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This Vegan Nutella Cake is made with a two-ingredient “Nutella” and will please vegans and non-vegans alike with its rich taste of both chocolate and hazelnut.
Ohhhh yes, vegan “Nutella” cake is SO happening today. I'm fully aware that traditional Nutella isn't vegan, but to the core, Nutella is simply chocolate and hazelnuts, which is all that my two ingredient Nutella is. Also, sometimes you just need CAKE, and a good one too. If you're vegan or if you have a vegan family member, this is a great cake recipe to take to a party or family gathering to please anything and everyone, no matter what their dietary preference is.
I made this vegan nutella cake over the weekend for my brother’s birthday—I made him this chocolate cake last year, but this year I was all about this rich, moist chocolate-y cake topped with the most perfect chocolate hazelnut icing did the trick!
I mean, if I do say so myself.
NUTELLA CAKE INGREDIENTS
- homemade Nutella
- all purpose flour
- sugar -- cane or granulated sugar
- cocoa powder
- coconut oil -- virgin or unrefined
- dairy free milk -- I used almond milk, but any kind should work
- applesauce -- unsweetened
You'll also need dairy free butter and powdered sugar to make the icing.
EASY VEGAN CAKE RECIPE
This cake is relatively quick to whip up. I used three 6" cake pans, but you could also use one 9" or 10" pan instead if you prefer. The cake is essentially just a chocolate cake, so it's the icing that really makes this recipe stand out. It helps to have the homemade Nutella already prepared. It's ok if you don't, but if you want to make this recipe even quicker, whip up the Nutella the day before. The icing itself is a mixture of "Nutella", butter and powdered sugar and it's to die for!
The icing should be thick and very easy to spread. If for some reason it’s not, add a splash of milk and that should do the trick.
OTHER VEGAN CAKE RECIPES
Ingredients
for the cake:
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups cane sugar or granulated sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup coconut oil melted
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the icing:
- ¾ cup homemade Nutella
- ½ cup dairy free butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Next, melt coconut oil and set aside, allowing it to cool for a few minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk milk, applesauce, vinegar, and vanilla together; add coconut oil.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients with an electric mixer.
- Next, line three 6" cake pans with coconut oil and then distribute cake batter evenly into pans.
- Bake cakes for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Take cakes out of oven and wait 10 minutes before carefully transferring them onto cooling racks, allowing them to cool completely before icing them.
- For the icing: Follow the instructions in this post to make the homemade Nutella. Then, add ¾ cup homemade Nutella to a bowl and stir in the butter and powdered sugar until smooth.
- To assemble: Use a serrated knife to remove "domes" from each cake, making all three cakes flat on the top. Next, place a good amount of icing on the one cake and smooth it out, and then place the second cake on top of the icing layer, and repeat that process for the final layer.
- Then, place icing all along the sides until the whole cake is coated with icing.
- Top with crushed hazelnuts and enjoy!
Susan Preucil says
I’ve made this for my daughter’s birthday the last two years in a row. This is a winner. All the party guests raved about it and some asked for the recipe. It’s my new go-to. This year I did end up needing to make another half-batch of icing. I probably put a bit too much between the layers.
Pragya Sinha says
Just adding on to my previous question, I would like to double the recipe. Do I also double the baking soda and baking powder amounts?
I'm aware too much of those can make a cake bitter, so just wanted to double check.
and would I need to adjust anything else? or just simply double
Pragya Sinha says
Hey! I'm unable to get ahold of unsweetened applesauce, so I have bought sweetened applesauce instead
Do I need to adjust the rest of the ingredient amounts because of this? or any changes I need to make?
Thank you!
Leen Sharba says
Hi Erin! I want to make this cake for around 13 people and thinking I double the recipe and use 3 8in pans instead of 6in. How would that change cook times? Do you think I should do that or just make two 3tier 6in cakes?
Erin says
Hi! If you're going to double the recipe, I'd definitely use bigger pans (not 6" ones), but I'm not 100% sure which size you should use. I usually reference this post when switching pan sizes: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/cake-pan-sizes/ -- hopefully that helps, and let me know how it turns out!
Pragya Sinha says
Hey! A couple questions:
Can I use normal store bought Nutella?
Can I use normal unsalted butter instead of dairy free?
Is powdered sugar the same as icing sugar?
I'm not vegan, so I don't mind the above replacements.
Erin says
Hi! YES to all 3 questions 🙂
bob says
Hi, can I substitute 2.5 cups all-purpose flour with 2.5 cups almond flour to make it grain-free?
Erin says
I don't think that will work -- almond flour is VERY different from all purpose flour.
Sophie says
This was lovely! I used an electric mixer to make the icing fluffy
Amy McCranor says
Hi! If we only have sweetened apple sauce, does the recipe need to be adjusted? And can you use flax-egg instead, and if so how many eggs would we be replacing? Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Amy! You can definitely use sweetened applesauce in place of unsweetened -- that's no problem. As for the egg/flax egg, the recipe actually doesn't need either. The main wet ingredients are melted coconut oil, applesauce and dairy-free milk.
Amy McCranor says
thank you Erin, I'm making this for my boyfriends birthday 🙂
Sophia says
Hi! Do you think the cake can be made ahead and frozen?
Thank you
Erin says
Hi! Yes I think that should work. Let me know if you try it.
Sarah says
Amazing recipe!
Ilona Kostyk says
Can I omit butter and just add more coconut oil instead?
Erin says
Yes you should be able to, it will just have a slightly different taste to it. Let me know how it turns out!
Jane says
Hello! If I were to use ready made Hazelnut butter, instead of making my own, how much would I need? Very much looking forward to trying out this recipe! 🙂
Erin says
Hi! Is it plain hazelnut butter or Nutella? If you're using hazelnut butter, just follow the recipe as-is but use your own hazelnut butter. If you're using chocolate hazelnut butter/Nutella, just add the cocoa and powdered sugar to 1 cup Nutella and you should be good to go.
Jane says
Thanks Erin. It's plain hazelnut butter. How much would I need? Or does 1 cup of hazelnuts = 1 cup of hazelnut butter? Thanks!! Jane
Ed says
Hate to break it to you, but Nutella isn't vegan. It contains skimmed milk powder.
Erin says
I didn't use actual Nutella--I used a homemade version made with just hazelnuts+vegan chocolate instead.
Ed says
Then it's not a Nutella cake.
JULIA CORTES says
ugh...please take the time to actually READ the recipe....hate to break this to you but you need to READ first.
Ruby & Cake says
Just found this over on Foodgawker and it answered all my cake woes! I have to take a vegan cake to work tomorrow 🙂 Cannot wait to try this later this afternoon. Thank you for sharing.
Viktor says
Hello! What do you think, is it possible to replace almond milk with coconut milk?
Erin says
Hi! I haven't tried it, but I imagine you could. If you're using coconut milk from a carton, then it should work as is, but if you're using canned coconut milk, you may need to whisk the milk before using it to make sure it isn't too thick.
Dee says
Your recipe lists baking soda twice. Did you mean baking powder? I want to make this cake tonight since it looks delicious!
Erin says
Whoops! Yes I meant baking powder--fixed it in the recipe. Let me know how it turns out!