This chocolate cake is so so easy to make and just what we need right now for some instant happiness! It’s super soft, unbelievably moist and pack with chocolate chips for a double dose of chocolatey goodness. Plus, no eggs. Let’s make some caaaaake!
I’d first made this cake years ago, and adapted it from The First Mess (the recipe doesn’t seem to load on her site any longer). I’d used a mix of wholewheat and all-purpose flour, not spelt and I’d even added cookie butter to the batter itself. I also used only brown sugar, not white. It was an amazingly simple cake to make then and when I decided to revisit it, I kept it even simpler with all-purpose flour and no additions except for chocolate chips. I also made it a one-bowl recipe and it doesn’t even need a mixer. Yay!
Because it’s made with oil and not butter, this cake is extra moist, and remains so even after refrigeration. The batter is a little runny, so the chocolate chips will sink to the bottom which is why it’s best to reserve some to sprinkle on top! Plus they look cute.
While I like the flavour of butter cakes more than oil cakes, this one is delicious because of the chocolate chips which add so much flavour. If you don’t have them, consider adding coffee or cinnamon or as I said above, a nut butter (check the recipe notes for more details) and maybe more sugar if the nut butters are unsweetened. You may even want to add a frosting!
It’s a very flexible and forgiving batter and I hope you’ll try it soon!
Please read the recipe notes before beginning.
Eggless Double Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk + 1 tsp lemon juice, set aside for a few minutes)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line a 9x5 loaf tin with non stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the sugar and oil together, then add the buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk to combine till smooth.
- Now sift in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold gently to combine, breaking up any lumps with a whisk, until completely smooth. The batter will be runny.
- Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips, then pour the batter into the prepared tin and sprinkle the remaining chips all over the top. Since the batter is quite thin, the chips might sink to the bottom so adding more on top balances things out!
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. If you like, press a few more chips into the top of the cake while it's hot!
- Use the paper overhang to lift the cake out onto a wire rack, and let it cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight tin at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, after which it's best stored in the fridge especially in humid areas. It should keep for about 10 days. Happy baking!
Notes
A K says
I’ve been baking without eggs for years now and this is probably the best eggless chocolate cake I have ever made! The combination of milk, oil, and brown sugar makes it super moist inside. The dry ingredients are also in perfect proportion and the finished cake is not a crumbly mess even when made with whole wheat flour. This is one of the few eggless recipes I have found that even come close to a cake made with eggs in terms of sturdiness. I used walnuts instead of chocolate chips and it tasted great – I’ll definitely be making this again!
the desserted girl says
Thank you for your kind words! I’m so happy you enjoyed this cake 🙂
Snp says
I don’t have chips. So can I use chocolate vermicelli instead? I do have that.
the desserted girl says
Chopped up chocolate would be better if you have a bar
Bella says
Thank you for such an excellent recipe, Gayatri!
I used a 50:50 mixture of brown + caster sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips, Dutch-process cocoa powder, and baked this in an 8×8 square pan for 30 minutes (160 degrees Celsius, fan-forced). The cake is so moist, and tastes great at both room temperature or even straight from the fridge. I forgot to add the vanilla this time around, but that just gives me an excuse to bake this delicious cake once more! 5 stars from sunny Singapore!
the desserted girl says
Yay! Thank you for letting me know Bella, I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake 🙂
nisa says
Hi,
Can I replace vegetable oil with melted butter?
Thank you.
the desserted girl says
I can’t say for sure without trying it myself. You probably can but the cake might not be as moist in the absence of oil.
Gunjan says
Thanks Much. And one more . Whats the difference in using curd/ yogurt over Buttermilk. Are they interchangeable? Thanks again.
the desserted girl says
Not really interchangeable because the purpose is similar but yoghurt is thicker, so adds less liquid but more richness
Gunjan Sharma says
Hey!! Is “buttermilk ” what we call Chaach – from a packet? IS that it? Thanks.
the desserted girl says
Hi, buttermilk is the liquid leftover after churning butter, not the same as chaach which is usually made with curd. I don’t recommend using packaged chaach, use the DIY buttermilk written above in the recipe instead.
Ashwini says
Wonderful! Even I tried something similar:
EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
Anaida says
Can i Make this with wheat flour?
the desserted girl says
Yes, it’s mentioned in the recipes notes 🙂
Anaida says
Sorry Saw the notes later on 😅😅
the desserted girl says
No problem! Happy baking 🙂
Vaishali Mittal says
Hey Gayatri,
Can i bake this as a cake in an 8″ round tin?
Also, can vegetable oil be substituted with olive oil and brown sugar with white?
I wanted to bake a cake for my nephew’s birthday this weekend and have limited stuff on hand!
the desserted girl says
Yes you certainly could 🙂 Brown sugar adds a little moisture to the batter but white will work too. If you want a taller round cake you may want to double the recipe. Happy baking !
Prajakta Sharma says
The taste is delicious but my cake broke when slicing . What could be the reason . The batter was not runny at all
the desserted girl says
It sounds like you may have added more flour than needed. 1 cup is 120 gms for reference, and extra flour could lead the cake to become dry and crumble.