Home / Recipes / Popular / Cakes & Cupcakes / Italian Eggless Chocolate Cake

Italian Eggless Chocolate Cake

This Italian eggless chocolate cake is light, tender, and moist—even without eggs or butter! It’s easy to make, uses basic pantry ingredients and results in a cake that satisfies any chocolate craving.

Chocolate cake with a slice on a white plate.


 

You won’t believe how incredibly decadent this Italian eggless chocolate cake is and all while being eggless and butterless! It really is even easier to make than my one pan chocolate cake!

This classic old-fashioned recipe makes an egg free chocolate cake that is moist, chocolaty and has a spongy texture. Turn this wacky cake into a vegan cake by substituting milk with coffee or water or add a decadent buttercream frosting like I do in my chocolate cake with mocha frosting

Why You’ll Love This Egg Free Chocolate Cake

  • This moist eggless chocolate cake is easy to make with only 20 minutes prep! It’s ready within an hour and will become your go-to cake when you need something sweet.
  • Easily make it dairy-free, double the batch for a layer cake, or add frosting for an extra decadent dessert.

Ingredients Notes

  • Cake flour: Creates a lighter texture. Make your own by replacing 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with cornstarch per cup.
  • Unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder: Use high-quality natural cocoa powder for the best rich chocolate flavor. 
  • Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness.
  • Baking soda: Helps the cake rise.
  • Salt: Enhances the chocolate flavor.
  • Liquid: Use milk, water, coffee, or dairy-free alternatives like almond milk for a dairy-free version of this eggless cake recipe.
  • Oil: Vegetable oil is best, but coconut, olive, or melted (cooled) butter also work.
  • Vanilla extract: Adds depth to the flavor.
  • Chocolate chips: Use semi-sweet or mini chocolate chips for extra indulgence
Ingredients for the recipe.

How to Make Italian Eggless Chocolate Cake

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl then stir in half of the chocolate chips.

Dry ingredients whisked in a bowl.

In a large bowl whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla and sugar, add the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.

Wet ingredients in the bowl and mixed with the dry ingredients.

Pour cake batter into prepared cake pan, sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips and bake until done.

The unbaked cake in the pan.

Place the pan on a wire rack and cool, remove from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack. Slice and serve.

The cake baked in the pan.

Variations

  • Citrus twist: Add orange zest or swap some milk for orange juice for a refreshing citrus note.
  • Spiced flavor: Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon for warmth.
  • Depression-era version: Use 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of vinegar (white vinegar, balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar) for extra lift.
  • Topping: Instead a dusting of powdered sugar, drizzle the cake with chocolate glaze, add chocolate ganache or for a decadent dessert frost with the chocolate buttercream from my double chocolate cupcakes
Chocolate cake on a white cake stand.

Recipe Tips for Perfect Eggless Chocolate Cake

  • Measure accurately: Use a scale or the spoon-and-level method to avoid a dense cake.
  • Sift dry ingredients: This aerates the flour and cocoa, creating a fluffier cake.
  • Use fresh baking soda: Test by adding ¼ teaspoon baking soda to 2 tablespoons vinegar. If it fizzes, it’s fresh!
  • Bake immediately: Preheat the oven before mixing to ensure the batter goes in right away for the best rise.
  • Pan size: Using smaller pans (6-7 inches) may cause cracking. For even baking, make 12 cupcakes or use an 8-9 inch pan

Storage

  • Store: Store this butter and egg-free chocolate cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. 
  • Freeze: Once cooled completely, you can freeze the eggless chocolate cake for up to 3 months. I like to wrap it in plastic wrap then aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.
A slice of cake on a white plate with chocolate.

I have made this eggless chocolate cake numerous times and we love it more every time. Enjoy!

Chocolate cake with a slice on a white plate.

Italian Eggless Chocolate Cake

Rosemary Molloy
This Italian eggless chocolate cake is light, tender, and moist—even without eggs or butter!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Servings 8 servings
Calories 382 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cake/pastry flour
  • ¼ cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa
  • teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½-¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips (regular or mini) divided
  • cups milk (whole or heavy)
  • tablespoons oil (vegetable, coconut, light olive oil or melted cooled butter)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C. Grease and flour or spray an 8 or 9 inch cake pan.
  • Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl, stir in half of the chocolate chips.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla and sugar, add the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Don't over mix. Pour into the prepared pan, sprinkle with the remaining chips and bake for approximately 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 340F/170C for approximately 20-35 minutes, if the cake starts to brown too much, place a piece of foil over it like a tent and continue baking until done. Check with a toothpick for doneness. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool 15-20 minutes, remove from the pan and let cool completely on the wire rack. Slice and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

How to store the chocolate cake

  • Store: Store this butter and egg-free chocolate cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. 
  • Freeze: Once cooled completely, you can freeze the eggless chocolate cake for up to 3 months. I like to wrap it in plastic wrap then aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.

Nutrition

Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 124mg | Potassium: 257mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 68IU | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 1mg | Phosphorus: 161mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or pin it to your Pinterest account!

It’s All About Pasta

Amazing pasta recipes to make your mouth water!

all about pasta baked pasta on a wooden board

Authentic Italian Desserts

75 Traditional Desserts Made Easy

4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This turned out great and loved that it had a great rise without eggs! We left the chocolate chips off the top and frosted it with some leftover icing then decorated it with spring themed sprinkles!

  2. Hi Rosemary—this looks so yummy! Can I substitute almond or soy milk to make this vegan? I want to make for church during our Great Lent. Thank you for so many delicious recipes…

5 from 1 vote

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.