Vegan Birthday Cake (Healthy, No Flour, No Refined Sugar)

This Chocolate Vegan Birthday Cake is the easiest, healthy one-bowl chocolate cake you will ever make.

If you are after a quick vegan gluten-free cake for your next birthday party, that’s the recipe you want to try.

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Last year I shared a lovely vegan funfetti cake for my partner’s birthday. But this year, I wanted something more refined. As chocolatey as my 2-Ingredient No-Bake Chocolate Cake, but as fancy as my Vegan Carrot Cake. So I went for this healthy chocolate cake! It’s a one-bowl vegan cake recipe made with:

• No eggs
• No dairy
• No gluten
• No wheat flour

I love baking healthy cakes and have been making them for more than 15 years now with alternative flours like almond flour or coconut flour, so you can trust this recipe is both healthy and super easy to make. Let’s see how you can make a healthy chocolate cake with only a few ingredients.

What’s A Vegan Birthday Cake?

A vegan birthday cake is a dairy-free and egg-free dessert made with plant-based ingredients.

It means it’s free from dairy products like milk, butter, or cream and doesn’t require any eggs.

How To Make Vegan Birthday Cake

It’s very easy to make this healthy birthday cake. However, to make this recipe, you need a blender. It’s a blender cake, so it can’t be made without it.

Ingredients

All you need are:

• Rolled Oats – use certified gluten-free oats if needed.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• Almond Butter or tahini or cashew butter or peanut butter.
• Unsweetened Apple Sauce – the apple sauce bring sweetness without the need for powdered sugar.
• Melted Coconut Oil or any vegan vegetable oil you love.
• Vanilla Extract – to bring a delicious vanilla taste.
• Plant-Based Milk of choice. I love calcium-fortified soy milk. It makes baked goods moist and not dry. Of course, you can use almond milk or oat milk, but the cake texture will be less rich with these options.
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Maple Syrup or any liquid sweetener you like including agave syrup, date syrup, or coconut nectar.
• Apple Cider Binegar or lemon juice.
• Salt

Blending Ingredients

There’s nothing easier than this birthday cake. All you need is a high-speed blender. Place all the liquid and dry ingredients in the jug – the order of the ingredients doesn’t matter.

Blend on the high-speed setting for about 20-25 seconds or until the batter is smooth. The batter looks slightly grainy because of the oats, but it should be too thick, or you shouldn’t see big pieces of oats. If so, scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend again until the mixture is smooth.

Baking The Birthday Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line one 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Lightly oil the bottom and side of the pan with coconut oil. Pour the cake batter into the pan and spread it evenly with a silicone spatula.

Bake in the center rack of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes. The vegan chocolate cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few dry crumbs on it. Don’t overbake the cake, or it will be dry and crumbly.

Let the cake cool down on a cooling rack immediately after removing the pan from the oven. It then needs to fully cool down to room temperature for a few hours before frosting.

Making Layered Cake

You can use this recipe to make a one-layer 9-inch cake. I recommend making the recipe twice for a two-layer cake, as seen in the pictures.

You can bake both cakes at the time in your oven. I recommend baking them for half the time on a rack, then swapping the rack and keep baking.

This prevents one layer from baking faster than the other.

Otherwise, bake one layer, and set aside the second layer at room temperature until the oven is free to bake the second layer.

Frosting

You can frost this healthy chocolate cake using one of my vegan frosting recipes below.

• Protein frosting – this is an oil-free chocolate frosting made from coconut yogurt and protein powder for an extra boost of protein in your cake.
• Vegan buttercream frosting – this is made of vegan butter and cocoa powder, a classic vegan chocolate buttercream delicious for any cakes and cupcakes.
• Cashew Frosting – this 4-ingredient frosting is made of vegan yogurt and cashew for a very healthy alternative.

Assembling Cake Layers

For a two-layer cake, you need to double up the protein frosting recipe.

Start by placing the first cake layer on a plate or a cake turntable.

Add dollops of buttercream to the center of the cake, and using a spatula or large flat tool, turn the cake and press the frosting down to spread it evenly on the cake.

When well frosted, add the second layer on top. Repeat the step above until the vegan cake is fully covered with chocolate frosting.

Spread the frosting on the sides as well if desired.

Making Birthday Cake Layers Ahead

You can make these birthday cake layers ahead. Let them cool down to room temperature after baking them, then wrap them in plastic film wrap.

Then, if you made them more than 24 hours before making the cake, store the layer in the fridge until the next day.

If you made them more than 24 hours ahead, freeze the cake layers and thaw them at room temperature on a wire rack the day before assembling them.

Decorating The Vegan Birthday Cake

You can decorate the top of the cake with any of your favorite cake decorations, including:

• Red fruits – strawberries and raspberries marry well with chocolate.
• Sprinkles – there’s a wide range of vegan sprinkles available.
• Shredded Chocolate – I used a 78% dark chocolate tab and rubbed it with a knife to make my own chocolate curls.
• Vegan Whipped Cream

Storing Cake Leftovers

This vegan birthday cake with frosting can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight cake box or container.

Otherwise, wrap the cake and freeze it for up to 3 months.

Thaw cake slices in the fridge the day before serving them.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Vegan Baking Recipes

I love baking vegan cakes, muffins, and more. Below are some more vegan cake recipes for you to try.