Eggless Chocolate Cake

This moist eggless chocolate cake recipe is so good you won't even notice it's eggless! This one-bowl recipe uses basic ingredients and is so easy to make. Pair it with an eggless, flour-based, ermine frosting or chocolate ganache. 

To find the best egg replacer, I decided to use my easy chocolate cake recipe as the base recipe and tested out different types of egg replacers to see which one made the best-tasting eggless cake. Keep in mind that if you decide to do your own testing with a different recipe, you might find that a different egg replacer works better for you.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Step-by-step instructions
• Egg Replacements
• FAQ
• Related Recipes
• Recipe

Ingredients

Applesauce: The most important ingredient in this recipe is of course the unsweetened applesauce, which is what we are using in place of eggs but be sure to read the full blog post for other egg substitutes that you might want to try. 

Coffee: This enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake, and it does NOT taste like coffee. If you don't want to use coffee though, you can just use hot water. 

Cocoa powder: I'm using Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder but you can use any kind you like.

Step-by-step instructions

This is a very easy, one-bowl cake recipe and is a great recipe for anyone who likes chocolate cake. You just add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix for two minutes, add the coffee and it's done! Ermine is my favorite frosting because it's light, fluffy, and not too sweet. Other good options for eggless frosting are my traditional American buttercream, stabilized whipped cream, or ganache chocolate frosting.

Making the cake

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and prepare two 8"x2" cake pans with cake goop or another preferred type of pan release and parchment paper. 
2. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low for a few seconds until combined. You can also do this with a hand mixer and a large bowl if you prefer.
3. Add in the applesauce, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl. 
4. Turn the mixer down to low and add in the hot coffee and mix until just it's just combined. 
5. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans.
6. Bake the cakes in your preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and then flip them out to cool on a wire rack. I wrap my cakes in plastic wrap and freeze them for at least 30 minutes to lock in moisture.

Making ermine frosting

1. Whisk together your flour and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes to toast the flour. Be careful not to burn it! 
2. Slowly add in your milk, whisk to combine, and bring your heat to medium-high. 
3. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisk continuously until it is thick and pudding-like. Once it's simmering, cook for one minute more to make sure the flour taste is cooked out. 
4. (Optional) If your mixture has any lumps, place a colander on top of a heat-proof bowl and push your mixture through and into the bowl. Transfer the mixture into a heat-proof bowl or a shallow cake pan if you want it to cool down faster. 
5. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap so that it is touching the surface without any air bubbles in between, this will prevent a skin from forming on the top of the mixture. Let cool in the refrigerator for a few hours until it's completely cooled down. Or you can spread it onto a sheet pan and freeze it for 30 minutes to cool faster. If it's even a little warm it will melt your butter later.
6. Add your softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk on high until very light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 
7. Place the cooled flour mixture into a piping bag and slowly pipe it into your butter as you whip at medium speed. Incorporating the base slowly ensures a smooth buttercream. 
8. Add in your vanilla and salt, then mix until everything is light and creamy. If you have a lot of bubbles you can mix your frosting on low with the paddle attachment to make it smoother. Ermine frosting sets up after a few hours, so you'll want to use it immediately. It does not freeze or store well.

Assembling the cake

If you want more information on how to frost and fill your cake the first time, you can check out my tutorial on how to decorate your first cake.

1. Trim the domes off your cooled cake so it's nice and level.
2. Add a nice thick layer of your ermine frosting on top and make it even with your offset spatula.
3. Add your second layer of cake on top.
4. Frost the entire cake in a thin layer of ermine frosting and then refrigerate it for 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
5. Apply your final coat of buttercream and smooth out the edges.
6. Use a 1M piping tip in a piping bag to add a rope border around the top of the cake and finish with some fun sprinkles. 
7. This cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 6 hours, then cover the cut part in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Egg Replacements

Let's dive into some of my most successful experiments on my journey to find the best egg replacer.

What do eggs do?

Eggs have two jobs. To bind the ingredients together and create a structure that traps air and helps the cake rise. Egg yolks can also add flavor and moisture to a cake. So if we remove the eggs, we need to find something else that can do that job.

Applesauce

A common replacement for eggs is ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce per egg. The pectin in the applesauce acts as a binder much like an egg does while also adding moisture like an egg would.

This makes the best, rich chocolate flavor and texture in my opinion. The applesauce cake layer had a great taste, texture, and only a slight divot at the top of the cake.

Banana

My second test was with an unripe banana. I decided to go with a green banana since it's starchier and has more pectin than when it's ripe and the starches turn to sugar. The unripe banana actually worked really well but you could definitely taste the banana. Not a bad flavor at all but if you don't like bananas, it might not be the best choice. 

Pectin

So this got me thinking, maybe I could try STRAIGHT PECTIN. Why not right? I combined 1 Tablespoon of powdered pectin with 3 Tablespoons of water per egg.

The pectin didn't work QUITE as well as I had hoped. It fell a bit and was a bit crumbly but maybe after some tweaking of amounts of liquid and fat, it could work. The best part was that it didn't leave behind any aftertaste so it's definitely worth more experimenting.

Ground flax

Ground flax is another popular replacement. When combined with water and given time to rest, the flax makes a gluey substance that resembles the structure of an egg as well as some fat. I found that the flax was not quite strong enough to support the cake and it left behind an odd sort of flavor and texture. Flax might be better in cookies or muffins in my opinion. 

Yogurt/buttermilk

Another option is using Greek yogurt or buttermilk as a replacement. I actually thought the rise on this worked out really well. The cake was very moist and fudgy. The center fell a TINY bit but I think if I reduced the liquid a bit then it would be perfect so yogurt is another great option.

Tofu

The last thing we tested was blended tofu which worked surprisingly well but was a little dry and crumbly. You could add more fat to the recipe to account for the dryness. Maybe even half tofu, half applesauce.

Commercial egg replacer

I also tested just a traditional egg replacer and it did pretty well. It was a little dry but had good structure and is a really good option if you want to have a pretty good egg replacer on your shelf to use at any time. I used the Bobs Red Mill Commercial egg replacer but there are tons of brands out there. Just look for them in the baking aisle or buy them online.

The best egg replacers

Now that you know the results of my tests, you can do some of your own testing with your favorite recipe. Let me know if you find something that works for you!

The amounts listed below are equal to one egg

1. Commercial egg replacer - 1 Tablespoon replacer + 2 Tablespoons water
2. ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce + ½ teaspoon extra baking powder
3. ½ large ripe banana mashed + ½ teaspoon extra baking powder
4. 1T pectin powder + 3T water
5. 1 Tablespoon Ground Flax + 3 Tablespoons Water. Let sit for 5 minutes before using.
6. 4 Tablespoons Soy Yogurt
7. ¼ cup silken tofu blended (may need to add 2 ounces more oil, yogurt, or butter to the recipe for extra moisture)

FAQ

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