Makes one 12 cup Bundt, serves 12 to 16
Bundt cakes are always having a moment. There is something about the shape alone – that dramatic ring, the ridges, the hollow center just waiting to be filled with fruit – that makes a bundt look like you did a little extra. Dust it with powdered sugar and it becomes and absolute work of art, no piping required. Add strawberries and it looks like a glamorous photo shoot. It is the most effortlessly impressive thing you can bake and nobody needs to know it came together in one bowl in about fifteen minutes and that the pan really did most of the work.
This easy vegan chocolate bundt cake is deeply chocolatey, moist, and gloriously glossy. The secret is the yogurt. It does the same job that sour cream does in a classic chocolate pound cake: keeping the crumb dense, moist, and almost fudgy without being heavy. One reader said it reminded them of exactly that, a sour cream chocolate cake their grandmother used to make. That is the highest compliment a cake can receive and this one earns it. I want to be your vegan grandma!
This is a chocolate lovers dream: a full cup of cocoa powder in the batter, plus a cup of chocolate chips folded in. The boiling water added at the end blooms the cocoa and gives it that dark, deep color and flavor. The crumb is tight and beautiful, the kind you just have to photograph before you eat it.
Then you flip it out. That moment — when you set the plate on top of the pan, hold your breath, and invert — is one of the great small joys of baking. The cake releases, it lands, it is perfect. Dust it with powdered sugar and let it snow. Pile fresh strawberries in the center hole, or any fruit that’s in season. Or nothing. It needs nothing. That’s the lesson here.
That said, if you do want to douse it in ganache, use the ganache recipe from these cupcakes.
Now get out there and bundt it up!
EASY VEGAN CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE FAQ
What kind of yogurt should I use? Any plain or vanilla vegan yogurt works here. Coconut, soy, almond — all good. So Delicious and Cocojune coconut yogurt are both reliable choices. Tofutti sour cream also works great if that’s what you have.
What about the boiling water? Make sure to measure it after boiling, not before, since some evaporates. It’s a small thing but it matters.
Can I make this without a bundt pan? Absofrigginlutely. Two 9-inch round cake pans work well — reduce the baking time to about 30 to 35 minutes. A 9 by 13-inch pan also works at about 40 to 45 minutes. You’ll lose the dramatic flip but the cake will still be delicious.
Can I make this easy vegan chocolate bundt cake gluten free? Yup. Several readers have had good results with a 1 to 1 gluten free flour blend. The texture will be slightly different but still very good.
Can I use a different oil? Fer sure. I like olive oil a lot. Melted coconut oil works great, too. Safflower oil never hurt anyone, either.
Can I make cupcakes with this chocolate cake batter? You can but the batter is thick and rich — it works better as a bundt or layer cake. If you go for it, fill the liners about 2/3 full and bake for about 20 to 22 minutes. I’d say the texture is a little more muffiny when it’s in cupcake form.
Does it need frosting? Nope. Powdered sugar and fresh fruit is all it needs. But if you want to go there, the ganache recipe is totally worth it. Pour it on and watch the magic drips happen.
How did I end up here? Searched “vegan chocolate bundt cake” maybe? Or “vegan chocolate cake easy,” “dairy free chocolate cake,” “egg free chocolate cake.” Could have been “moist vegan chocolate cake” — that one gets people every time. You’re in exactly the right place.
Chocolate Yogurt Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups plain or vanilla vegan yogurt (see note)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup boiling water
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
To decorate:
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Fresh strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 12-cup Bundt pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, milk and canola oil until smooth, about a minute. Mix in the vanilla.
- Sift in about half of the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix until almost smooth, then add the remaining flour and hot water. Mix again until smooth. It’ll be relatively thick.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared Bundt pan and bake for 55 minutes to an hour. A knife inserted through the center should come out clean, but because of the chocolate chips it might be hard to tell. Just make sure there’s not a bunch of batter on it.
- Let cool for 20 minutes or so, then invert on to a cooling rack to cool completely. Because the cake is so moist it may take a little tapping to get the cake to release.
- Once completely cool, dust with powdered sugar and serve with strawberries!
Came out PERFECTLY baked in a large rectangular Pyrex dish. Amazing!
I made this today and the flavor was delicious, but the consistency was more brownie-like than cake. I followed the recipe and made no substitutions (used plain soy yogurt vs. coconut yogurt), but the batter did not rise. Any suggestions? I was thinking of trying part baking soda and baking powder next time to see if i get more rise.
That looks amazing. It would be perfect for my spouse’s upcoming birthday. I would need some help getting a gluten free version though since she can’t seem to handle flour right now.
Yummy chocolately goodness! Thank you, Isa!!
Made this today for a friend’s birthday (she wanted something chocolate with fruit!), and it was great. She only does whole wheat flour so I made it with whole wheat pastry flour. I’m going to try it again with all-purpose to see if it makes any difference. The chocolate chips in it are so yummy! I may eat another piece tonight with some vanilla soy ice cream. Woohoo! Because even though it is her birthday, I didn’t offer her the rest of the cake. Some friend, huh?
