
Eggless chocolate sponge cake recipe: learn how to make moist and soft eggless chocolate cake using this easy chocolate cake recipe with no butter.
Sometimes readers leave me notes and tips on recipes they’ve tried from this site. Sometimes they leave recipes. An anonymous reader left a recipe on the Eggless Chocolate Yogurt Cake post (which they liked better than my recipe) and I recognized I had seen it somewhere. I couldn’t find an exact match but the moist chocolate cake from Raks Kitchen seemed close to this recipe.
I decided to give it a shot when I had TH’s cousins and aunts visiting for lunch. They don’t eat egg and prefer to not eat it in the “hidden” form as cakes and cookies either.
There are a few ways you can bake a cake eggless and still make it taste great. Using banana is one way (check out the Chocolate Banana Pound Cake recipe) or yogurt (like in the Basic Vanilla Sponge Cake or the Chocolate Yogurt Cake). Flax seed meal is another option but one option I hadn’t tried yet was vinegar. Also check out these doughnut shaped cakes for a different spin to your classic chocolate sponge cakes.
I was doubtful for a long time what type of vinegar we can use for baking cakes. Asked a few fellow bloggers and finally figured out that white vinegar or apple cider vinegar works best. I usually have a bottle of white vinegar in the kitchen for making certain Indo-Chinese Recipes and pickles, so used the same for this cake too.
I baked it into a loaf cake but you can bake it in a cake/brownie pan or even into cupcakes. While we are on the topic, let me tell you how AMAZING this Chicago Metallic Loaf Pan is. Must buy if you bake bread and like loaf-shaped cakes.
- 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- 3 tbsp of cocoa powder
- ¼ cup of neutral oil (I used vegetable oil)
- 1 cup of cold milk (use water or any nut milk for a vegan chocolate cake)
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp of white vinegar / apple cider vinegar / lemon juice
- A pinch of salt
- Pre-heat oven to 180C / 350F.
- Mix the sugar with the milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar. Take care to use cold milk otherwise the vinegar will curdle it. If you are unsure how it will go, just use water.
- Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Sift this dry mixture into the wet ingredients in three batches, folding it in after each addition. Don't over mix at this stage, just gently fold in until you don't see any trace of the batter. A few small lumps in the batter are fine.
- Lightly grease with oil or butter whatever pan you are using. Pour the batter in and bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 mins. Depending on the pan used, the baking time will vary. Mine took just over 40 mins.
- Let the cake cool and transfer to a cooling rack or cutting board.
- Store the cooled and cut cake in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Step by Step Eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe
0. Pre-heat oven to 180C / 350F.
1. Mix the sugar with the milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar. Take care to use cold milk otherwise the vinegar will curdle it. If you are unsure how it will go, just use water. I am assured that gives good results too.

2. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Sift this dry mixture into the wet ingredients in three batches, folding it in after each addition. Don’t overmix at this stage, just gently fold in until you don’t see any trace of the batter. A few small lumps in the batter are fine.

3. Lightly grease with oil or butter whatever pan you are using. Pour the batter in and bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 mins. Depending on the pan used, the baking time will vary. Mine took just over 40 mins.

Let the cake cool and transfer to a cooling rack or cutting board. Store the cooled cake in an airtight container for up to 2 days outside or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

This Eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe goes really well with cookies and cream ice-cream. Trust me, I’ve tried it 😉
Notes
– you can add some chocolate chips to the top of the cake if you like, or as soon as it’s out of the oven, add some chocolate chips over the cake and spread it across the top as it melts
– as mentioned in recipe, omit milk and use water for a vegan version
– the cake will have slightly rubbery / hard texture especially around the sides when it’s warm. Let it cool and sit for a while and it turns out perfect. For that reason, this cake is best made the day before you plan to serve it
UPDATE: I was asked by a lot of you about the deep colour of my chocolate doughnut cakes and the reason is the Valrhona cocoa powder I used. It’s amazing, gives a lovely purple hue and great depth in recipes it’s used in. You can use any cocoa powder you have in mind, but if you are wondering which cocoa powder to buy, highly recommend Valrhona cocoa powder. (Not paid advertising but post contains affiliate links)
Could u help me with how can I bake this cake in a cooker
please search for my post on “how to make cake in a pressure cooker”
This is the best eggless cake I have made.Cant thank you enough.I am happy that I didn’t give up on an eggless cake.
glad you liked the eggless cake!
Hi there what can I substitue sugar(no artificial sugar also ) with ?
this recipe needs sugar.
