Tall and fluffy, two layer, moist delicious, whole-wheat, fat-free vegan chocolate cake
With vegan chocolate low-fat healthy frosting filling between the layers. This whole-foods plant-based (WFPB) vegan birthday cake will not let you down! Made from simple ingredients found in most kitchens.
Tall, light and fluffy, a great vegan birthday cake for someone special in your life.
Jump to RecipeVegan birthday layer cake with whole wheat (all purpose) flour, zucchini, aqua faba and lots of cocoa powder.
It is moist, rises proud and high, is delicious, sweet, rich and gorgeous. This cake looks and tastes great and is SO HEALTHY.
This is the cake I make for my husband and kids birthdays. They love it and look forward to it.
Their friends can’t tell it is vegan, or that it is healthy, but they know it is great chocolatey cake
Whole foods vegan cake secret tricks
I have learned many healthy and tasty tricks from eating and feeding my family whole foods plant based since 2013, and I want to share them with you.
- Use zucchini instead of oil for moisture, and aqua faba (liquid from a can of beans) instead of eggs.
- Use a creamier non-dairy milk (like soy, or make your own unfiltered nut milks). We avoid coconut milk, because it contains saturated fat (clogs your blood vessels).
- Whole-wheat (all purpose) flour and zucchini make this vegan cake high fibre and high in plant nutrients, great for staying slim, and preventing cancer.
- Cocoa powder is high in antioxidants, which reduce inflammation.
I did a lot of research, plus trial and error to design a fat-free, whole wheat cake, with just the right frosting, that was going to be good enough for special birthday parties, and this is definitely the one!
Forks Over Knives Guidelines
All of my recipes are created to meet oil-free and whole foods eating recommendations from whole foods plant based experts from Forks Over Knives, and with ingredients selected for disease prevention based on nutrition study results from nutritionfacts.org.
Inspiration to Eat Whole Foods Plant Based
This book gives so many examples of how food can keep us living healthier longer lives:
Aqua faba please!
Aqua faba (the liquid from a can of beans) is a great egg substitute because it has protein, with no artery clogging cholesterol and no animal product inflammation.
Protein gives cake batter strength and structure. Air bubbles from baking soda push the batter up, and protein holds the structure while in the oven, so that this chocolate cake is light and fluffy.
Vegan Fat-free Chocolate Frosting / Icing
The lactose-free, margerine-free, and dairy-free frosting is so simple and easy, melt chocolate chips with dairy free almond milk or soy milk in your microwave.
I admit, the frosting is not healthy, but at least it has no added oils and you don’t need much of it. The cake alone isn’t sweet enough for a birthday party, but with the frosting, it becomes something special.
Chocolate does give the frosting antioxidants (to combat the free radicals produced by the icing sugar!). The kick of sweetness from the frosting really complements the cake and makes it a treat.
Making frosting yourself saves you from all the chemicals, franken-oils and artificial ingredients found in store bought frosting. Yuck. I have always hated store frosting. Espcially since it always gave me a stomache ache. It should be forbidden for kids (and adults) in my opinion.
The problems with regular cake
Traditional birthday cakes from a box mix, or a store, are made with
- processed white flour,
- white sugar,
- processed oils
- artificial flavours
- no fibre
- chemicals
- preservatives
Store made white flour cakes are essentially candy and a chemical mess, and are terrible for you
Often at work I would take a piece of store bought cake for a co-worker’s birthday and after a couple bites secretly throw it in the garbage because it just did not taste like real food to me.
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Why you should make this whole foods vegan cake recipe
It is easy! Only takes 1 hour and uses 11 common ingredients to make both the cake and the frosting.
It is filled with fibre, and a vegetable too!
Most importantly it looks wonderful, it’s huge, it tastes moist, chocolatey and delicious, it is fluffier than other vegan cakes, and it is going to make the people you love healthier and feel great when they eat it.
This cake will not make you fat. Yes there is sugar in it, but, did you know? Fiber (like in whole wheat flour and zucchini) prevents sugar crashes because it slows digestion.
Fiber is going to fill you up before you can eat too many calories.
You can eat a piece of this cake a day (until it is gone) as a healthy snack – no guilt.
Do you have a special someone with a birthday in the near future?
