My mother was visiting us and I was lucky enough to have her with me for her birthday after 7 years. Another reason this birthday was very special because this was the first time I was going to bake her a birthday cake. So this cake had to be something very special. She loves chocolate and I wanted to bake a decadent chocolate layer cake to celebrate this special occasion.
I already have an eggless chocolate layer cake in the blog. You may know it as the "I can't believe it's chocolate cake" recipe. It's one of the most tried recipes in the blog with top reviews too. But that chocolate cake has only 2 layers. I wanted to make something big, a multiple chocolate layered cake.
That's when I found a moist chocolate layered cake recipe in a magazine. This cake has 4 layers. Even though it looks like you have to spend a lot of time making it, this is a simple chocolate layer cake recipe. It looked pretty easy and used only 2 eggs, so substitution was not a big issue.
I used homemade applesauce recipe in place of the eggs. Unlike the other cake recipe which uses oil for the fat, this chocolate layered cake calls for butter making it a very moist, rich and delicious cake.
Just one caution though, this one is super duper tasty, so don't blame me if you indulge and gain some pounds.
To make a vegan chocolate layer cake, substitute the butter with vegan butter like Earth Balance and for the buttermilk use non-dairy milk and vinegar.
Recipe
Eggless Chocolate Layer Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- ¾ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 and ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 and ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup Unsalted Butter at room temperature
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar lightly packed
- ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- ½ tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 and ½ cups Buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Ingredients For Frosting:
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter at room temperature
- 225 grams Unsweetened Chocolate chopped and melted
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 6 cups Icing Sugar
- ½ cup Milk
- ¼ cup Water or Milk or Strong Coffee
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F/160C for 15 minutes. Line two 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease it lightly with non stick cooking spray.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir until mixed.
- Beat butter with sugars in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium for about 3 minutes.
- Add the applesauce in two additions, beating well and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Mix in the vinegar too. The mixture will look curdled but don't worry.
- Beat in vanilla.
- Reduce speed and beat one third of flour mixture into butter mixture, then add half the buttermilk.
- Repeat additions, scraping down sides until well mixed.
- Divide batter evenly between pans and smooth tops. Tap the pans lightly to burst air pockets if any.
- Bake in center of oven until a tooth pick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 25 to 30 min. If using two racks, move the pan from the top rack to the bottom and the vice-versa in about 15 minutes.
- Cool in pans on a rack for 10 minutes.
- Run a knife around inside edge of each pan and then turn cakes out onto rack.
- Remove parchment. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. I actually left it overnight before I could frost the cake.
For Icing:
- Beat butter for icing in a large bowl, using an electric mixer/hand beater on medium, until creamy, 1 min.
- Add melted chocolate, vanilla, salt and 1 cup icing sugar. Beat for 1 minute.
- With mixer on medium-low, add remaining sugar in 3 parts, alternating remaining liquids (milk and coffee) and ending with sugar.
- Beat on medium-high, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until fluffy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
Frosting the cake:
- Be extremely careful while slicing each cake into half because its very delicate. One of my layers actually split in half and I somehow managed to patch it up and used it as the bottom most layer and covered it with the frosting. I think shrink wrapping the 2 cakes with plastic wrap once it has cooled completely and storing it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours will harden it up a little bit and slicing it into half won't be much of a trouble.
My Notes
Nutrition
(Note: This recipe was updated & republished from the archives)
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Deepa says
Do we need to sift the flour ?
Madhuram says
If you think the flour has lumps sifting is preferred.
Rabia Saleem says
Hey, can I replace applesauce with butter milk? So instead of adding 1.5 cup butter milk I will add 2 cups butter milk and skip apple sauce???
Madhuram says
It might work Rabia. Probably you will have to bake the cake a few extra minutes.
Nathalie says
What can I substitute buttermilk with?
Madhuram says
You can use vegan buttermilk by mixing a teaspoon of vinegar with 1.5 cups of non-dairy milk and use it instead of buttermilk.
Tahira Malik says
Hi ! Do we have to use apple sauce in this recepie , what is the function of that sauce in sponge .?
Madhuram says
I have used it as an egg substitute.
seema jain says
Hi, big fan of your blog. I made cup cakes of this recipe, but it cracks from top don't know why. I baked them on lower rack in convection mode at 160 c for 14 mins. Please help.
Madhuram says
Thanks Seema. Maybe for convection mode it needs even lesser time to bake. I haven't tried baking in convection mode, so not aware if it has anything to do with it.
MARIAM says
hi. I made the Eggleston cake for my son couple of days ago. which turned out really well. how ever your frosting n icing part i found very confusing.
for the chocolate layer cake which I made has the frosting recipe but u fail to add the procedure. you have attached a link for frosting procedure but talks abt a totally different cake. the frost recipes do not match.
as for your icing you state the method but no ingridients.
so I am left searching the net to find a frosting ingredients n the method.
mariam.
