For all your celebrations, this rich, fudgy, Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Whipped Ganache cake will even have omnivores begging for more. This vegan chocolate cake is perfect for dark chocolate lovers. This cake is vegan. | Thanks to Rodelle Kitchen for gifting Vanilla And Bean a bottle of their Vanilla Extract.Â
About this Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
The Vegan Chocolate Cake bakes up beautifully with a tender, fudgy crumb. The icing, a whipped ganache, comes together quickly with a rest in the fridge while the cake is baking. Made with full-fat coconut milk, I promise, for coconut haters, they’ll never know. A double batch may be in order. It’s almost like a mousse. You’re not going to believe it!
Brush each layer with a boozy Frangelico simple syrup, then ice the cake to your heart’s content. Make it a two-or-four layer, whatever you have time for. Finish with toasted hazelnuts to add a bit of texture to this rich vegan chocolate cake.
A Little Reflection
It’s been two years, y’all. Two years since I started this little blogging journey. Â I’d just left my career of nine years. The change had been a long time coming, but it took me several years to finally garner the courage.
I finally realized, through much reflection and work, there was nothing I could do except walk away from a career at one time I saw myself doing for the rest of my life. The overwhelm and stress was too much.
I took the leap and a much-needed respite. After much learning, commuting, hard work and applying new skills, Vanilla And Bean was born.
That was two years ago.
Your Support Means so Much
The time has whisked by and I couldn’t be more grateful for this new journey. One that has presented challenges, tremendous learning curves, and hard decisions. But it’s also given me so much more freedom than I ever thought possible. The freedom to create, make and carve a path of my own. I feel like I’m opening a gift each and every day.
Some of you have been with Vanilla And Bean since its infancy. Even Vanilla And Bean’s newest readers have jumped in with both feet as if you’ve been here all along. Thank you for your support, trusting, encouragement, and sincerity.
I never knew this blog and social media, Instagram, would connect me with people just down the road and across the ocean. A few, I’ve met. Others, I can hardly wait.
So this cake is for y’all. For each and every one of you. For your comments, emails, likes, follows and sharing. Thank you for your time, enthusiasm for good food, love, and support. Getting to know y’all has been the most fun, even those of you who enjoy with silent support. I’m looking at you too, with a full heart.
Vegan Chocolate Cake with Whipped Ganache is as rich and chocolatey as you can imagine with a hint of booze for good measure. It makes a fabulous vegan birthday cake, or for any celebration, really!
How to Make Vegan Chocolate Cake
- First, for the ganache: gently heat the coconut milk, salt, and hazelnut liquor and pour over chocolate. Then pour the heated milk over top. Allow to set for one minute, then gently stir to incorporate Pop in the fridge while you prepare the cake.
- Second, while the oven is preheating, prepare the pans and toast the hazelnuts.
- Third, using two separate bowls prepare the wet and dry ingredients then whisk the ingredients together. Divide batter into pans and bake.
- Next, make the simple syrup while the cakes bake.
- Last, assemble the cake in four layers, brushing each layer with simple then slathering on the ganache.
Top the cake with toasted hazelnuts and enjoy!
Pro Tips
- The *taste* of coconut oil or milk is not detectable. If it were, this would be a coconut chocolate cake and I would have had to name it so. The chocolate masks its flavor. All the reason to call this a chocolate cake!
- Veg News lists many vegan chocolate brands. Find what’s at your market and use it! Green & Black’s, Theo, Endangered Species, are excellent.
- Hazelnut flour can be purchased. However, to DIY, toast the hazelnuts first at 325F for about 8-10 minutes, then process them in a food processor until a fine meal is formed. Use them as written in the recipe.
- If chocolate extract is unavailable, vanilla extract can be used.
