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Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake for One. No Bake!

March 23, 2015 By Richa 61 Comments

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This Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake with Ganache is made on stove top and not baked in an oven! It comes together within minutes, is moist and decadent. soy-free, palm oil free. Vegan Soyfree Recipe.  Jump to Recipe   

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake | Vegan Richa

You know Summer is eventually… eventually going to be here sometime and it will be too hot to start up the oven to bake up a chocolate cake. That’s when you can make this Chocolate Layer Cake for 1 or 2 in a pan! Or you can make it now. 🙂

This cake can served with the layers of ganache or frosting as a delicious dessert or serve the layers as breakfast pancakes. Super fun, quick and easy. A silky smooth ganache makes this is decadent treat. Use a nut butter chocolate frosting for variation. 

This recipe makes two small 3 layer Chocolate cakes! Share or not :). The cakes or pancakes are lightly sweet and the ganache helps adds a more chocolate and sweet to the over cake for a great balance. This cake is soy and palm oil free with cocoa butter based chocolate. 


Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake with Ganache, made on stove top and not baked in an oven! It comes together within minutes, is moist and decadent | VeganRicha.com #vegan #chocolate #cake

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake with Ganache, made on stove top as pancake and not baked in an oven! It comes together within minutes, is moist and decadent | VeganRicha.com #vegan #chocolate #cake

So moist and perfect!

More Chocolate things from the blog. 

  • Vegan Almond Butter Blondies with Chocolate Chips
  • Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Cake and Cake Mix In a Jar
  • Chocolate Chip Cookie, Date Caramel Brownie Bars
  • Gluten free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Vegan Pumpkin Brownies

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake | Vegan Richa

Steps:

Make the cake batter. Heat a thick bottom skillet over medium heat. Place a cookie cutter on the skillet. Spray oil on the cutter and bottom. Pour a layer of batter in the cookie cutter. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. 

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake | Vegan Richa

You want to add a thin layer of batter, else the pancake will rise over the cookie cutter. The cookie cutter trick inspired from Brandi’s tall pancakes. 

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake | Vegan Richa

Once the edges start to look dry, using tongs, loosen the cookie cutter and remove. 

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake | Vegan Richa

Flip the pancake and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. 

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake | Vegan Richa

Once the pancakes are ready, make your ganache or frosting. Layer the pancakes with enough ganache or frosting per layer.  Pictured Ganache.

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake | Vegan Richa

Even out over the entire layer cake if you like. Chill for 15 minutes or longer and serve. 

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake | Vegan Richa

Print Recipe
4.86 from 7 votes

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake. No Bake!

This Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake with Ganache is made on stove top and not baked in an oven! It comes together within minutes, is moist and decadent. soy-free, palm oil free.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time45 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate layer cake, no bake chocolate cake
Servings: 3
Calories: 735kcal
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

Dry

  • 1/2 cup (87 g) spelt or whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup (62.5 g) unbleached all purpose flour
  • use my gf pancake mix to make these gluten-free , instead of the spelt and all purpose flours above
  • 1/3 cup (28.67 g) cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) baking soda

Wet:

  • 3/4 cup (183 ml) non dairy milk
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter or other nut butter
  • 2 tablespoons oil or use applesauce
  • 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
  • 1 tbsp flax seed meal
  • 1/3 cup (66.67 g) sugar add 1 tbsp more for sweeter
  • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) lemon juice

Ganache

  • 3 tablespoons coconut milk or almond milk
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 3/4 cup (135 g) vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