This is the vegan recipe for him or her.
No stomach ache, no fat, no clogged arteries, fight cancer, lose weight.
It is a moist, fluffy, decadent chocolate, light oil free cake that is going to make you healthier when you eat it!
Feel great tomorrow. Eat this cake today!
Don't Miss a Thing!
It was very hard to get pictures of my vegan cake because my family cut, served and devoured it so quickly.
These pictures are from the next day, the icing started to get a bit wet, but it holds up deliciously well.
I kept it on the counter under a cake lid, and it looked and tasted delicious for the 4 days the cake lasted – until it was all eaten up.
My daughter is excited to share this vegan birthday cake with her friends.
She asked me if I could make another vegan chocolate cake, for her to take to school for her birthday in June. Her school has a healthy snacks only policy, and I am sure I can convince her teacher that this cake meets their criteria. Plus her teacher is lactose intolerant so this will be great for him!
She is proud that she will be able to bring a delicious and healthy whole wheat, vegan, fat free cake to grade 4 for her 10th birthday.
Update: the cake was a huge hit, all the kids in her class, and her teacher loved it, one cute little boy even asked her for the recipe! To them it was just a great cake, she didn’t even tell them it was healthy or vegan.
Tall Vegan Aqua Faba Chocolate Zucchini Layer Cake with Vegan Frosting Filling - Whole Wheat, No Oil
Equipment
- Two 9" round cake pans, or one 9" x 13" rectangle baking dish.
Instructions and Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup non-dairy milk I've used soy, or homemade pecan or almond milk (pecans or almonds blended with water in high speed blender).
- 1.5 cups aquafaba* 2 cans of liquid from beans - save the beans for another recipe. I've used black beans, lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas.
- 2 cups brown sugar Or other dry sweetener.
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups zucchini shredded - two medium zucchini, I've also used spaghetti squash (had to adjust the liquid down a touch) but worked great!
- 3 cups whole wheat flour my flour says “best for bread”, I have also used white flour (it was at the lake and I didn't have any whole wheat).
- 1.5 cups cocoa powder unsweetened, the better the quality cocoa, the better the flavour cake.
- 3 teaspoons baking powder Ensure is well mixed throughout the dry ingredients.
- 1 teaspoon salt
Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup chocolate chips heaping, dairy free
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk soy is especially creamy and is lower fat than coconut milk. I've had great success with homemade pecan or almond milk (I blend 1/4 cup pecans or almonds with approx 2 1/4 cups water in high speed blender and I don't bother to strain it). Pecan is more decadent, but separates afterwards.
- 3 cups icing sugar
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Lightly spray two 9” round cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the non-dairy milk, aquafaba, brown sugar and vanilla.
- Shred zucchini (or other squash substitute) in a food processor or with a grater.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini. I used a spiralizer to make 2 cups of zucchini, which I then quickly chopped into small pieces, and then a small food processor to make the other 2 cups. I wanted some zucchini wetter and some more dry. You could food process all the zucchini instead.
- In a separate bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and then add to the zucchini mixture, stirring until completely combined.
- Pour evenly into the two cake pans.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- The cakes should rise nicely, the top might feel a bit tough, but the frosting softens it up.
- Let cool completely. Run a knife around the pans and turn upside down onto a cooling rack or towel.
Frosting Instructions
- While cake is cooling, make the frosting by putting the chocolate chips and non-dairy milk in a microwave safe glass bowl and microwaving in 15 second increments until chocolate is gooey but not a liquid. Add the icing sugar 1 cup at a time.
- Stir frosting with a fork or whisk until it is completely smooth.Add additional non-dairy milk one tablespoon at a time if required to reach smooth and desired spreading consistency.
- Once cake has cooled, generously spread warm frosting on the bottom layer to get a nice thick middle layer of icing. I put the first cake upside down and the 2nd right side up so the two flat bottoms meet in the middle. Place the 2nd layer of chocolate cake on the 1st and spread the chocolate frosting over the top and sides.
- The frosting spreads easily when it is warm, and then cools and stays in place. Microwave for 10 seconds if it becomes too thick to spread. This picture is from the next day... after sitting on the counter under a cake lid. Frosting is still holding up well!