Madhuram says
Are you talking about the Chocolate Layer Cake, because I do have included the ingredients and procedure for frosting in the recipe. The ingredients for frosting is below the ingredients for the cake and same with the procedure too. I just have linked to another recipe to show how you have to frost layer cakes, the method that is, because that recipe has step-by-step pictures.
Aarti Gupta says
Hi Madhuram. I have been looking for a chocolate cake recipe for long now. I havent had much luck with chocolate cakes. Either they wouldnt taste good or wouldnt demould. But your recipe is definitely a keeper. Its awesome in taste and texture. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Aarti. 🙂
Pragnya Rao says
Hi Madhuram,
I baked this cake for my friends daughters bday and it was a total hit...I made a 8 inch 3 layer cake and cupcakes and cake pops of the same batter...I frosted it with buttercream and decorations were fondant.I have been baking for a while and have been referring to a lot of your recipes ..thanks for this website and your recipes and detail instructions and notes. Wish I could share a pic of my creation..
Madhuram says
That's so nice of you for taking the time to give a wonderful feedback. Thanks Pragnya.
Harneet kaur says
Hi i tried this cake today. The cake was looking awesome in the oven but when i took it out and as it cooled down a bit it started deflating .. I used banana instead of applesauce . Can u suggest something to overcome this deflating problem ?
Madhuram says
Maybe the liquid ingredients were too much. Or did you keep opening the oven door to check?
Varshika Pitamber says
Hi thank you for the recipe. Unfortunately our first try was a flop as the cake sunk in the center! What went wrong? Will try again but half the recipe.
Madhuram says
Did you by any chance over mix the batter or kept opening the oven door to check if it is done?
akanksha says
Can we use oil instead of butter in the cake?
Madhuram says
Yes you can Akanksha.
Rachel says
I LOVE this recipe! I have made it four to five times now. Everyone absolutely loves it and always asks for it for their birthday. So I will be making it again for my mother's birthday, since everyone devours it.
I will say that it does take a lot longer for it to bake in the oven than what is said in the directions. I just set the timer for 35-40 minutes and then check on it every 10 minutes or so with a toothpick. It can take up to an hour for it to bake properly, but this doesn't bother me, because when it is done, it is perfect. You just have to be a little flexible on time.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much Rachel. 🙂
Bettina says
I love this recipe! Will this recipe work on a 2 tier fondant cake?
Madhuram says
Yes it should Bettina.
Marlene says
I tried this cake twice and both times it looked really good in the oven, rising nicely and all. Rather than 2 pans, I used a 8x13 pan. I tested for doneness with a toothpick in the centre after the time listed..30 mins and the centre was still very doughy. I left it an additional 10-12 mins until the toothpick came out clean in the middle. As it cooled, the entire cake deflated to about half its height. This is a problem I have had with every eggless cake...looks good and the collapses. Don't know what else to try!!! I need eggless to satisfy egg allegies!
Madhuram says
Again this recipe too is flawless Mariene. I don't know what you are doing wrong! Are you over beating the batter, or opening the oven in the middle? Are you living in a high altitude place?
gauri says
How to make apple sauce at home?
Madhuram says
http://www.egglesscooking.com/2011/07/01/homemade-applesauce-recipe/
gauri says
And Substitute for apple sauce?
Madhuram says
You can make applesauce at home itself or try tofu. You may try mashed banana too if you don't mind the mild banana flavour.
gauri says
Nice recipie but the prob is that some of these ingredients aren't available in my town. So will u suggest me substitute for some ingredients like brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, unsweetened chocolate?
Madhuram says
You can use plain sugar itself, white vinegar and chocolate chips.
Vani says
Lovely recipe..I tried this frosting with some other chocolate cake..it was superb! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe 🙂
Madhuram says
Thanks Vani.
Jyothi says
Hi
Is there any substitute for butter milk. Planning to bake today please reply
Madhuram says
Sorry that I'm late with reply. If you are still looking for an answer you can try mixing 1.5 cups of milk (any) with 2 teaspoons of vinegar as a substitute for buttermilk.
Daniel says
most of your recipe are in butter. can you use margarine instead of butter.
Madhuram says
Yes you can Daniel.
Surbhi says
Hi,
Can I replace the apple cider vinegar in this recipe with white vinegar?
Madhuram says
Yes you can Surbhi.
Surbhi says
Thanks 🙂
Niva says
Out of curiosity, why does the recipe require unsalted butter? I suspect that it is to make the cake a little healthier than it normally would be, but I would like to be certain.