  • In a bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients and keep aside.
  • In another bowl, combine the non dairy milk, nut butter, oil, salt, flax meal, sugar and vanilla until well combined. Add in the lemon juice. Add the dry ingredient and mix into a smooth batter.
  • Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, place a large cookie cutter over the pan. Spray oil on the pan and the cookie cutter. Pour batter into the cookie cutter to make a thin layer. Cover the pan with a lid, Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the cookie cutter using tongs or gloves. Flip the pancake and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes.Repeat for all the batter.
  • You can also make regular pancakes by pouring the batter on the pan and cooking for 3 to 4 minutes each side. Cool and then use the cookie cutter to cut them into similar size round shapes. The ones cooked in the cutter come out taller and fluffier.
  • Prepare your ganache or frosting. Spread over the pancakes and layer them as may as you would like. Serve!
  • Tips: You want to cook these pancakes at a slightly lower heat so as to not burn the bottom. The cookie cutters also help hold the moisture in the pancakes. Without the cutters the pancakes might be dry-ish when over cooked. This batter can also be baked into a cake. Bake in 8 inch pan for 30 to 35 minutes.
  • Ganache:
  • Heat the non dairy milk and maple syrup until just about smoking. Take off heat. Add the chocolate and let it sit for a minute. then whisk until all melted and smooth. Chill for 10 minutes then use.
  • Variation: Almond butter chocolate frosting: Melt 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips over a double boiler. Let it cool for a minute. Whisk in 1/2 cup almond butter and 1/4 cup powdered sugar until smooth. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 to 2 tablespoons non dairy milk for desired consistency and mix in. use.

Notes

To make ganache without nut butter, add 1/4 cup more non dairy chocolate and use.
Nutritonal values based on one serving

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake. No Bake!
Amount Per Serving
Calories 735 Calories from Fat 315
% Daily Value*
Fat 35g54%
Saturated Fat 12g75%
Sodium 304mg13%
Potassium 488mg14%
Carbohydrates 93g31%
Fiber 11g46%
Sugar 53g59%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin C 0.3mg0%
Calcium 286mg29%
Iron 7.2mg40%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake with Ganache, made on stove top and not baked in an oven! It comes together within minutes, is moist and decadent | VeganRicha.com #vegan #chocolate #cake

Filed Under: Breakfast Recipes, Cake Recipes, dessert Tagged With: vegan



⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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  1. The Vegan 8 says

    March 23, 2015 at 1:55 pm

    Hey, that’s my cookie cutter pancake trick, lol! People always ask me how I get such tall, fluffy pancakes and the secret is a cookie cutter! So these are like heavenly chocolate pancakes, yum yum yum Richa! I want to lick my computer screen. 🙂 🙂

    Reply
    • Richa says

      March 23, 2015 at 2:21 pm

      i was trying to remember where i had seen it first. i think i saw at your blog. and then saw it other places. 🙂 i’ll add your link. i know right. such tall pancakes, that are almost a cake!

      Reply
      • The Vegan 8 says

        March 23, 2015 at 5:32 pm

        Oh no girl, you don’t have to add my link at all! I was just saying that like “hey, we both do the pancake trick” lol! I hadn’t seen anybody else do it before, just seen like the kid cookie cutter shapes before, so I thought I’d try the large round ones to get that perfect shape and it really does make the best, fluffiest pancakes ever. I am totally going to make this…chocolate cake for breakfast??! Yes, please. They look heavenly! Love the chocolate frosting too. I think I’ll do them this weekend. 🙂

        Reply
    • Somer says

      March 24, 2015 at 10:31 am

      5 stars
      Making these now! I actually have heart shaped “cookie cutter” type silicon pancake heart molds I was given a few years ago by a friend. So while this is a cool idea, I’m pretty sure it’s not a new idea! People have probably been using this trick for as long as there have been cookie cutters ❤️However, this is the first time I’ve seen them used to make an actual cake, which is genius!

      Reply
      • Annie says

        March 24, 2015 at 10:48 am

        I think we can probably thank the Swedes or some other Scandinavian citizen(s) for pancake molds :-).

        Reply
        • The Vegan 8 says

          March 25, 2015 at 12:06 am

          Haha Annie! Well they are certainly smarter than me! By the way ladies, my comment wasn’t me claiming to come up with the idea at all, I just personally hadn’t seen it before and to ME, it was new in my mind, who knew there were actual pancake molds out there??!! Haha! I was simply saying to Richa how cool is it that she does the same thing! And I agree, doing pancakes as a no-bake cake is brilliant, this is Richa’s awesome mind!