More Chocolatey Rich Desserts to Love
Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Whipped Ganache Recipe
Ingredients
For the Ganache:
- 1 3/4 C High Quality Vegan Dark Chocolate, 72% or 74%, rough chopped into 1/2" pieces or smaller (the smaller the better - see note on vegan chocolate).*, 240g
- 1 1/3 C Full Fat Coconut Milk, whisked to incorporate the fat and liquid, 307g, the canned variety
- 1/8 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 tsp Hazelnut Liquor, I use Frangelico
For the Cake:
- 3/4 C Raw Hazelnuts, for decorating, 105g
- 1 2/3 C Nut Milk, 380g, I use homemade cashew
- 1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 1/2 C + 1 Tbs All Purpose Flour, 225g
- 1/2 C + 2 Tbs Hazelnut Flour **, 72g, see note
- 2/3 C Organic Cane Sugar, 145g
- 1/2 C Dutch Process Cocoa, unsweetened (I use Rodelle), 50g
- 1 1/2 Tbs Organic Cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/3 C + 2 Tbs Coconut Oil, virgin, unrefined, melted and at room temp., 80g
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 tsp Chocolate Extract ***, see note
For the Simple Syrup:
- 3 Tbs Organic Cane Sugar
- 3 Tbs Water
- 2 Tbs Hazelnut Liqueur
Instructions
For the Ganache (yields about 2 C or 500g):
- Place the chocolate in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan add the coconut milk, salt, and hazelnut liquor. Whisk to break up any clumps of fat. Heat the milk mixture on medium-high heat until it scalds (tip: watch for bubbles to form around the outer edge of milk, this is 180F or 82C). Watch the milk closely as you don't want it to boil over. This can happen quick!
- Pour the milk over the chocolate. Give the bowl a shake to make sure the chocolate is covered. Let sit for 2 minutes - this is required (set a timer). Stir gently to incorporate the milk and chocolate. Be patient here. This could take a few minutes. Once all the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth, place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the top of the ganache. This will eliminate a skin forming over the top. Pop in the fridge for one hour while you prepare and bake the cake.
For the Cake:
- Spray 2, 6" (15cm) cake pans with pan spray. Line each with a round of parchment, then spray again, this time making sure the sides are sprayed too. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
- While the oven is preheating, toast the hazelnuts. These will be used to decorate the cake. Check hazelnuts at 8 minutes, then again at 10. They can go from toasty to burned fast, so keep an eye on them. Set aside to cool, then rough chop.
- In a medium spouted mixing bowl, whisk the nut milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside while you mix the dry ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the all-purpose and hazelnut flour, sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. You'll have some chunky bits of hazelnuts left in the sifter, so toss those in with the batter. If there are any large chunks, do not incorporate those into the cake. Whisk thoroughly. Set aside.
- To the milk mixture, add the coconut oil, and extracts. Whisk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir until there are no more dry bits showing. The mixture will be thick.
- Divide equally into the prepared baking pans. Use an offset spatula to smooth the batter.
- Bake for 38-40 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean, with only a few bits of dry batter attached when done. Cool in pans for 20 minutes. Turn out on to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing or storing. Keep the parchment on the bottoms of the cake on. If holding overnight or freezing, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Double wrap if freezing (freeze up to two weeks).
For the Simple Syrup:
- In a small saucepan add the sugar and water. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Pour into a lidded container and stir in the hazelnut liqueur. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Finish the Ganache:
- While the cake is cooling, remove the ganache from the refrigerator. With a whisk attachment on a stand mixer, whip ganache on medium-high speed for 3 - 4 minutes or until light and airy. You'll want to make sure it's not runny, but not so thick it's difficult to spread. Somewhere in-between. It will thicken quickly so keep an eye on it. At this point, depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you can leave the ganache on the counter until ready to use or pop it in the fridge. It needs to stay soft enough to spread, but you don't want it to start melting. Be patient here. Ganache can be fussy with regards to temperature, but it's worth the effort. If at anytime the ganache starts to get too warm and begins to get too soft to work with, pop it back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, (this includes the entire cake if needed) then carry on.
To Assemble:
- Find a piece of cardboard and cut it to 6" (15cm) round. This will help support the cake while putting it together. Have some parchment ready to set the sliced layers on. Be sure to handle the cake gently, supporting it with a spatula as you move it around. For a two or four layer cake, gently slice off the dome of each layer using a serrated knife. A cake stand is helpful here, turning as you let the knife do the work. Cutting off the tops yields a flat top cake. Snack on the cutoffs or freeze them to make or cake pops later.
- Slice each half of cake into two equal rounds using a serrated knife. Set aside on parchment paper. Save one of the parchment-lined pieces for the top layer, bottom up. Carefully, take the bottom of one of the rounds and place it upside down on the cardboard support. Remove the parchment. Brush the top with the simple syrup, covering the entire top. I do this twice for each layer. Smooth about 4 Tbs of ganache over the layer. Don't use more else there may not be enough icing to finish the cake. Repeat with each layer until the top layer is placed on.