Madhuram says
Baking recipes always call for unsalted butter because you can adjust/add the quantity of salt to the dry ingredients.
mini says
Hi,
I am planning to bake this chocolate cake for my son's 1 st birthday! I plan to bake in an 11X15 inch pan. Will I have to double this recipe?
Madhuram says
You don't need to Mini. You can use the batter as it is, but it will be a very thin layer cake.
catherine says
Hi just finished making the cake tonight. It is for tomorrow morning, do I store in the fridge or on the counter overnight?
Madhuram says
You can store it on the counter itself.
vaidehi says
Thanks for your reply. I read on some website that if we dilute the frosting and just brush it on the cake it should keep it moist and I did that before doing the frosting. Now I think of it the biggest mistake I did I kept the cake in fridge uncovered so only the top layer is hard but the bottom is soft. We finished eating the cake anyhow by warming it a bit for 10 sec in microwave. My 1 yr old also tasted it. She gave me a tough time while preparing the cake..I made this cake at nights( total 2 nights)
One thing I have lot of frosting leftover! Did u use all of yours in the cake?
I have kept it in freezer so may be I can use it again..
Where did u learn about this egg substitution. Is it in the dummies book?
Madhuram says
The cake should be stored in a covered container. You should get one of those cake carriers which has an air-tight lid. It's available in Walmart too for $10. I think you are talking about crumb coating. That's usually done before doing the actual frosting so that when you do it you don't pull away the cake. It's definitely a good idea to do that first, put the cake in the fridge for an hour or too so that frosting the cake would be much easier. I don't remember if I had frosting leftover. I did learn about egg substitution from a couple of books that I borrowed from the library. But I had to learn it practically by trial and error and in that process I have thrown out a lot of stuff. Now I'm undergoing the same thing with gluten-free and egg-free baking!
vaidehi says
Finally made the cake n it was all good just until I frost it n kept in refrigerator to cool. I baked one day n frosted the other day n let it cool on the rack overnight. It was soft when I cut the layers but after frosting refgerated it for a day n today its like cement.
Why its so hard
I followed everything as per recipe. The toothpuc came out clean.
Why went wrong?
Madhuram says
Hi Vaidhehi, if you serve the cake directly from the fridge it will be hard. You have to put it out for at least 20-30 minutes before serving. Another tip which I find very useful is the one I used in my Eggless Strawberry Cream Cake recipe. Soaking the cakes in sugar syrup before frosting it will keep the cake very moist even when you keep it in the fridge.
vaidehi says
Hi
I baked the cake and now I'm going to frost it but I'm stuck. How to measure 225gm chocolate. I got a bar its 170gm so I have two 170gm bars. Please reply urgent. What are the silver beads on the cake called?
Madhuram says
You can use 1 and 1/2 bars. I found the silver beads in a cake decorating supply store.
Sithara says
i tried this recipe for my lo birthday with gluten free flour and it came out great! The cake was light and fluffy. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
Madhuram says
That's great to know Sithara. Did you use xanathan gum or a gluten-free baking mix?
Sri says
Hi,
Can you please let me know from where did you get those silver beads on top of the cake. Are they edible or just for decorating purpose?
Madhuram says
They are edible Sri. I got it in a cake decorating supply store here in Canada.
Adriana Jalba says
Hi,
I made a modified version of this cake (I made this for the birthday of my 2 years old and I wanted less chocolate in it). The changes that I made are:
- replace the cocoa with flour
- replace the vanilla with lemon zest
- replace vinegar with fresh lemon jus
- instead of icing sugar for the creme I used regular sugar + " spoons of vanilla pudding, melted together with the milk and chocolate
so basically this became a chocolate-lemon cake, which was delicious
Madhuram says
Chocolate lemon combo sounds interesting!
Vibhuti says
This cake came out awesome I did some changes -
Added 1 Teaspoon - Cinnamon
Replaced Buttermilk with Milk
Added 10 Tablespoon Dark chocolate(Vanleer)
Drop of Chocolate color
The cake was awesome and perfect... i give this Recipe 10 on 10...
Madhuram says
Thanks Vibhuti.
motero says
This is a really good recipe, I made it for my son who does not eat eggs. The cake is moist and fluffy. I made a ganache glaze rather than the frosting.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback, Motero.
Bojana says
This is a really an excellent recipe. I've made it three times so far and it was perfect every single time. Everybody loved it! Thank you!
Madhuram says
You're welcome Bojana.
Vibhuti says
Hi Madhuram,
can i use cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
to make the buttermilk, what should be the ratio of curd (yogurt) and water?
thanks
Madhuram says
Cake flour should work. The buttermilk should look thick like milk cream. So start with some yogurt and little water and add either one to get the desired consistency.
Shar says
Hi Madhuram, Looks like a great cake and eggless too! Just 1 question: do you use the same measuring cup for wet and dry ingredients? Thanks!