          Reply
    • Emma says

      May 26, 2015 at 4:11 pm

      Hi. Was curious as to what size cookie cutter you use. thanks!

      Reply
      • Richa says

        May 26, 2015 at 4:19 pm

        I use a 3.5 inch cookie cutter. you can use 3.5 , 4 or 4.5 inch

        Reply
  2. June Burns says

    March 23, 2015 at 2:34 pm

    What a neat idea! I’ll definitely have to try this. It looks like a deliciously chocolaty cake, very tasty 🙂

    Reply
  3. Martin says

    March 23, 2015 at 4:30 pm

    What a fantastic idea! Love the cookie cutter trick, but I have a problem; I can’t have chocolate.
    If I have chocolate my heart goes into a-fibrilation flip flops (irregular heart beat). It’s not life threatening but it’s annoying. So I was wondering if you had any ideas on applying this same little cake idea to say a yellow cake with another kind of frosting. Any ideas or comments will be greatly appreciated.
    Love what you do!

    Martin

    Reply
    • Richa says

      March 23, 2015 at 4:42 pm

      you should be able to make any cake recipe which makes a smooth batter, with this recipe. try my spelt sponge cake. http://www.veganricha.com/2014/10/vegan-tiramisu-trifles-coco-whip.html
      for frosting you can make a simple nut butter frosting with peanut butter, some margarine, a bit of non dairy milk and sugar.

      Reply
      • Denise says

        January 5, 2016 at 11:34 am

        I saw a vegan medjool date salted caramel recipe somewhere on the inter-webs that would be heavenly with a yellow cake 🙂

        Reply
        • Richa says

          January 5, 2016 at 12:07 pm

          I have some on the blog too http://www.veganricha.com/?s=salted+date+caramel

          Reply
        • Raquel says

          February 3, 2019 at 10:32 am

          5 stars
          I think it may have been from Mary’s Test Kitchen. She has a youtube channel and a blog and I remember that recipe. 🙂

          Reply
    • Vic says

      April 6, 2015 at 12:13 am

      Try Carob powder ! The taste us like chocolate but doesn’t have a side effect 😉

      Reply
  4. Cassie says

    March 23, 2015 at 4:44 pm

    THIS. LOOKS. AMAZING.

    Reply
  5. Jessie Snyder | Faring Well says

    March 23, 2015 at 4:52 pm

    This is just positively genious.

    Reply
  6. Nicole {VeganShowOff.com} says

    March 23, 2015 at 7:26 pm

    Wow this looks so easy and so yummy! I would definitely not be sharing : ) This is a good reason to finally buy some cookie cutters too (I know, how sad I don’t own any cookie cutters yet, especially since I make my fair share of cookies lol)!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      March 23, 2015 at 7:38 pm

      yep for a long time i dint have any cookie cutters either. now i use them for burgers and things too. perfect burger patties everytime!

      Reply
  7. Katie says

    March 23, 2015 at 8:00 pm

    This is fantastic! As someone who hates turning the oven on as things either catch on fire or the smoke detector goes off every time I do, I’m always looking for creative ways to bake on the stovetop. This trick is amazing! I’m impressed Richa! 🙂

    Reply
  8. Jojo says

    March 23, 2015 at 10:58 pm

    Wowza, this is kinda blowing my mind a little! I’m planning on spending summer living in a van so the idea that there’s a cute cake I can make on the stovetop is amazing. I can’t wait to give it a whirl.

    Reply
  9. mia says

    March 24, 2015 at 1:25 am

    This is SO COOL Richa! What a great idea. I’m going to make this soon 🙂

    Reply
  10. Nina says

    March 24, 2015 at 3:00 am

    I really like this recipe! I don’t have cookie cutters, so I will have to buy some because I have to make this. Good idea to use them cutters for making burgers too. I made your red lentil bbq burger and I was really clumsy making them into nice even patties. Tonight I am baking your amaranth burger 😉

    Reply
  11. Anna says

    March 24, 2015 at 4:39 am

    omg seriously!!!! This looks absolutely insane

    https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/

    Reply
  12. Caitlin says

    March 24, 2015 at 9:24 am

    i love that this cake is actually pancakes! you are so clever. i can’t wait to see the shirts you want to design 😉

    Reply
  13. IR says

    March 24, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    This looks so tasty!! The cookie cutter is a great idea!

