Small Chocolate Cake for Two! (Vegan and Gluten Free)

This small vegan chocolate cake for two is perfect for small celebrations! Rich, super moist, and topped with an easy vegan chocolate buttercream frosting, you only need one bowl to make this cake. Naturally dairy free, egg free, and super easy to make gluten free!

Free from: Dairy, Eggs, Gluten (optional), Nuts, and more

I used to tell people who wanted to make a small cake to just halve my vegan chocolate cake recipe. However, that didn’t always work as I had extra batter left over and it tended to sink in the middle.

This recipe was made specifically to be a small cake so you have just enough to make one, single layer 6-inch round cake.

Ingredients

For the full list of ingredients, complete with quantities, please see the recipe card below.

• Cocoa Powder: While you can use any type of cocoa powder for this recipe, I strongly recommend that you stick with a natural and unprocessed cocoa powder. This will react with the baking soda and yogurt to help the cake get a great height. Plus, it keeps it from being overly sweet.
• Flour: You can use either all purpose flour or a good gluten free flour. See my notes below on how to transform this into a gluten free cake.
• Yogurt + ACV: The use of both yogurt and apple cider vinegar helps to act as the egg replacement. This gives the cake moisture, a good rise, and helps hold things together.

For more about the best types of egg replacements to use, make sure you check out my egg free baking guide with 15 different egg replacers!

How to Make Gluten Free

This cake is super easy to make gluten free!

In place of the all purpose flour, use your favorite brand of a gluten free flour blend. I always bake with King Arthur Measure for Measure and get great results each time. As gluten free flour absorbs more moisture, I recommend that you use only a half cup of flour and omit the additional tablespoon as instructed for the wheat flour version.

The gluten free version might also take an additional few minutes in the oven so don’t be surprised if you need to increase the time. It won’t burn, pinky promise!

Variations

• Make it Mocha: Add 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder or instant coffee to the wet ingredients when making this cake.
• Make it Minty: Add a few drops of peppermint to the wet ingredients when making this cake for a chocolate peppermint cake. Top with a green vanilla mint buttercream frosting.
• Add Some Jam: Add a tablespoon of your favorite jam (strawberry or raspberry work amazing in this cake) to the wet ingredients while making this cake. Top with a strawberry buttercream or raspberry buttercream frosting.

Instructions

Here is a quick look at how you can put this cake together!

1. Prep your pan! Generously grease the 6-inch pan and line it with parchment paper for easy removal. No need to flour.
2. Mix the wet ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Add the dry ingredients. I like to switch to a spatula at this point so I can scrape all the sides of the bowl.

1. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
2. Bake for 35 minutes. Don’t be afraid of the long bake time! This cake is super thick and needs a low and slow baking time.
3. Let it cool before frosting.

Top Cake Tips

• No matter what, don’t open the oven for at least the first 25 minutes of baking! This will ensure that your cake gets a good rise and won’t sink in the middle.
• The cake will be done when it has pulled away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake pulls out clean.

Can I make this into small batch of cupcakes?

Yes, you totally can! This will make 6 regular sized cupcakes. Bake at the same 350F/180C but the bake time will only be about 22 minutes.

Help! My Cake Sunk in the Middle

For this cake, if it is a little teeny-tiny bit sunk in the middle, don’t worry about it. This cake is small and thick, so it’s natural for it to sink.

To help prevent this, make sure you pre-heat your oven for a good 20 minutes before baking the cake. A lot of times, ovens will SAY they are warmed up, but they can be anywhere from 25 to 50 degrees off!

If your cake batter is super runny, you can also add an extra spoonful of flour to help prevent the cake from having the dip. For gluten free cakes, since the different brands of gluten free flour have different absorbancy rates, it’s difficult for me to tell you exactly how many extra spoonfuls. Between 1 and 2 should do the trick most of the time.

How to Store

Countertop: If enjoying an unfrosted cake, this cake will remain fresh on the countertop in an airtight container for up to 1 day.

Fridge: Especially if using a buttercream frosting, you’ll want to keep any leftovers stored in an airtight container in the fridge. This cake should keep for about 4-5 days this way.

Freezer: While this tiny cake was made to be enjoyed without a lot of waste, I know that sometimes you want to store it for longer. Wrap up the baked and cooled cake in a freezer safe container and store for up to 2 months. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before topping with fresh frosting and enjoy!

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