This deliciously moist chocolate cake mixes up in just 5 minutes and will have you kissing store bought cake mixes goodbye! It’s egg free too.
There are affiliate links in this post – please read my full disclosure policy.
You all, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m grateful for the Avian Bird Flu epidemic. Remember back about a year ago when egg prices were sky high because of the egg shortage that the Avian Bird Flu caused?
Well, it was thanks to it that I discovered this Best Ever Chocolate Cake recipe.
Over that time I was trying to avoid using eggs more than absolutely necessary in an attempt to help out our minimal grocery budget.
I mean, when eggs cost $2 or more a dozen you start thinking twice before you use them! At least you do if you are like me and are used to paying less than $1 a dozen for your eggs.
Anyway, one day I was in the mood for a baked dessert. But of course, baked desserts typically take eggs. And as silly as it might sound, I was kind of agonizing over the thought of using 3 to 4 of my precious eggs to make a simple dessert for us.
So, I started flipping through my cookbooks looking for inspiration and perusing all the baked dessert recipes to see if I could find one that sounded good but that also didn’t take more than an egg or two.
I was looking through a small family cookbook that I have when I happened across this amazing chocolate cake recipe. I couldn’t believe it- it took absolutely no eggs!
And it claimed to be the best chocolate cake ever too! I was intrigued. And of course, I had to give it a try!
And you all, I was totally sold on the first bite! It was absolutely perfect. Deliciously moist, nice and chocolaty, not too dense. Just everything that a chocolate cake should be. And it’s been the only chocolate cake recipe that I’ve used ever since.
I also love how super easy this Best Ever Chocolate Cake is to make. It’s seriously pretty much as easy as a boxed cake mix…you just dump everything in one bowl, mix it up by hand or with your mixer and bam, you are done!
But unlike a boxed cake mix, it’s made with real ingredients that you can pronounce and know what they truly are.
So whip up a recipe of this chocolate cake, top it with Quick Caramel Icing or 5 Minute Perfectly Chocolate Frosting and you’ll have a simple dessert that is sure to be a hit!
BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE- no eggs, no butter!
Best Ever Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 3 c. flour
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 6 Tbsp. cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 c. water
- 2/3 c. canola or vegetable oil
- 2 tsp. white vinegar
- 2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients and pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 min.
Notes
OTHER EASY RECIPES:
Irene Kot says
Well, I must confess that it all looks delicious and I am sure it tastes like that.I always try to find out interesting recipes for my children as they like eating tasty meals. Your blog is full of cool ideas and I will use them. Okay?:)
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Thanks, Irene! I’m sure your kids will love this easy cake. 🙂
LaTrice says
I LOVE chocolate cake!!!! 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Then you’ll have to give this one a try and let me know what you think! 🙂
Ashley @ Perfectly Imperfect Club says
This looks so yummy, and so much more frugal than my normal chocolate cake recipe. My go-to has almost a pound of butter, and several eggs as well. We go to a potluck every week after church, so a cheaper dessert recipe is exactly what I need! I’m going to make it tomorrow.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Yes, it’s super frugal! And I have nothing against butter :), but I admit, this cake is way better than my previous recipe that called for butter. Hope the cake turned out well for you!
Paula says
Love this recipe and I can’t wait to try it. Which icing did you use?
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Paula, I usually make this and top it with my Quick Caramel Icing. But the cake in the pictures has a homemade Chocolate Buttercream icing. I would love to get the recipe posted to the blog some day….just not enough hours to get everything posted that I would like too! 🙂 If you want the recipe though, I’d be happy to email it to you.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Just wanted to let you know that I just posted the recipe for the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting that I used on this cake in the photos. 🙂
Jana says
Best chocolate cake ever ! I found exactly same recipe somewhere on internet some years ago – except yours is doubled of all ingredients. This is the only cake I bake and freeze to have a piece with my coffee from time to time. People, try this, I fully recommend it.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Thanks for sharing your recommendation, Jana! 🙂
Beverly Grage says
I did a search for a chocolate cake that used no eggs…. and your recipe popped up. At the same time I was looking for a way to use up leftover coffee. I had milk in my coffee that had turned a little sour, so…. I followed your recipe, using two cups of creamed (with milk) cold coffee instead of plain water. Talk about wonderful !! This cake is moist, very flavorful and ~easy~…and much better than a boxed cake mix !! Thank you for posting your recipe !!