    Reply
  14. Lu says

    March 25, 2015 at 7:20 am

    I think this is going to be my birthday cake!! It looks awesome!!
    Is there any way to subtitute the nut butter? Maybe more oil?

    Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      March 25, 2015 at 12:01 pm

      sure, use more oil.

      Reply
  15. Poppy says

    March 25, 2015 at 10:01 am

    5 stars
    Richa! This is insanely brilliant! I can’t wait to try it!!!

    Reply
  16. The Vegan 8 says

    March 25, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    Richa, if I didn’t cook those pancakes myself I would never have believed it wasn’t an actual cake straight out of the oven….no lie..it was to die for! I made it this morning for my daughter and I and it was definitely PLENTY for the 2 of us, which was a huge bonus. I made 5 huge pancakes out of mine and it was so rich, fluffy and amazing. What a wonderful idea you came up with! Your recipes are always winners girl!

    Reply
  17. Rebecca says

    April 5, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    I saw this cute idea of yours when you posted it, and I had been keeping it in the back of my mind. I was at the kitchen store yesterday, and when I saw round cookie cutters of the right size, I knew we had to try it. My almost-four year old was totally on board, so today we mixed up our usual pancake batter (Isa’s Puffy Pillow Pancakes) with slightly less baking powder, a bit more sugar, and cocoa powder. The cake layers turned out perfectly! My daughter spread raspberry jam and coconut milk whipped cream with coconut flakes between each layer, and we all sat down and had cake and tea together. Thanks for the fantastic idea. We had so much fun!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      April 5, 2015 at 6:06 pm

      Awesome! so glad it was a fun evening!

      Reply
  18. Erla says

    April 6, 2015 at 3:52 am

    This looks delicious! How large is the cookie cutter approximately? Just so I have any idea…

    Reply
    • Richa says

      April 6, 2015 at 10:13 am

      i used 3.5 inch.

      Reply
  19. kalpana dave says

    April 8, 2015 at 7:01 am

    4 stars
    If we did not have a cookie cutter nor a heavy bottom pan and wanted to bake these, then at what temperature and how long.

    Reply
    • Richa says

      April 8, 2015 at 10:33 am

      bake it at 365 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick from the center comes out clean.

      Reply
      • Richa says

        April 8, 2015 at 10:33 am

        the time is for one or two 8 inch pans. for smaller pans, the baking time will be 25 minutes or so

        Reply
  20. Vidya says

    April 15, 2015 at 5:50 am

    Hi richa! I wanted to use your GF pancake mix and i wasnt sure if that replaced all the dry ingredients. After making the GF pancake mix and mixing it with the wet ingredients i realised there was no cocoa in that so i added the cocoa. The resulting batter was very cookie dough like rather thAn pancake like. How should i be substituting the Gf mix?

    Reply
    • Richa says

      April 15, 2015 at 10:03 am

      cocoa powder is also dry ingredient, so the total dry probably became more. In general different types of flours absorb different amounts of liquid. So if after any substitution, if the batter is too dry, add a bit more liquid ingredients such as non dairy milk to get the right consistency. If the batter is too thin, add a bit more flour ingredients. the gf batter also keeps thickening as it sits, while the regular batter doesnt change much. so if it thickens too much, you can add some more non dairy milk again.

      Reply
  21. Jaleria Rivera says

    August 9, 2015 at 4:47 pm

    How many calories are in these?

    Reply
    • Richa says

      August 9, 2015 at 4:57 pm

      i dont know. you can plug the recipe into an online calorie counter to find the nutritional analysis.

      Reply
  22. Jacquie says

    March 7, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    For the ganache, I do not have coconut milk. But I have coconut cream. Would that work? Or does any other nut milk work the same? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      March 7, 2016 at 11:28 pm

      yes coconut cream will work. The ganache might be thicker and might not need chilling or need just a few minutes. use it as soon as it is your preferred consistency.

