cake is already moist and sweet on its own, so you can skip the sauce entirely if you prefer a simpler cake.
- Cocoa Bloom – When warming the milk and water, ensure they reach a low boil before whisking in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips. This “blooming” process helps intensify the chocolate flavor and creates a smoother mixture for your batter.
Do you use 1/3 cup of cocoa powder for the hot chocolate and 1/3 cup of cocoa powder in the dry ingredients for the cake as well?
The recipe tells 1/3 cup for the whole cake, including the hot chocolate that you make with it and the remaining liquid ingredient and chocolate chips.