Unbelievably Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Cake
This ultra fudgy vegan chocolate raspberry cake features moist raspberry syrup-soaked chocolate sponge cake layered in a 2 ingredient fudge frosting. Based off of the Great British Baking Off’s iconic cake in the opening credits, this recipe is a SHOWSTOPPER!
Paul Hollywood’s cake, only better
And I’m fully prepared to back that statement. If ever there was a recipe that could help you to gain confidence in your baking skills, enough to enter and even win a baking competition, it’s this chocolate raspberry fudge cake.
Now, for those of you who don’t know, the amazing British baking show, the Great British Baking Off, features this decadent chocolate raspberry cake in the opening credits. It looks downright fudgy and drool worthy, with the silkiest chocolate frosting and topped with fresh raspberries to boot.
Well, I decided to recreate this cake, only make it vegan- so no eggs, and no dairy. And I promise you it’s unbelievably so. We’re taking my classic chocolate cake, and making it even richer, infusing the cake with fresh raspberry syrup, and layering it with the most decadent silky chocolate frosting.
I’ve made a lot of cakes in my time (just see my first baking cookbook), and this one is absolutely worthy of a winning handshake.
What does this chocolate raspberry cake consist of?
- The most luxurious fudgy chocolate cake: The key is Dutch-process cocoa powder. It will yield a more moist, fudgier and more moist texture than all natural cocoa powder or cacao powder. Trust me, one bite, and you’ll KNOW this is the best chocolate cake you’ve ever had.
- Fresh raspberry syrup: Now what differs between Paul Hollywood’s version and mine is that the sponge layers, once baked, are then soaked in a fresh raspberry syrup. It’s so simple: just raspberries and a touch of maple syrup, and it’s brushed onto the cooled chocolate cake layers for extra moisture and delicious fresh raspberry flavor throughout!
- 2 ingredient chocolate ganache: My absolute favorite frosting for cakes and cupcakes is this easy 2 ingredient chocolate ganache frosting that tastes like an extra layer of fudge on top of your cake. I recommend Silk vegan heavy cream or Plant Crock- either work! You can also use heavy coconut cream.
Overview: How to make this vegan chocolate raspberry fudge cake:
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Pro tip: Let everything COOL
The only way to really assemble this cake is if every component is completely cool (or room temperature). If the cake layers are hot, the syrup is still warm, or the ganache is still in liquid form, you’ll have a mess.
That’s why I make the raspberry syrup and ganache while the cake is baking so that everything cools and is ready to be used at around the same time.
For the ganache, I will sometimes pop it into the fridge for 20 minute intervals, stirring between each one and then letting it sit on the counter. This will help the frosting thicken a bit so that it’s spreadable but still soft.
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
PrintUnbelievably Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Cake – Great British Baking Show Inspired!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 15 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This ultra fudgy vegan chocolate raspberry cake features moist raspberry syrup-soaked chocolate sponge cake layered in a 2 ingredient fudge frosting. Based off of the Great British Baking Show’s iconic cake, this recipe is a SHOWSTOPPER!
Ingredients
Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake:
- 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) dairy free milk, room temperature
- 3 cups (375 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour, sifted
- 1 cup (95 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (110 g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (113 g) neutral oil
- 1 cup (220 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 mL) hot water + 1 tsp dissolvable espresso powder (or 1 cup (240 mL) brewed coffee, decaf if desired)
Raspberry Syrup:
- 1 pint (500g) fresh raspberries, washed
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
- 2 batches vegan chocolate ganache
- 1 pint (500 g) fresh raspberries, washed
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F, and line two 8″ cake pans with parchment paper. Measure out all ingredients.
- Make the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside. In a large bowl and a whisk, whisk the oil, sugar, and brown sugar until integrated. Then add in the dairy free yogurt and vanilla extract, and whisk again until combined. To the mixture, add in about half of the flour mixture, along with half of the dairy free milk. Whisk gently until the flour starts to combine with the wet. Add in the remaining flour mixture and dairy free milk, and whisk again just before there are no more dry streaks. Slowly pour in the hot coffee, and whisk gently until the coffee has just mixed into the batter.
- Bake: Divide the cake batter into the cake pans evenly. Then place into the oven to bake for 35-38 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool: Remove the cakes from the oven, and allow them to cool in their cake pans for 10 minutes. Then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling COMPLETELY before assembling the cake.
- Make the ganache frosting: Right after you remove the cakes from the oven, prepare the ganache frosting. You’ll want it to cool and set at room temperature for a bit while the cakes are cooling so that it’s spreadable.