I would have to buy a bundt tin. How much is a 12 cup tin?
I made this last week, and now I’m about to make it again! I couldn’t find my bundt pan, so I used my mini loaf pan. I looked up the mini loaf recipe on this site and used the baking time from that recipe…. Absolutely amazing! The batter is seriously just as good as the cake! 😀 Thanks again, Isa!
Amazing. Thank you for this recipe. I have been trying to find one with yoghurt that actually works for ages.
Your baking definitely inspires me…even if it makes me eat more desserts than I should.
Thank you.
I have made many of your desserts and they are wonderful! I recently learned I have an intolerance to wheat. Who knew? I typically view myself as quite a tolerant person, but if there is one thing I will not tolerate, it’s wheat. Having said that, can you recommend wheat free flours I can use in your receipts?
Boyfriend made this for a dinner party last night and I should have sent more home with the guests. I can’t stop eating it! It’s SO delicious! My new favorite dessert! Thank you!
I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! I made it today for my birthday, and it was SO DELICIOUS! And very quick and easy. Everybody loved it. This will be a staple in our house!
Happy birthday!
In which Universe is this healthy for your kids Karen? The sugar content alone is appalling!!
You must be fun at parties.
Making this in a few minutes. From my experience w/ Isa, I have no doubt it’ll turn out PERFECT for my dinner party tonight! Yep. I’m THAT confident. A little note to MB- fun at parties…this does contain sugar. Absolutely. That’s why you’re supposed to eat it in moderation. And if you take a look at what’s in the b-day cakes that most people get from the grocery store (which I have never/will never do!), I use unbleached flour, and decrease the sugar by almost 1/3 in most of these recipes and they turn out fine. Considering they have no fillers, perservatives, artificial anything, cholesterol…I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a much healthier alternative. Happy bunny day!
Jus made this & reduced sugar to 1c. Also did 1/2c almond milk & 1/2 c strong coffee. Cake still light, creamy & delish. Another winner Isa! Thanks!
Isa, I have got to make this. My only problem is I don’t have a bundt pan. I am doing my Amazon researching and I see that most of them are made out of aluminum. I am not sure what cast aluminum means. It also says that acidic ingredients can cause leaching. I was wondering what pan you used for this recipe and what you think about aluminum. I am so confused. I think it is funny people are afraid of sugar. It’s a dessert, right?
Made this a couple of days ago. It is amazing! I’m going to make another to take into work. I didn’t have any chocolate chips, so just bashed up some dark chocolate into little pieces. I also made the ganache to drizzle over it, and if that isn’t the most simple, delicious chocolate sauce, I’m the Queen of Sheba. Thanks Isa!
I’m going to sub the oil with unsweetened apple sauce and use stevia instead of the sugar, yum 🙂
New friends are coming over tonight for dinner, and this cake is currently baking in my oven, making my house smell delicious. I’m so thankful for your recipes.
I’ve made this several times now and LOVE it!! The whole family does! Just wanted to tell you that my husband, without my knowledge, took a several-days-old slice to a professional baker. He loved it and wanted the recipe. My husband sent him your link. He made it……in all honesty, mine was better, and this is not just my opinion. He said he couldn’t get ahold of coconut milk yogurt and used soy milk instead. He did make the glaze which was good (I never have because the cake is so damn good on its own!). Just thought I’d share 🙂
Thanks!
Made this cake this evening. Huge hit in our house. Super moist, healthy and delicious!! Thank you!
I’m going to try and make this in mini loaf pans. I don
‘t know whether or not I need cake or a burger…
This made four perfect huge mini loaves. We have 1 1/2 left…we’re visiting my mom tomorrow and she requested some too. Woooooop. Perfect train snack.
This was AMAZING!! I used coconut oil instead of canola (I was out), plain coconut yogurt, and unsweetened almond milk. My dairy loving family oohed and aahed over this! I’m going to try it without the chocolate chips as cupcakes for my babe’s first birthday this weekend. Thanks Isa for another fantastic recipe!! 🙂
Made this for a birthday party…holy delicious! Delighted even my non-vegan friends. Thanks Isa!
I used Amande almond yogurt, cut sugar in half, unsweetened applesauce instead of oil and added frozen cherries. It´s in the oven we´ll see how it turns out.
I made this for a mom’s group I had and everyone raved about it (not to mention a couple of them asked for the recipe) – success!! So moist and delicious, I want some right now! Thanks for sharing your genius with us! 🙂
How long should I bake this if I want to make it in mini muffin form? Would it be a shorter/longer time because of the high yogurt content?
Nice. Was just wanting something like this!!
Thanx!! Looks awesome!!