Notes
Nutrition
Inspiration for this recipe
http://www.veganbaking.net/articles/guides/how-to-veganize-a-cake-recipe
Jenny Dunklee | The Lazy Vegan Baker http://www.thelazyveganbaker.com/2016/06/02/chocolate-zucchini-cake/
https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/no-egg-chocolate-zucchini-cake/166772
https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/recipes/cakes-desserts/raspberry-chocolate-cake
There is actually a very good icing made with roasted yam puréed with cocoa powder, maple syrup, and vanilla. It has a great consistency and can even be piped into curlicues and holds up for a very long time – had some leftover in the fridge for over two weeks – was still fine.
Do you have the recipe?
Easy and Perfect Chocolate Icing
1 ½ cups roasted sweet potato or yam (oven or microwave)
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Himalayan or sea salt (optional), or try some cinnamon to taste
Sweet potato must be baked, roasted or microwaved to elicit the most sweetness. Make sure sweet potato is cool before you start.
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree thoroughly. Adjust seasoning (eg., cinnamon, or more maple syrup)
Spread on cupcakes (or cake) as needed. Can be piped on with a piping bag and nozzle.
Hi, love this recipe, I’ve made it a number of times. It makes a very dense cake, which reminds me of the chocolate cake that my mother made for us growing up. She was as home economics teacher and made recipes out from scratch and over the years develop this rich chocolate cake. This is a healthier version, but virtually tastes the same. I like to make a suggestion about your website, it would be helpful if you could have a “jump to recipe”button and a “print” button. When I go to find it I have to scroll through a whole lot of stuff to get to the recipe. Sometimes I like to print off a copy, but it prints pages and pages with pictures and things, all lovely but not necessary. Thx
Unfortunately when I followed this recipe, it had far too much salt in it. The entire cake tasted like salt, my husband spat it out when he tried it. I’m a vegan baker and chef, and I decided to give this recipe a go because I want to make more whole food vegan cakes (I didn’t follow the icing recipe as it’s not healthy), but putting 1tsp of salt into a cake with 3tsp of baking soda which is full of salt already, was a bit too much. I wish this cake tasted better, because I made it for a lunch with 6 guests and I can’t serve it to them now. Next time I’m going to omit the salt completely and use 3tsp baking powder instead of baking soda and hopefully that will help the flavours.
I was hoping to make this Sunday, for Father’s Day (I have a family member on a strict, low-fat diet but loves desserts), but wanted to do a trial run ahead of time because, let’s face it, most low-fat, vegan bakery isn’t great… OMMMGGGGG…. this cake is AMAZING!!! Seriously! I was SHOCKED! It’s so moist, dense, and chocolately. My family will NEVER believe it’s so healthy! (My husband was shocked, too!) Thank you SO much for this recipe! It will now be my go-to chocolate cake recipe for everyone!
This is the most amazingly moist and nasty free chocolate cake to date! I must admit I did a few changes here and there ( I didn’t have enough cocoa so added in protein powder, also didn’t have whole wheat so used buckwheat flour instead, added chia and linseed powder as this is a great way to incorporate it in my 3 year old son’s diet). But it turned out very soft, moist and fluffy and very less sugar❤
This is an awesome chocolate cake even non vegan/plant based people liked when I served it. I used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and for the icing I used just plain maple syrup and pure cocao. So simple and easy. With the left over beans I make forks over knives black bean brownies. Just perfect
Could I use oat milk instead of soy milk to make it lower fat? Wanting to make the recipe, but also wanting to make it as low as fat as possible and not sure if it would convert well!
Are you sure brown sugar and icing sugar are WFPB and meet forks over knives guidelines? I spoke with the team on Facebook and they only recommend to use maple sugar or maple syrup / date sugar or date syrup.
I believe you are correct, please use your own judgement about sweeteners. For me, I started having trouble digesting dates (they are high fodmap and can trigger IBS) but I can digest brown sugar and icing sugar without issues.
Is there a replacement for the bean water? I don’t like the aqua faba after taste.
Hi. Can I make this recipe in a 9×13 pan?
Hi Bonnie, I haven’t tried a 9×13. I would think yes, not sure if the amount of batter is correct though. I think if anything there might be too much batter. Use your best judgement and let us know!
