This delicious and easy dairy-free chocolate coffee cake recipe isn’t from my mom, but it is from a loving mom who adapted a family recipe for her chocolate-loving little one. Kerri, a Go Dairy Free viewer, says this recipe is “the BEST!!”
Our youngest (now 3) is allergic to dairy, but I am a massive chocoholic! I’m always looking for good chocolate-anything recipes. I took my grandma’s really awesome chocolate coffee cake recipe and modified it. It only took one trial and it was perfect. Even better than the original! The original recipe called for 1 cup of buttermilk and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. I omitted both, and used one 14-ounce can of coconut milk instead.
Mom’s Chocolate Coffee Cake made Naturally Dairy-Free and Oil-Free
Kerri’s substitution also cut the oil from this recipe, and turned it into a naturally dairy-free dessert with no special substitutes needed. But we do have a couple quick notes:
Higher Altitude: This recipe uses a lot of leavener. If you live at 3000 feet or higher, I recommend cutting the baking soda in half. We haven’t tested this particular recipe at high altitude, but often simply reducing the leavener is enough to keep your cake from deflating.
Cocoa Powder: Dutch-processed cocoa powder, often called baking cocoa, is treated with an alkali to neutralize the acids ahead of time. It’s darker, sweeter, and less bitter than natural cocoa powder. But because the acidity is removed from Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder, it doesn’t react with baking soda to help leaven, and it doesn’t neutralize the taste of the baking soda. Fortunately, both the vinegar and the coffee in this recipe do react with the baking soda instead. Popular brands of Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder include Hershey’s Special Dark, Whole Foods 365, Anthony’s Culinary, and Ghirardelli Majestic.
Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Chocolate Coffee Cake
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.
For egg-free options, see our egg substitute guide.
- 2 cups sugar
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Dutch-processed (baking) cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk (not coconut milk beverage in the carton)
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee
- 2 eggs (see post above for egg-free options)
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the coconut milk, coffee, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla, and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Scrape the batter into your prepared bundt pan.
- Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool for about 40 minutes before serving.
More Dairy-Free Bundt Cake Recipes
Healthy Pineapple Banana Bundt Cake
Cardamom Pear Cake
Cinnamon Coffee Cake
5 Comments
I have only made this cake using gluten free flour and it works perfectly every time. I have done it many times , even for a dinner party served with the centre filled with fresh berries and dusted with icing sugar. Everyone LOVES IT
Julie – wonder if you figured out the egg thing? The substitutions listed weren’t actually mine… not sure where they appeared from! 🙂 I have no experience with the eggs & gluten free options… but would LOVE to hear any success stories!! 🙂 It is a truly delicious, heavenly creation!
Thanks for posting on this Kerri! Suggestions are in the editorial above and they are suggestions – not in your recipe!! It is a delicious cake. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I just made this & need to ask: Does substituting the eggs with flax eggs greatly affect baking time? I baked for 90 minutes & my cake was still not done! While the taste is good, the center is still not set. I’m quite sad as I have missed chocolate so much since finding out I had a dairy & egg allergy 🙁
Julie, I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you without he eggs! Climate can be a big factor when making vegan baked goods. Since it didn’t set up for you, I would go with omitting the eggs entirely. The gluten in the flour and the cocoa powder are usually enough for binding, even without the flaxseed. If I have time, I will test it myself.
For a simple chocolate cake / cupcake recipe, I recommend this one – http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/dairy-free-desserts/triple-chocolate-cupcakes-vegan. No eggs, no dairy, very basic ingredients.