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Beverly, I absolutely love the way you got creative and used up your leftover coffee in this cake! I’ve subbed water for coffee in chocolate cakes before and it always adds a nice depth of flavor. And I’m sure that little bit of cream only made it better! 🙂 So glad you loved it. Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Sharon says
Lydia, I have luckily discovered your website today. As I was reading, I realized something seemed familiar….now that I read about you I know what it is! I was born and partially raised in Lancaster, PA. This cake is in the oven as we speak, and I realize that it is my grandmother’s exact recipe! That makes it extra special, because there are not many of my family members left, and finding your recipes has turned out to be very comforting for me. Thank you.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
That is so neat, Sharon! And it’s kind of funny, because I originally found the recipe in a little cookbook that a family from the Lancaster area put together a number of years ago. I’m so glad that you found it and love that it helped you relive some good memories. Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
Rebecca says
I made the cake this weekend with the icing recipe on this page and we loved it! My daughter’s BF has a major dairy /whey allergy and he can eat this cake and she is subbing almond milk for the icing and almond flour for the cake. He never gets to eat any type of dessert due to his allergies. She is pretty excited about treating him. My cake was made per the recipe and it was great! Had a little left over icing so I’m gonna have to figure out how to cut that part some but overall it is a great recipe and we truly enjoyed it! Best part is I always have all the ingredients in the pantry so it definitely a win win!
Katie says
Lydia,
Best chocolate Cake!!
Lydia, Thank you for Your God given gift of Good knowledge, being thrifty, being sweet, & being soo kind to others.
Much happiness, Katie
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Aw, thanks for your very kind words, Katie! And so glad you enjoyed the cake. It’s one of those recipes that is so shockingly simple that it seems like it couldn’t be that great. But it’s always a hit no matter who I serve it to!
Jane says
Hello Lydia! My new kitchen reno has been 5 weeks and soon sink and countertop will be installed. My 9 yr old grddaughter is eager to bake and because of ingredients, we will start with your choc cake. It has been hard not to cook favorite recipes this summer, but as soon as we can, I will search out your meals, too. Now is time to find new favorites! Bless you, it is fun to meet all your fans!
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Jane, I’m so sorry for the slow reply. We just did a big move and as a result, I got rather behind on things for a bit. I’m sure by now you are enjoying your new kitchen and able to get back to enjoying favorite recipes again. Yay! And I love that you are helping your granddaughter learn to bake. What a gift you are giving her! I hope the cake turned out well for you all!
kimy says
OMG this recipe is amazing! I just made it and its so moist and yummy. I was skeptical with a recipe with no eggs or butter but this one really works. Well done 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom says
I know, that lack of eggs and butter seems like it just couldn’t have you end up with an amazing cake, right? So glad you loved it!
Katie says
I needed to find a chocolate cake without eggs because we are running out, and then I found this. This looks delicious! I think I will make it this Sunday to serve with vanilla ice cream and fudge sauce. Do you use an electric mixer to mix this up? And presumably I would just mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately, then mix them together?
Lydia Beiler says
This is the perfect recipe for those times when you are running low on eggs- and in my opinion, even when you have loads of eggs because it’s just that good! 🙂 Yes, I do use an electric mixer to mix it up. It’s quite runny though and can splash a bit, so if you are using a hand blender it can make a bit of a mess. I’m sure you could use a whisk to mix it as well, it just would take a bit more effort. No need to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately. Just dump everything into the mixing bowl and then mix. So super easy!
Gina says
I was looking for a homemade cake mix that I could turn into a non-acholic Margarita cake. I tried the recipe online but due to allergies it was not a good fit. This worked out perfectly. This is what I change to accommodate what we have now due to staying at home. I left out the cocoa powder and added this instead.
3 packets of True Lime
1/4 Cup of Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice
1/4 Cup of Nellie and Joe’s Lemon Juice
Then I added 1 1/2 cups of water to keep it at 2 cups total.
Everything else stayed the sane you could add green food coloring if you wanted due to allergies I use the green from the lime juice. It smells amazing at I took a quick taste and its wonderful. Will use a basic buttercream or can add lime and lemon juice mix instead of a little milk. Thank you this is the best, I did still add the vinegar but it may not have been necessary.
Lydia Beiler says
Yum, that sounds super tasty, Gina! My son is a big fan of lime flavored recipes and would be ecstatic I made your version. As far as the vinegar, I think it would have flopped without it since the vingear is what activates the baking soda! So if you make it again, you’ll probably want to make sure you leave it in there!
Diana Dodd says
Can you use baking powder in lieu of baking soda?
Lydia Beiler says
It needs to be baking soda actually. Baking soda reacts with the vinegar and is what causing the cake to rise. Baking powder wouldn’t have that reaction and you’d end up with a very flat, odd cake, I’m afraid!