In the chocolate sponge cake u have mentioned sugar. So which type of sugar is used. Are the measurement cups for flour and spoon for baking soda available in the market
white sugar unless specific otherwise. yes correct, cups and spoons. use measuring cups available in kitchen and baking stores
Can I double the ingredients quantity for larger cake
yes sure
Hiw do i convert this cake to vanilla cake.if I replace cocoa with all purpose flour the cake becomes sticky
Hello,Can we bake in pressure cooker with same timings..
yes but timing will be higher
Hi,
If I am making muffins out of this batter, for how much time should I bake it?
Thank you.
reduce baking time by 10-12 minutes and check in between to see if done.
Hi Nags, I am planning to try this on my daughter’s B’day. I would like to know what kind of cocoa that I should buy (either an unsweetened or semi sweet…) .Also, please do let me know if I can frost the cake with a simple chocolate frosting???
Thanks in advance. Just to mention here that I always visit your blog, if at all I try something new.
hi, you should use unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe. yes you can definitely frost it!
Hello!If i make this cake as a birthday cake with fondant and decoration and ganache or nutella filling, does it need to be refrigerated?In general, is it a cake that can stay outside the frifge and not melt?Thank you
the cake itself won’t melt obviously so if your question is about the decorations, then it really depends on what you are using. in general, yes it’s better to refrigerate.
When u say 1 cup means how many grams and ml you are saying pkease tell 1cup if maida butter and sugar means how many tablespoon in your recipies.
please try a google search for conversions, that’s easier and quicker
How can I use coffee powder instead of coco powder?
you can’t, this is a chocolate cake…
Can u tell me the ammount of cake in terms of grams ?? Is it 1/2 kg or 1 kg??
i would say about 400-500gm. haven’t weighed it, sorry
Okay thanku so its around 1/2 kg.
This chocolate is really really good. I also added coffee powder.
thank you swathi
Hello & thank you for your wonderful recipes! I made this cake for my hubby’s birthday and it was soooo delicious.I would like to try making chocolate and orange cake, do you think it would work to substitute fresh orange juice for the milk/water? Or will that make the batter too acidic and change the reaction with the baking soda? Thanks again!
hi there! you can reduce the amount of milk and add 1/2 cup fresh orange juice. Also add some grated orange rind to the batter for a deeper orange flavour
I followed you advice and the cake turned out delicious! I used soya milk instead of cow’s milk and also made a chocolate orange icing to drizzle over the top after the cake had cooled. I will definitely make this again-thank you!
Thank you so much Amity! 🙂
Mam, is adding Baking powder not necessary in this receipe.
not needed
my cake turned out alright but its too dark and hard on the upper portion and not properly cooked in the bottom, what should i do?
Looks like your oven temperature is not even. I recommend placing the cake pan in the middle of the oven and also loosely covering with some aluminium foil while baking so that the top doesn’t get burnt
Hi I try this respis bt cake making very dense …what should I do make fulffy
If you followed the recipe exactly, it should not be dense
U look beautiful, I try first time cake
Pl also let me know d prep of similar simple Eggless cake in pressure cooker
Here is eggless pressure cooker cake recipe
I hv tried ur simple Eggless choch cake ,2-3 times n it turned out to b really yummy n fluffy …and felt like cashews n raisins …n prep it using d same old recipe used by me earlier 2-3 times….but at last d cake turned to b hard n not much moist n not soft.. Felt a lot
The above eggless cake without butter nor condensed milk turns out to b yummy …pl do let me know how to prepare a fruit Eggless cake in d similar manner ….
thank you veena. try this eggless fruit cake recipe.
I made this for my friends who visited last week 🙂 Turned out a hit !!
Hi there! 🙂
I made this cake yesterday and it came out really great! But coz I had ran out of cocoa powder, I substituted it with melted dark chocolate bars! Nevertheless, the recipe is awesome! Thank you so much! This one's gonna go in my book! 🙂
Can I use wheat flour or maida instead of all purpose flour?
yes you can – use maida for best results
Can we use store bought lemon juice? or should it be fresh lemon juice?
i would recommend fresh lemon juice although store-bought should work too
Thank u so much…it came out really nice…i had taken lemon instead of vinegar and replaced vegetable oil with ghee..it tested awesome…
Cake is done…tho i made a few changes….i removed 3 tablespoons of flour from the cup and added powdered Flax seed.. then added lowfat buttermilk instead of milk and substituted 1/3 of the ssugar with Stevia sugar substitute…very tasty…but cud havhe used some more sugar…
Thanx for the recipe….My husband has mild bloodsugar and i have cholestrol(pretty high!!!!)so this is an ideal cake for us…
thank you so much for keeping me posted salma. hope both your health gets better soon 🙂 thanks for the kind words. keep visiting!
