This chocolate layer cake is a riff on classic wacky cake, and was created by Linda Coss, author of the allergy-friendly cookbook, What’s to Eat?. Her version includes a delicious chocolate frosting, which is also free of dairy, eggs, nuts, and soy! It’s the perfect dessert to satisfy a room full of guests, even if they don’t have any food allergies.
Chocolate Layer Cake for Dairy-Free, Egg-Free & Nut-Free Celebrations
We originally shared this recipe in 2007, but it has since been updated to include both the frosting and the cake in one recipe, along with some additional details.
Back when Linda created this recipe, dairy-free butter alternatives were limited. But these days, almost every grocer carries at least one vegan buttery spread or stick brand, if not several. Linda originally used Earth Balance, and they do have a couple soy-free varieties that work great. She uses vegetable oil for the cake, but you can keep it soy-free with non-GMO canola oil, extra light olive oil, or grapeseed oil. Avocado oil or coconut oil might also work well, but will impart more flavor and create a richer texture.
Special Diet Notes: Chocolate Layer Cake
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, optionally vegan, and vegetarian. But be sure to choose the butter alternative that suits your dietary needs.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water
- ⅔ cup oil
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup dairy-free butter alternative, room temperature
- 2½ tablespoons honey (can sub agave nectar for vegan)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2½ tablespoons water
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk until the batter is smooth and the ingredients are well-blended.
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans and even out.
- Bake the cakes for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before carefully removing turning them out onto wire racks to cool completely.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.
- Place butter alternative, honey, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Sift in the cocoa powder. Using a hand mixer on low speed, cream the ingredients together. Add the water and sift in the powdered sugar. Beat on low speed until combined, then beat on medium speed until creamy.
- Once the cake layers are completely cool, place one layer in the center of a serving platter, upside down (so that the flat side of the cake, which was on the bottom of the cake pan, is facing you).
- Using a frosting spatula, spread the top of the first layer with frosting. Place the second cake layer on top of this, right-side up. Spread frosting over the top and sides of the entire cake.
More Allergy-Friendly Cake Recipes
Vegan Spice Cake
Strawberry Shortcake
Chocolate Marble Vegan Pound Cake
11 Comments
I have been entrusted to bake cakes for my son’s wedding this August. He has full dairy, eggs nuts and increasingly soya allergies.
I am making a couple of varieties of cupcakes and a small ‘wedding ‘ cake so there’s something to cut.
The plan is to bake ahead and to freeze as much as possible beforehand so that all I need to do the day before the wedding is the icing/frosting.
I was looking at maybe a fruit cake that I could make and keep in a tin and then do a simple fondant icing and decorate with a cake topper and some flowers. I’m open to other reliable options.
Any help or advice would be extremely welcome. I’m a reasonably accomplished home baker but don’t want to be stressed out or loosing sleep over this!
I wish I could help more, but I’m not very experienced with fondant or British style fruit cake. I would search online for vegan fondant recipe and vegan fruit cake recipe. Some cakes will contain nuts, but you can omit them.
So glad I found this recipe !
I’m in the Uk & My son has his 21st birthday coming up …
His cousins & some friends are vegan.
My son has a soya allergy and the restaurant I’m taking the cake to insists on everything being nut free …
I’ve never cooked anything dairy free before & was nervous because most of the Uk recipes I’ve seen have comments about things falling apart !
I’ve just made a test cake & it was totally delicious & didn’t fall apart !!
Thank you for putting this out there ! 👏🏻
Glad you enjoyed it Julie!
Hello I’m baking a cake for my sons third birthday. And would like to bake it ahead of time. Does the chocolate cake freeze well?
And is it OK to add blue food colouring to the frosting . The theme is pj mask . 😃
Thank you
I’ve honestly never frozen a whole cake, but it should freeze just as well as another cake. I would leave it out to defrost several hours in advance of the party. The frosting is chocolate, so while you can use food dye, it might not become the color desired. You can use a dairy-free vanilla buttercream recipe if you want more intensity -> https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/dairy-free-buttercream-frosting – it’s totally fine to use food colouring in it. Happy birthday to your son!
Is this recipe milk free AND soy free? My son has milk allergies and soy allergies and it has been very difficult to find a recipe that is free of both.
Yes, but some vegetable oils do contain soy oil. I would use canola, grapeseed or melted coconut oil.
This recipe is my GO to for all birthday’s and most parties. I always get compliments and I know I have a cake that pretty much everyone can eat. It is very versatile. I made a cake for our cast party on Saturday…and will be making cupcakes this weekend for a bridal shower…and my kids aren’t left out!
Awesome and versatile recipe. Also makes great cupcakes or a slab style cake. Or halve ingredients for one smaller cake. Or yet for one more option, omit the baking soda and you have brownies.
Great idea on the baking soda for making brownies Rebecca. I’ll give that one a trial.