- After placing the top layer of cake, put your hand, flat, on the top of the cake. Press gently, yet firmly, down making sure the cake is symmetrical and the layers are aligned. Make adjustments now if needed. At this point, the ganache is probably warming up and your layers may seem to be sliding. Pop the entire cake in the fridge for about 15 minutes so the ganache can firm up again.
- Brush two coats of simple syrup over the top layer. You are now ready for the crumb coat which is a thin base layer of ganache that is the foundation of the final coat of ganache. Place about 1/2 C ganache on top on the cake. Begin working the ganache using an offset spatula to smooth and move the ganache over the sides of the cake. The crumb coat should be thin enough to see the cake layers on sides and top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- For the final coat, add a heaping scoop of ganache on top of the cake. Start smoothing out the top of the cake first then moving to the sides. Use a pallet knife to smooth the ganache around all sides of the cake, stopping to patch areas that need more.
- Finish the cake by sprinkling the rough chopped toasted hazelnuts over the top and on the sides.
- Transfer the cake to a cake stand by sliding a large offset spatula under the cake. Very gently, lift the cake and place it on a cake stand. Gently slide the offset spatula out from under the cake. To cut the cake, dip a large knife into very hot water. Wipe it dry then cut the cake. Do this for each cut you make for flawless cuts. Serve immediately.
- To store the cake, place plastic wrap directly on the exposed cake, then cover the top and other sides with a cake cover or plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator if warm in the kitchen, or on the counter if the kitchen is cooler. But always serve at room temperature for a more pleasant mouthfeel. Store for up to three days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications or helping other commentors.
Such a good recipe. I made it with coconut sugar instead of cane sugar and whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose, and it was really good, perhaps in need of a tiny bit more sweetness. The ganache definitely requires a stand mixer–I tried a hand mixer at first, and it appeared it never was going to get the ganache to thicken, but then a stand mixer worked just as described. If I make it again, I think I want to add a bit of coffee to the cake mixture to deepen the chocolate flavor!
Hi John! Thank you for your note and sharing your tips. So happy to hear you enjoyed the cake! I love the idea of adding coffee :D
Best cake EVER! I have made it several times now over the years since finding this recipe and truly it is great. I’ve used different nuts but hubby always comes back to the hazelnuts. Thank you for working it all out, the ideas just add to the repertoire that I can offer.
Hooray! Thank you for coming back and leaving a note. This is such a GOOD cake! So happy to hear you’re enjoying it and sharing your gifts. :D
Hi Traci,
I have made and LOVE this cake. Can I use it to make cupcakes? Thank You!
Hi Debbie! Thank you for your note and rating the recipe! So happy to hear you love it too. I’ve not made cupcakes with this recipe, but it can work. Here’s what I’d do…. use cupcake cups to line a standard muffin pan and fill them 2/3 full each. Bake at 375F (the higher temperature creates a nice cupcake dome) for about 15-20 minutes, but maybe longer adding and checking one minute at a time. They’re done when they spring back under gentle pressure and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I’m not sure exactly how many cupcakes this recipe will yield, but after doing a little digging, my estimate is between 12-18 cupcakes. If you don’t have two muffin pans, you can let the remaining batter rest on the counter while the other bakes. After the cupcakes come out of the oven, transfer them out of the pan to a cooling rack and either let the pan cool or rinse it under cold water (dry it off), then bake the remaining cupcakes. I hope this helps. Please let me know how they turn out – and leave us your tips if you give it a go!
Thank you so much for your detailed and quick response! I am trying it out tomorrow and will most certainly report back!
Fantastic cake! The icing is the best vegan one I’ve come across. I made the cake for non vegans and several were shocked by how good it was, so I’m thrilled with it. I’m planning to make the cake with a coffee hazelnut spread for my boyfriend’s birthday. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
I substituted coconut sugar for the cane sugar with no problems and used coffee in the syrup for a more mocha taste.
Hi Sarah! Thank you for coming back and leaving a note, and your kind words. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the cake! That icing? Just give me a spoon, right? Love your tips on subs. The coffee hazelnut spread sounds divine! Thank you for sharing!