- Next, make the raspberry syrup: Blend 1 pint of raspberries into a puree. Then pour the puree over a small saucepan with a fine mesh strainer to strain the raspberry puree and remove the seeds. Once the seeds have been removed, add in the maple syrup, stir, and heat the mixture until boiling on medium heat. Then reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until it’s thickened just slightly. Pour the syrup into a heat safe container and set aside to cool.
- Soak the cake: Once the cake layers, raspberry syrup, and chocolate ganache have cooled, it’s time to brush the syrup onto the cake. Carefully slice the domed tops off of the cake to level the cake layers. With a pastry brush, brush the raspberry syrup onto the sliced part of the cake, but be careful not to over-soak the layers (this shouldn’t be like when we dunk ladyfingers into espresso for tiramisu- it’s just a brush on top to keep the layers moist and add raspberry flavor!).
- Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer onto a cake plate or serving dish, and spread about 1/2 cup of ganache frosting on top. Place the second layer on top and crumb coat the entire cake in the ganache frosting. Place the cake into the fridge to set for 20-30 minutes, then finish with the final coating of ganache frosting. Top with the fresh raspberries on top.
- Slice and enjoy! Slice and serve, and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Gluten free: I recommend using King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour. It’s amazing in this recipe- I’ve used it several times, and even regular gluten eaters love it!
I really want to make this cake as an anniversary cake for my grandparents but I don’t want to mess up and waste ingredients.
I have made your sugar cookies and banana bread with KA measure for measure and both times they have turned out mediocre. This is my first time using KA. I normally use bobs red mill 1 to 1 and it’s my favorite. I don’t know if it’s the flour or something I did because you say that KA works wonderfully but in my experience so far it doesn’t. I followed the recipes almost exactly except for maybe using coconut sugar or coconut oil. Maybe I got a old batch of flour?
Not sure if I should try and halve the recipe and test this cake first to make sure it turns out okay before going all out and making the icing and raspberry syrup. Or just chance it and use bobs red mill 1 to 1 flour??
Also if I decide to try this recipe what kind of dairy free yogurt should I use? I don’t have many available near me only kitehill, so delicious, and silk.
Thanks!
I’m so sorry I’m just responding to this! So it sounds like you might also be making other swaps in addition to gluten free- swap in coconut oil alone where I say vegan butter can lead to drastically different results! Sometimes coconut sugar will work, like here it will work in this cake recipe, but other times that with coconut oil may have run you into issues. BUT that being said, some readers still really love Bob’s and they swear by the results with my recipes. I personally haven’t found that anymore but honestly every kitchen is slightly different. Are you weighing the ingredients or using cups?
If you’re unsure about a recipe, a small test is always a good idea!! You can halve the recipe and test half with bobs and half with KA- whichever you prefer then you can use! I personally REALLY love the KA here and have made it for several birthday parties with non-gluten free people- there are never slices left over! I hope this helps! For dairy free yogurt, Kite Hill is great!!
is there any substitution for white sugar? thanks
You can use coconut sugar or maple sugar- it won’t be the exact same results but it will still be yummy!
This cake is amazing!!🥰I made it for my family (I am the only vegan) and everyone was blown away by the delicious chocolaty-raspberry flavor!!! I love that it’s not too sweet either!! The flavor is even better the next day😍 thank you so much for this recipe I highly recommend!!!
Omgsh!! So happy to hear this! Thank you so much for the review 🙂 So glad everyone loved it!!
I just made this cake as a trail run for my son’s soon to be birthday, and needless to say, it was a hit. So I will be making for him for his birthday. If I make all the components the night before, refrigerate, and assemble the day of, do you think it will turn out just as amazing? I’m assuming I’d have to bring everything to room temperature before assembling?
This looks amazing. Would it still work with regular milk and yoghurt?
Hi Sara! Aw thank you! So I can’t say for certain as I haven’t tried it (I’m truly vegan!) but in theory, yes it should work. Many readers who are just eggless and not vegan will often swap dairy in where I say dairy free with success. That’s just anecdotal of course, I can’t guarantee anything I haven’t tried but I hope that helps!
For those curious – we are not vegan so I made this with dairy products and it was so good. My kiddo has a severe egg allergy and it can be very hard to find eggless baked good recipes that aren’t too dense, too wet, or too flat. I actually didn’t do the glaze or the ganache and it was great just as a cake (made in a bundt pan) with a dusting of powdered sugar. 10/10!
Hi! This recipe looks amazing! Is it okay to use regular cocoa powder or do you strongly recommend using the Dutch cocoa powder? Thanks!
Hi May! Oh I can’t wait for you to try it!! So I definitely recommend using the Dutch-process- you’ll taste and see the difference! I know it’s a bit harder to come by, but I use NuNaturals Dutch process and it’s really good!