The Best Vegan German Chocolate Cake

This post is sponsored by Sprinkle Pop. As always, all content and opinions are my own.

This really is the BEST Vegan German Chocolate Cake ever! It’s super moist, rich and layered with delicious vegan caramel with toasted coconut and layers of fluffy vegan buttercream frosting. 

To be honest, this is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted – vegan or otherwise! This Vegan German Chocolate Cake is super moist and rich and you would never even know it was vegan if I didn’t tell you. The vegan buttercream is fluffy and perfectly sweetened and the vegan caramel is absolutely incredible!

I made this cake for a bridal shower a friend was hosting, and it was so fun to decorate! Her shower colors were different shades of pink with cream and gold, so I used Sprinkle Pop’s Vintage Rose Gold Mix along with their Gold Dragee sprinkles. I just love the dreamy rich blend of warm pinks, gold and rose gold in this mix. Aren’t they just gorgeous?! It was so fun to design this cake, and I loved using the gold leafing and gold dust to tie it all together!

The Secret to a Moist Vegan Chocolate Cake

For some reason, every vegan chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted is usually dry or has a strange flavor to it. That’s not the case with this Vegan German Chocolate Cake! I researched and experimented with so many recipes to create this cake, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! It’s super easy to make and is perfectly moist and delicious, just like chocolate cake should be!

So the secret you ask? It’s adding coconut yogurt! It binds the cake together and really adds wonderful flavor as well as creating that super moist yet still fluffy perfect cake texture. I like to use SO Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk Vanilla Yogurt Alternative. It’s thick, creamy and vegan certified!

When I was experimenting with this vegan cake recipe, I saw and tried a lot of recipes that used boiled water in the recipe to create that moist texture, however I always found that this actually left the cake a little “too” moist, making it almost dense and fudge like. I wanted a really soft, moist cake that was still fluffy like I’m used to in regular chocolate cakes, because after all – I’m not a vegan so I compare all of my recipes to the “real thing” haha.

What Can Replace Eggs in Cake?

There are lots of ways to replace eggs in a cake. You can use bananas, ground flax seed, silken tofu, chia seeds, applesauce, or even Ener-G Egg Replacer. My favorite method however – and the one I used to make this Vegan German Chocolate Cake – is using apple cider vinegar in place of the eggs. The vinegar helps activate the baking soda and powder in the cake, which helps enhance the leavening or rising resulting in a fluffier cake crumb. I’ve found that using vinegar is the best way to retain the original taste and texture of baked goods, especially cakes, when replacing eggs in a vegan recipe.

I definitely prefer apple cider over other vinegars, it has a much softer, sweeter flavor that actually enhances dairy-like flavors. To use this method for replacing eggs, you just simply add the baking soda to your dry ingredients like you normally would (if the recipe doesn’t call for any, then use 1 teaspoon baking soda to 2 tablespoons vinegar) and then add the apple cider vinegar to the wet ingredients and follow the original recipe.

Fun fact – mix apple cider vinegar with some honey, salt and crumbled up silken tofu, and you have yourself vegan ricotta cheese! Check out my Roasted Vegetable Lasagna for the recipe!

The Best Vegan Caramel

One of my favorite things about this Vegan German Chocolate Cake, is the vegan caramel in-between each of the rich chocolate layers of cake. This caramel is just amazing. Really, I was shocked that coconut milk could make such a delicious caramel sauce!

I promise, if I didn’t tell you this caramel was vegan and refined sugar free, you would never know. It’s that good! Plus is super easy to make. The bulk of it is made up of coconut milk and maple syrup, and while yes it does have a coconut flavor to it, it works PERFECTLY with this Vegan German Chocolate Cake because it already have that coconut flavor going on. The key to the caramel though is being patient and not rushing it. While it’s really quite simple to throw together, it does take some time (about 1 hour) to boil down, thicken and turn into beautiful golden brown caramel.

I use this same vegan caramel in my Healthy Samoa Brownies (vegan, gluten-free and naturally sweetened!) and they are really probably one of my all-time favorite treats.

The Best Vegan German Chocolate Cake

So, why should you make this Vegan German Chocolate Cake? Well because it’s:

Rich
Chocolaty
Fluffy
Moist
Sweet
Decadent
And… generously covered in delicious vegan caramel and buttercream frosting.

Plus it’s a real head turner with Sprinkle Pop’s Pink Vintage Rose Gold as a garnish. Just look at how pretty these colors are!

Vegan German Chocolate Cake

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This really is the BEST Vegan German Chocolate Cake ever! It’s super moist, rich and layered with delicious vegan caramel with toasted coconut and layers of fluffy vegan buttercream frosting.

• Author: Chelsey @ The Saucy Fig
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: three 6 inch cakes 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Dry Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 cups white flour
• 2 1/4 cups white granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup vanilla coconut yogurt*
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 cups unsweetened cashew milk
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Vegan Caramel

• 2 cans full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 rounded tablespoons organic extra virgin coconut oil
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups toasted unsweetened coconut flakes

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream

• 1 cup earth balance (2 sticks) room temperature
• 1 cup vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum)
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2-3 tablespoons cashew milk

Decorations:

• Sprinkle Pop’s Vintage Rose Gold Mix
• Sprinkle Pop’s Gold Degrees
• Edible Gold Dust
• Edible Gold Leafing
• Pink and Burgundy gel food colorings
• Reusable piping bags
• 2D Drop Flower decorating tip or 1M Open Star decorating tip

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Instructions

Vegan Caramel Sauce:

1. Start the caramel by combining the coconut milk, maple syrup and salt on the stovetop in a medium heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to make sure it’s combined well and doesn’t boil over.
2. Reduce to medium heat and let the mixture boil down for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the caramel mixture has boiled down for 40-45 minutes, add in the coconut oil and vanilla and stir till incorporated.
4. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer the caramel for another 15-20 minutes, or until it’s thick and resembles a rich caramel color. Don’t rush the process and stir frequently to prevent burning.
5. Remove the caramel from heat and transfer to a bowl to let cool for 5 minutes.
6. White the caramel is cooling, toast the coconut in a medium saucepan over medium high heat until golden brown (3-5 minutes). Stir frequently to brown evenly and prevent burning. Remove from the pan to a separate plate or bowl to prevent further browning.
7. After the caramel has cooled for about 5 minutes, stir it vigorously until it’s creamy, shiny and smooth.
8. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of the toasted coconut to the caramel and stir till incorporated. Place in the fridge to thicken.

Vegan Chocolate Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare three 6 inch cake pans by lining the bottom with parchment (not wax!) paper and spraying the sides with cooking spray. Set pans aside.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl by hand, or  in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix till combined.
5. Pour about 2 1/2 cups of batter into your cake pans.
6. Cook at 350 degrees F. for 30-35 minutes or until the top of the cake is set and springy to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream

1. Mix the softened, room temperature vegan butter (earth balance or other) with the powdered sugar and vegetable shortening in a mixer with the whisk attachment until soft and fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla extract and cashew milk till creamy and you’ve reach your desired consistency.

Notes

*I use SO Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk Vanilla Yogurt Alternative. It’s thick, creamy and vegan certified!

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