I am happy to report that I made my gluten-free version of this cake and it turned out beautifully. I used Namaste Gluten-free flour (can get at Costco or local large grocery stores) where I replaced the flour 1-1. I double the recipe and used two 9″ cake pans. I cooked the cake only about 5 min more. I made 1 plus 1/2 of the ganache recipe. It was enough for all the layers and the outside area.
I was glad I made the cake the day before Christmas and finished it with the ganache on Christmas (yesterday). I was able to slice the 2 layers very easily to make the four layers since the cake is so dense.
It’s a very rich cake so we had a little over 1/4 of the cake left after serving 11. It was a big hit. Thank you, Traci, for sharing this recipe with us!
I took photos. The end result of putting the cake together wasn’t quite as professional looking but I think I did a really nice job of the presentation.
Happy New Year! Nancy
Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a note with all your tips and detailed notes for a GF cake, Nancy! So happy to read it came out delicious and that it was a hit! Happy New Year to you too. :D
Hi Traci, such a lovely recipe. Will be making this recipe for my Friend on her 15 wedding anniversary.
Jus wanted to know ,can I substitute hazelnut flour to ground almonds.
Hello Sindhu! Subbing almond flour for hazelnut should be fine. I hope this helps and that you and your friend enjoy this cake!
Could you use all AP flour instead of the 1/2 C + 2 Tbs Hazelnut Flour as noted in the recipe? Looks good and would like it try it but with that small substitution.
Hello Lad! You can if you want to – please note I’ve not tried it with 100% AP so am unable to say if the results will be the same. That said, I think it will be fine. I hope this helps!
Hi! I just came upon this cake and it looks delicious. I was just wondering if you could substitute the cane sugar for coconut sugar since coconut sugar is all I have in my pantry? Would it come out with a similar consistency?
Thank you, Michelle!
Hi Michelle! I’ve only made this cake with cane sugar so i’m not sure if the texture or result would be similar.
Looks so yummy! I am making this for a birthday and I was wondering if you recommend to make the cake the day of or does it taste any different if made a day in advance? Some cakes taste better when made a day or two ahead of time so I am just wondering what you would suggest for this one… thanks!
Hi Michelle! Making it a day in advance is perfectly fine. Just be sure to store it covered and at room temperature – so long as the kitchen is coolish otherwise the ganache can melt or the layers could slide (we don’t want that!). I hope this helps… and the birthday girl/guy loves it!
Hi Traci,
Thank you so much for your reply! I need your help- the cake was unbelievable and my boyfriend said it was it was one of his favorite cakes of all time (and he’s not vegan!). However, I put the cake in the fridge after assembling and frosting (so it didn’t melt as it is quite warm in my kitchen) and when I took it out to serve it was so dry and dense! Any insight on what might have gone wrong? Even after letting it come to room temp it was still dry and hard to cut through. It was so amazing prior to the fridge so I’m wondering what I did wrong and how I should alter it for next time.
Thank you!
Michelle
Hello Michelle… So happy to hear your boyfriend loved the cake! But I’m so sorry to read about refrigeration as I’ve not had any feedback regarding issues with refrigeration (and I’ve stored this cake in the fridge myself). The only things I can think of… 1. did you store the cake with plastic wrap directly on the exposed cut area? 2. Bringing the cake to room temperature takes many hours. If still cold in the center, it will have the mouthfeel of a dense cake. or last, 3. If the cake is over-baked (oven temperature fluctuation can be an issue – was an oven thermometer used?), it may taste fresh after assembled, but the refrigerator may be too much for an over baked cake. I hope this helps, Michelle.
Thank you so much for responding! I’m not quite sure which of those it could have been, but my guess is that I didn’t let it come to room temp long enough. I am going to definitely get an oven thermometer for future cakes though! Thanks again!
Hi Looks fabulous.I am not familiar with evaporated cane sugar.Could you tell me about it and a substitute I could use?
Hello Christine! Thank you for your note. Cane sugar (aka evaporated cane juice or sugar) is a larger grain, slightly blond in color sugar produced from sugar cane. It is less refined than white sugar and, I think, has a slightly richer flavor. I use it in all my sweets recipes. Additionally there are some refined sugars that use bone char (from animals) to bleach their sugar – a no go in vegan recipes. Because it has a larger grain, subbing refined sugar probably will not produce the same intended result (this was taught to me by the pastry chef I mentored under and reinforced at a bakery I work at). Unfortunately I’m unable to recommend a substitute because I’ve not tested it with any other sugar. I hope this makes sense and helps.