Easy Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake

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This single layer vegan chocolate sheet cake is soft, fluffy and rich in chocolate flavour. It’s very easy to make and the chocolate soy whipping cream makes it extra chocolatey and delicious. This is one of my absolute favourite things to bake for Valentine’s Day.

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I have a confession to make… I made this vegan chocolate sheet cake just in time for Valentine’s Day, only a week ago! I know, I know, I am a bad food blogger for not fully preparing recipes for Valentine’s Day!

But on a positive note, the fact that I managed to put this recipe together in such a short time proves that this recipe is indeed super easy and quick to bake! I’m sure you’ll agree. A perfect, last-minute Valentine’s Day gift to bake!

It’s sweet, chocolatey and soft with perfectly smooth and fluffy chocolate whipping cream on top. Exactly what you were looking for? Then let’s get baking!

How to make this vegan chocolate sheet cake

I love chocolate flavour when it comes to baking, who doesn’t? Whether it’s for Valentine’s Day or any other fancy occasion, chocolate flavoured baked goods are always a win for everyone!

The cake is light and soft in texture, not overly sweet, rich in chocolate flavour and fragrant. Paired with a fluffy and silky smooth soy chocolate whipping cream on top, this recipe becomes extra chocolaty and even more delicious. Forget box chocolate cake, you’ve found perfection.

Boxed cake mixes are very handy and delicious too, but sometimes I find them too sweet and they often have food additives which I don’t really like. So making them from scratch is always my favourite approach to baking cakes.

It can be intimidating for beginners to start from scratch, I know because I once was too. So, here are some tips for you!

Use dark cacao powder with no added sugar

There is a plethora of cocoa powders out there in the supermarket these days, which might be confusing for some of you guys when choosing one.

Go for a nice, dark one with no added sugar as light cocoa powders have less flavour, and added sugar increases the sugar content which makes the taste of the final product different.

Use vegan butter instead of oil

I use both vegan butter and plant oil to bake cakes but for this recipe I used vegan butter. Vegan butter is made with different ingredients depending on the brand you buy, I have seen vegan butter made with soy, olive, coconut etc.

The vegan butter I used for this recipe is a soy based vegan butter. It has quite an impressive buttery flavour and smell! You can use vegan butter just like conventional butter. Using vegan butter in this recipe gives it a nice, rich buttery flavour and it pairs with the chocolate flavour wonderfully.

It doesn’t have to be exactly the same vegan butter I used, which is soy based. You can use any other type of vegan butter in this recipe. I made the instructions simple with melted vegan butter so you don’t have to worry if your vegan butter would whip or not, like many recipes require.

Vegan butter milk

To achieve the soft cake texture, I used vegan buttermilk. So what is buttermilk? It’ss essentially fermented milk which has a tangy taste to it. This tanginess which comes from acid apparently helps relax the gluten development in the batter, thus creating a softer and fluffier cake.

But we cannot wait for our plant milk to ferment to use! So here is a quick way to make vegan buttermilk.

Mix any of the following plant milk – soy, almond, oat or coconut – with a little bit of either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and set aside. Boom! Then you have perfectly tangy, vegan buttermilk that can be used in any recipes that call for buttermilk.

I usually go for the combination of soy milk and apple cider vinegar as I feel they make the best vegan butter milk.

Plant whipping cream

I made this lovely, chocolatey, vegan soy chocolate whipping cream to go with this vegan chocolate sheet cake. Don’t they look perfect together?!

This is probably the best thing about this recipe, perfectly soft and light chocolate cake with perfectly smooth, fluffy and rich chocolate whipping cream. It tastes as elegant as it sounds.

I used soy whipping cream (I sometimes do a little celebration in my head because of how easy it has become to get plant-based whipping cream these days!), but if you cannot find any plant-based whipping cream in your area, alternatively you can use coconut cream as a substitute.

Chill 1-2 cans of coconut milk overnight, scoop out the solid part on top of the coconut milk and whip with other ingredients just like any other whipping cream. It works just like soy whipping cream.

To substitute, use 2 cups of coconut cream for this recipe with the same amount of other ingredients.

Q and A

Why is this recipe so good?

This recipe is so good because A; it’s chocolate. And B; everyone loves chocolate. So, whatever the occasion, be it Valentine’s Day with your partner, a birthday party or even just a free Sunday, it’s no doubt that everyone will love it.

And the best part is: this recipe doesn’t involve any difficult techniques. So it’s baking beginner friendly, relatively easy and quick to bake. It’s a life saver for people who are running out of time to make a gift for a particular day!

Can I make this recipe gluten-free?

Yes you can! If you would like to make it gluten-free, simply swap the plain flour with 1:1 gluten-free flour. The texture will be slightly denser, but it will be still soft and delicious.

I haven’t tried any other gluten-free flours so I can’t guarantee the result. However, if you make this recipe with any other flours, let me know how it went!

Can I store this vegan chocolate sheet cake in the freezer?

Yes you can store it in the freezer for a longer shelf life! However, it is best to freeze the cake and whipping cream separately as the whipping cream will become slightly runnier once defrosted and needs extra whipping.

If you are not eating it immediately, freeze the cake in the freezer and whip your soy/coconut whipping cream when you serve and eat.

To store in the freezer, put it in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 2-3 months for maximum freshness.

How do I store it if eating within the next few days?

I doubt any of you can resist eating this delicious treat the day you bake it… But if you want to keep some for the next few days to enjoy later, put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 2-3 day to keep them fresh.

It is not recommended to keep it at room temperature as the soy/coconut whipping cream may go runny and spoil the texture of the cake.

Like storing in the freezer, it is best to keep the cake and the whipping cream separate in the fridge and assemble when serving so that it keeps its texture and deliciousness.

What toppings would be good?

Another thing that I love about this recipe is that you can be pretty creative with your toppings.

For the pictures of this recipe I kept it very simple yet elegant with some cacao nibs and vegan chocolate syrup (recipe coming soon) but if you are looking to go fancier I suggest you to try some crushed nuts like: almond, walnuts, pecan nuts, chocolate granola, puffed grains, caramel syrup, fresh strawberries, raspberries, or even some edible flowers and glitters.

When topping with wet ingredients like fresh fruits, make sure to take any moisture off with kitchen paper so that they won’t make the soy/coconut whipping cream wet and runny.

Want to master the basics of vegan baking?
Check out Vegan Baking 101 – the beginner’s guide to vegan baking for you to become an excellent vegan baker and familiar with the basics of vegan baking, ingredients, and techniques with useful tips!

Please leave a comment and rate this recipe in the comment section below if you like this vegan chocolate sheet cake! Let me know and tag me @thechestnutbakery on Instagram too. Thank you for making my recipe, friends!

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Square baking tin

Electric mixer