The cake turned out great. Everyone loved it. So moist and delicious. Not too much batter for a 9×13 either. I will be making this more for sure!
Weird question but I have no zucchini….and no squash…..would canned pumpkin, applesauce, mixture of such work?
Good question!! I’d see that as a fun challenge.
Yes canned pumpkin sounds reasonable to me, it would be a similar sweetness. Applesauce could work too, but would likely make the cake heavier / more dense since it’s very wet. I’d go with the pumpkin first.
I think you will need to reduce other liquids and use your judgement to get a batter that is not too runny.
Also make sure to bake it so it’s cooked all the way through and not wet in the middle. The top may be crusty, but the icing will soften it.
I hope you enjoy experimenting!
Can I use sweet potato instead of zucchini? if so how much?
Turned out amazing!!
Is it possible to have the measurements in grams as well? Would like to try it out.
What can I replace chocolate powder with? Thanks
Have you tried using powdered Stevia for some of the sugar?
Absolutely gorgeous recipe. It’s become my go-to for chocolate indulgence. I use coconut blossom syrup instead of the sugar and only one cup. And for the icing I combine almond butter, cocoa powder and coconut blossom syrup (with some milk to get the right consistency). Divine! Thank you!
I made this & it came out super amazing! I used 1/2 coconut & 1/2 maple sugar, and I squeezed out a lot but not all of the liquid from my finely grated zucchini. It rose beautifully in a 9×13 pan & baked in 57 mins. After it cooled, I frosted it w/a glaze-y mixture of coconut oil, cocoa, vanilla & maple syrup and it is so good!
I love a dense & fudgy, yet not overly sweet cake, & this was exactly what I was aiming for. I enjoy it even more knowing it’s healthy, with so much fiber & hidden veggie goodness : )
The first time I made this I only had a very fine grater, which made the zuchinni very liquidy, so the batter was quite thin. Baked it anyway. Flavor was good, but more like a pudding cake. My family still liked it. Then I did it a second time, only this time I finely chopped it (no food processor or other grater) and it turned out just like your pictures show. BTW, the pictures of the process REALLY help. This is already a family favorite. My next try is to substitute pumpkin for it because I have a large one needing to be used.
I am about to make this cake for my grandchild’s 3rd birthday, I live in the uk and was wondering if you meant 3 tablespoons of bicarbonate Of soda or baking powder?
I think we call it different things here in the uk
Kind regards, and I look forward to trying it,
Maria
I am wondering the same as Maria, is it 3 teaspoons of baking soda or baking powder? Looking forward for your reply as i cant wait to bake this beauty!! 😊 thank you 🍀
Hello! To reply to the question about baking soda – it is baking soda / bicarbonate of soda that works best here, not baking powder.
In this cake, the cocoa powder provides the acid, which activates the baking soda and makes the cake rise.
Baking powder which contains baking soda plus its own acid (cream of tartar) is not needed.
A tricky thing is, dutch processed cocoa powder apparently has less acid than non-Dutch processed. So each of us might have a different experience. More acidic cocoa would be a good thing I’d expect and would better react with and neutralize the baking soda.
Having said that, I just made this cake last week with fresh Dutch processed cocoa powder, and it was great. So I think we are good either way.
I hope that helps!
Thank you for your reply! I wish i have seen it yesterday (have baked it 1st thing in the morning today). I have used baking powder. The flavour is amazing! I think the best zuchini cake i have made so far. The only down side is that they looked big in the oven but under cooked when i tested, so had to bake them a bit longer than 1 hour. Once out, they have flattened a bit and have a bit of pudding/undercooked consistency. Which surely isn’t bad at all!! Have just shared with a good friend, she was amazed! Have only added 1 cup sugar and (for us both) just the right amount, swap 0.5 cup milk with coffee and kept only one layer (freezing the other – it is thaat good!!). For the frosting once i wanted to skip that amount of sugar, have made onde with chocolate chips, coconut oil (the one without flavour), milk and just a bit of vanilla. Again, just the perfect sweet balance between frosting and cake!! Thank you! 🍀
Hi Maria
I am in UK too and thought the same thing. I used 2 tsp of baking powder and 2tsp of baking soda and got beautiful results. Took this idea from one of the other recipes from this baker’s another recipe.