      Reply
  23. pralinesloth says

    March 15, 2016 at 1:59 pm

    are you kidding me? this is BRILLIANT!! looking forward to trying this very soon:-)

    Reply
  24. Ananya says

    June 3, 2016 at 10:21 pm

    Hey Richa, I was wondering what I could use as a substitute for maple syrup since we don’t get any where I live.

    Reply
    • Richa says

      June 4, 2016 at 9:44 am

      any other syrup like agave or jaggery syrup

      Reply
  25. Shobha says

    June 18, 2016 at 12:06 pm

    This looks interesting.. I’m tempted to try the recipe but I’m afraid the cake might turn out to be very dry without help from the ganache. Correct me if I’m wrong.

    Reply
    • Richa says

      June 18, 2016 at 5:14 pm

      Hi Shobha,
      If you cook the pancakes in a cookie cutter and do not over cook, then they are very soft and moist. Without the cookie cutter, they tend to lose moisture quickly and can be like regular pancakes that will need a frosting or maple.

      Reply
  26. Anu says

    September 18, 2016 at 12:49 pm

    Made this for breakfast and I added some zucchini, carrots and blueberries to the batter. I made sure they were pureed before I added them. The result was incredible and my kids gobbled them up in 3 minutes flat!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      September 19, 2016 at 1:27 pm

      yay!

      Reply
  27. Mansi Jain says

    December 13, 2016 at 3:31 am

    Can almond butter/nut butter be replaced with unsalted butter?

    Reply
    • Richa says

      December 13, 2016 at 10:38 am

      nope, use more chocolate instead. See notes of the recipe

      Reply
  28. Emily says

    April 20, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    5 stars
    We made this for dessert with double the ganache. My daughter helped me cook the cakes. All gone!

    Reply
  29. Sarah says

    April 26, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    Hi. I don’t have a cookie cutter so I’d like to make the cake version in the pan. How can I stop the cake sticking to the pan? Or do you have an idea of a substitute for a cookie cutter?

    Reply
    • Richa says

      April 27, 2017 at 2:21 pm

      anything that is a round ring and can be used at high heat should work. or use a small pan. A good non stick pan should not have a sticking issue

      Reply
  30. Mb says

    May 16, 2020 at 4:10 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for posting the single recipe. I ended up baking in an oven and this makes two large single serving sizes. This cake was fabulous!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      May 16, 2020 at 5:25 pm

      Awesome

      Reply
  31. Sandhya Vivek says

    July 25, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    5 stars
    Your recipes are yet to fail me! I didn’t have nut butter or flaxseed and used coconut oil and curd in their places. I also made it as an one layered stovetop skillet cake! The cake was so moist and decadent and was ready to eat within 30 minutes. Thank you for these amazing recipes..

    Reply
    • Vegan Richa Support says

      July 26, 2020 at 11:46 am

      wow!! thank you for popping by. That’s wonderful!!

      Reply
  32. Erik B says

    February 15, 2021 at 6:26 am

    I “attempted” this the night before Valentines Day in hopes of presenting to my wife the next day. It was a disaster! On the first try, it wasn’t cooked enough and broke apart when trying to flip it. On the second try, I let it cook longer and the bottom ended up with a blackened, burned bottom. Threw it all in the compost and went to bed.
    I so wanted this to work. So next morning I made another batch, put the 4 cookie cutters in a 9”x13” pan and half filled them with batter, baked 20 min at 350f, and they came out perfect!!!
    Another winner, Richa!

    Reply
    • Richa says

      February 15, 2021 at 6:34 am

      Oh no! I am glad you figured out another way and it worked out!! Yay

      For the pancakes you have to cook them at a lower heat and make them not too thick or tall. It takes a couple of tries to figure out the times. But the baking seems like a better more successful way!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Richa! I create flavorful plant based recipes that are inspired by my Indian upbringing, including many gluten-free, soy-free, and oil-free options. Read more about me and the blog...

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