Hi there iwas wondering why this won’t pin and also why do so many people use canola oil when it is sooooooooo bad for you and your body,i thank you for sharing your recipes they look great i am working so hard to lose weight so i only want healthy recipes and yes it is so nice to have a healthy sweet treat that is healthy thanks again Barb New Zealand xxxx
I didn’t have a bundt pan or chocolate chips, but I’m too pregnant for that to be an issue. I used one loaf tin and three mini loaf tins. I then found some fancy shmancy hazelnut chocolate organic vegan spread thing and dolloped it in.
YES. I love pregnant brain recipe modifications.
[…] since it is still blogger week I turned to the PPK and found a recipe I haven’t made yet for Chocolate Yogurt Bundt Cake. I had some vanilla coconut milk yogurt in the fridge so this was pretty easy. I don’t always […]
Isa, I made this last night and I couldn’t have been more pleased. I don’t eat or make enough sweets to warrant purchasing and storing a bundt pan, so I split the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and then stacked the cakes. I drizzled the ganache in between the cake rounds and on the top round, then loaded my plate with fresh strawberries. I am now on my third piece of the day. Everyone at work loved this and facebook is practically moaning all over my pictures. So…
Thaaaaank yoouuuuu! <3
Yay!
YUM!! I used vanilla coconut yogurt, and then I made a vanilla bean cashew frosting… so good. My roommates and I devoured it all too quickly. <3
How come you don’t have your own cooking show on television yet? I’ve seen your videos and i absolutely love them. I’m sure you would have a huge following.
So this cake would have fed 16 but it didn’t because it fed two normal people and two heavily pregnant woman. I finally bought a bundt pan from Nordic which was worth every cent!
I know I’ve already commented but I’m in such chocolate bliss that I feel I need to comment again. I can also vouch for the unborn, ya know just in case you were curious if those in utero enjoyed it!
Hello,
I love your cake and I already made it twice. I added walnuts instead of chocolate chips and it worked well! I was wondering if you could tell me what is the role of the boiling water. Does it help having a moist cake? Thanks for your reply.
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! Since it was an Isa recipe, I had no qualms about making it for the first time for a Thanksgiving dinner full of non-vegan friends and strangers. And as expected, it was awesome. Yum!
I made this cake last night and to my surprise it turned out o.k, I live in England and we measure every thing with digital kitchen scales, I found several conversion web sites but they all give out different variations, so it took me ages to convert your recipe over to grams, but I did it and my son has just popped in to see me and took half the cake with him.
[…] the cake photographed here is Isa Chandra’s Chocolate Yogurt Bundt Cake and is, without exaggeration, my favorite chocolate cake recipe. Here is another photo I took of it […]
Fabulous recipe Isa!
Can the canola oil be sub for another oil or applesauce is so how much applesauce?
For all of those who are wondering: YES!!! Yes you can sub the oil for APPLESAUCE. I know this, because I did this last weekend and the cake came out perfectly and deliciously chocolate-alicious! My parents and other non-vegans ate slice after slice, at least 3 slices in a row each! Everyone loved it, no one knew there was applesauce! With all of this said, I have not tried it with the oil yet, so I’m not sure how it compares. But I can tell you, that following the recipe EXACTLY except for subbing applesauce for the oil, and throwing in some extra chocolate chips (but hey, who doesn’t???), this cake comes out fabulously and is DELICIOUS.
[…] cake photographed here is Isa Chandra’s Chocolate Yogurt Bundt Cake and it is, without exaggeration, my favorite chocolate cake recipe. Here is another photo I took […]
I make this with applesauce instead of oil and cover in chocolate ganache (from the vanilla cupcake recipe) – it is AWESOME every time!!!!!
Oh My Goodness! Isa, you are the Queen! My cake turned out beautiful! Up until today, I’d shied away from vegan baking, because of previous disasters. But, I decided to take one more chance because the photo of your cake looked so appetizing. My family absolutely loved it and devoured every morsel!
[…] a yogurt recipe on a baking blog…well a lot of cake recipes often call for yogurt, like this Vegan Chocolate Bundt Cake or Allergen-Free Lemonade Cake (I highly recommend both of these cookbook authors by the […]
Great blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download
it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a
few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump out.
Please let me know where you got your theme.
Bless you
Bilete Avion pentru retinere de Bilete De Avion Craiova actualizate,
sunteti precis ca atunci nu puteti a inlocui planul de altminteri va cuveni sa plateasca aduna in picler pentru orice fel de modificari.
[…] ja. hab ich bei der post punk kitchen entdeckt und nach unserem fondue-abend und einem abstecher ins fluc um 1 uhr morgens nachgebaut. […]
[…] favorite cake, and a beautiful wedding cake at a friend’s wedding! She got it from Whole Foods! Can you […]
[…] making these next Christmas. I haven’t tried the icing yet, but I bet it is good too. Chocolate Yogurt Bundt Cake from the Post Punk Kitchen. We’ve made this cake probably four times! It is what I had […]