Saw ur blog today. I am going to make this cake now..But more than the recipes i enjoyed reading ur way of writing..very casual and fun…I enjoy cooking and esp baking….will post after i make the cake….All the best to u…Salma Haridas
Hello nagalakshmi
I would like to know more about the oven for baking cakes
Please can u give me some ideas and brands for which I can bake cakes not the in build one
I really like to make cakes
Please help I live in Singapore
hi Nags…
I really wish to try this but i dun hav an oven… can u please assist me how to make this cake with a pressure cooker or an electronic cooker..
i haven't tried making cake in pressure cooker or electronic cooker. please try a google search and you will find lots of articles on that topic 🙂
hai…
i'm coming back 2 U…
when you say one cup of flour…you mean 120grams rt? some say 100gm… some say 150 gms…
is there any authentic site that would give a onversion table( for both wet and dry ingredients ) 4r baking in general…???
hope i'm not toubling u . I am new to baking…
so please pardon my ignorance.would like to educate myself from established people like U b4r i venture into baking…
regards… valli.
i am sorry valli, i only measure by cups and have never tried weighing how much my cup measures. it does differ from brand to brand of measuring cups but if you have a measuring cup, just go by that. you can adjust measurements a bit as you like itl
Hi…
i bought myself a set of measuring cups & spoons and also tried a couple of recipes. they came out well.
thanx,
valli.
Wow thanks a lot for this recipe.made three cakes in two days.kids helped out and we all enjoyed.wat size is the loaf tin ?
the loaf pan i used is 8.5 x 4.5. here's the link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YKGRKU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003YKGRKU&linkCode=as2&tag=edibgard-20
This looks so delicious, I showed this to my mom to prepare this Sunday
Very very similar to the Chocolate Cake recipe from 'The Joy of Vegan Baking'- The recipe has never failed me yet! 🙂
Pics look awesome, your site is abs lovely!
Cheers!
Colour and texture of the cake looks perfect! Thank you for the link love Nags 🙂
Cake looks so moist and I think I saw your napkins at Ikea- beautiful!
Drool worthy pics,,,nd the cake looks delicious,,l
Cake slices look perfect! light and rich in colour..just the way it should be!!!
I have tried the recipe long back…may be 4 years… it was from show me the curry vdo… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyhvDXyOefY
I have made this cake many times and it never failed . My daughter's friends are a big fan of this cake. Nice idea of baking in loaf pan and beautifully clicked nags
This is the recipe for Wacky Cake.. It turns out perfect! I had quite forgotten about this, will have to bake it again, especially since it is Shravan and we don't eat eggs. 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_cake
looks great, great recipe Nags
Love the deep hue of the cake Nags. I have tried just with condensed milk the other day and was quite pleased with the results. It reminded me of one of our first FSB projects where each one of us has chosen an egg substitute. Vinegar, a little apprehensive but will give it a shot next time around. 🙂
Siri
Easy recipe! Love it! I've used flax seeds a lot, and I substitute it for any cake recipe or cookie recipe calling for eggs. I'm about to bake the banana bread today as I have two ripe bananas lying in the fruit bowl. So, this cake will have to wait until tomorrow. I've tried yogurt/ buttermilk/ milk+vinegar and condensed milk also as egg substitutes, and definitely prefer buttermilk or milk+vinegar cakes for the rise. With flax seeds, I feel it rises well if the powder is mixed with water (1 egg = 1 tbsp flax seed powder + 3tbsp water) and MWed for a few seconds and beating with butter.
I have never baked anything without eggs, i am sure going to try this.
wow amazing bake,love the tin too…craving for a slice now:)
super dooper moist cake…
http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com
One of the first cakes I've tried baking was this.I got the recipe from Aayisrecipes.I remember,I had baked it in the microwave,it turned out delicious and for a while I used to bake it quite often.Somehow,I felt I could detect the taste of vinegar in it(though no one else could!)and then stopped making it altogether!Love how moist and chocolatey the slices look!
Looks really good! I like a nice moist chocolate cake and your one looks fabulous!
The cake looks beautiful and moist. I have tried using vinegar when baking basic yellow cake and the result was not bad at all. This one is a must try for my DH who is a big chocolate fan 🙂
The cake looks so moist and delicious. I have used vinegar for baking the basic yellow cake. Got to try this one for my DH, who is big chocolate fan.:)
Cake looks so moist and soft.. I have done this with water instead of milk it did came out so wonderful!
Great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com
I've tried baking with vinegar and it really turns out well…Like the colour of this one !
i have a similar one at my space which I adapted from priya.. in case you are interested heres the link-http://www.creativesaga.com/2011/06/eggless-chocolate-cake-using-vinegar.html
i know this cake tastes as wonderful as it looks..