Madhuram says
Thanks Shar. For measuring liquid ingredients use the measuring mug and not the cups.
Sauravi says
Hi, I want to make an Eggless super moist chocolate cake with Strawberry icing. I liked your recipe and it seems the cake is very moist.
Can I use Yogurt instead of Applesauce! Will it make any difference in moisture! Also am making 2 9" cakes, but I want to increase the ingredient ratio a bit (Say 4 cup flour). Can you please suggest!
Thanks in Advance.
Athira says
I'm a student of class 10 thanx for the amazing recipe I had never tried baking before it was my first time n my family loved it ...thanx again 🙂
Madhuram says
That's great Athira. Thanks for the feedback.
Simran says
Is there anything I can use to substitute the applesauce?
Madhuram says
You could try pureed tofu or any other pureed fruit including bananas.
Kristen says
Do you think I could use this cake for cake pops?
Thanks!
Kristen
Madhuram says
It should work, Kristen.
Ran says
This is a great recipe 🙂 But I have a question: Instead of cocoa powder for the cake, Can I use real chocolate?
Madhuram says
Maybe you could use milk instead of buttermilk to try melting the chocolate in it. If you use semi-sweet chocolate the you would have to adjust the quantity of sugar too.
Ran says
That's a gret idea. 🙂 thank you 😀
vibhuti says
can i add chocolate and cocoa powder both?
How much should be the quantity of chocolate and cocoa powder,I am planning to use unsweetened chocolate.
Thanks,
Vibhuti
Madhuram says
Do you mean melting unsweetened chocolate squares?
Madhuri says
Hi Madhuram, actually thanks for this fab recipe. It was super tasty. My kids love it. Thanks.
Madhuram says
You're welcome Madhuri.
rk says
Is it possible to substitute brown sugar with castor sugar and the vinegar with lemon juice?
Madhuram says
Yes, you should be fine.
rk says
Thank you 🙂
K says
Is there a substitute for apple cider vinegar? As I am not a vegan Will it hurt if I use milk in the recipe to make it moist or will it make it soggy? Also, can castor/icing sugar substitute brown sugar ( I personally don't like the flavour)?
Madhuram says
You could omit the vinegar and use castor sugar instead of brown sugar, but not icing sugar. I think one of the readers has mentioned in the comments section that the cake turned out great even without it. Are you thinking of using milk instead of buttermilk? I think it should be fine.
Faith says
Just put this in the oven to bake. I forgot to add the 3/4 cup brown sugar 🙁 When i read beat butter and sugars (i missed reading the s in sugars) I hope it comes out well.
Matt says
This is a very good recipe. I tried it exactly except for the apple sauce --I replaced it with grated pear, which did the job. The cake did not grow much, but turned out to be a quite moist and delicious brownie. As regards the frosting, on the other hand, 6 cups of icing sugar and 1 cup of butter made the cake way too sweet and fat. If I make this cake again (which is very likely), I will use only half of these or may try my own cream/frosting.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Matt. I actually don't remember if the frosting was too sweet for us. I guess the 6 cups of sugar was used to balance the bitterness from the coffee for the mocha frosting.
Isha says
Hi Madhuram,
I am a vegetarian. I was skeptical if this recipe would turn out so well when I tried it first. But it's so delicious and yummy. So soft and chocolaty. My brother and I are addicted to it. My brother just loves this cake. He thinks its better than the popular "Monginis cake". And he is the kind of person who is very hard to please. My 7 yr old cousin loved this so much that she wanted this cake for her birthday. This is my first baking experience. I always thought baking a cake like this must be so difficult. But you make everything look so easy. Thank you. Lots of love 🙂
Madhuram says
You have made my day Isha. Thank you very much for trying the cake and the feedback.
Soumya says
Hi, what can I use instead of the applesauce? Please give me a good substitute or give me the recipe to make it. We don't seem to find it in India. Thanks.
Madhuram says
This is my recipe for Homemade Applesauce.
Soumya says
Thanks Madhuram. I actually saw the user comments much later and found the recipe. But thanks very much for your prompt response.
Please can you also provide some recipes for muffins and cakes with whole wheat flour and that too eggless!! As i would like my kids have healthy cakes made out of wheat and not maida. If you already have some recipes on your site. Pls. let me know.Ah! and a second question..is your FAQ page already on the site?? as i did not find it. Please send me the URL.
Thanks once again to make baking easier....
Regards
Soumya
Madhuram says
You're welcome Soumya. FAQ page has been long pending. I wish I can get to it quite soon because I keep answering the same questions very often. Until then we have a new recipes by ingredients page now, so you can look for recipes using whole wheat and whole wheat pastry flour. http://www.egglesscooking.com/recipe-index-by-ingredients/