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Super Speedy Chocolate Snack Cake

This is your ‘in case of emergency’ chocolate cake, the recipe you pull out when you have last-minute guests or simply need a quick, easy dessert. It also happens to be an incredibly goodvegan chocolate cake, dense and fudgy like all good chocolate cakes should be. A simple one-layer affair, it can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. I like to keep thingsstraightforward, with a glaze made with a ‘water ganache’. Alternatively, it makes a great dessert, served with a hot fudge sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Zoë's Notes for a 6-inch three layer cake with Burnt Swiss Meringue Buttercream in the Recipe Notes Below*. (See link to Edd's Buttercream in the Newsletter).
Servings: 8
Author: Edd Kimber

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

  • 240 ml (1 cup) soya (soy) milk
  • 175 g (generous 3/4 cup) packed light brown sugar
  • 100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 75 g (scant 2/3 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 75 g (scant 2/3 cup) wholemeal (wholewheat) rye flour
  • 50 g (2/3 cup) cocoa powder (dutched)
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Water Ganache Glaze

  • 100 g (3 1/2 oz) dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids
  • 2 tablespoons packed, light brown sugar
  • 75 ml (5 tablespoons) water
  • 15 g (1 tablespoon) refined coconut oil

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan (350˚F). Lightly grease a deep 20 cm (8 in) round cake tin (pan) and line the base with baking parchment.
  • To make the cake, put the milk, sugar, oil and vinegar in a large jug and whisk until smooth.
  • Brown sugar, especially unrefined versions which contain higher levels of molasses, can be lumpy, so sift it before using if needed.
  • Place the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together to combine. Pour the liquid
  • ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a whisk just until a smooth cake batter is formed. If using rye flour, it is doubly important not to over whisk the batter; rye flour can become gummy if mixed for too long. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35–40 minutes or until the cake springs back to a light touch and is coming away from the sides of the tin.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To make the ganache, put the chocolate in a small heatproof jug and melt (see page 24). Put the sugar and water in a small saucepan, place over a medium heat and cook, covered with a lid, until the sugar has dissolved and the water has just come to a simmer. Pour a third of the syrup over the chocolate and stir to combine. Pour in the remaining syrup, in two additions, stirring until the mixture forms a silky-smooth ganache. Add the coconut oil and stir to combine.
  • Once made, the ganache should have a thick but pourable consistency. If the ganache seems thin, leave for about 15 minutes, until thickened slightly. Pour the ganache over the cake, allowing the excess to drip down the sides.
  • Kept covered, this cake will keep for 4–5 days.

Notes

If you don’t have rye flour, you can substitute it with an equal amount of plain (all-purpose flour).
Coconut oil comes in two varieties, virgin and processed. If labelled as virgin (or something it will taste of coconut; processed oil is odourless and has a neutral taste. Either can be used for this cake, but I prefer to use an odourless version so the flavour is purely about the chocolate.
From Chocolate Baking by Edd Kimber (Quadrille, March 2026). Photography © Matthew Hague.
*Zoë's Notes for 6-inch three layer cake with Burnt Swiss Meringue Buttercream. 
  1. Prepare the Burnt Swiss Meringue Buttercream, set aside and keep at room temperature until ready to use. 
  2. Prepare three 6-inch round cake pans with grease and parchment paper rounds. Preheat oven to 350°F .
  3. Mix the cake as directed above. Divide the batter in the prepared pans and bake for about 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes completely in the pan.
  4. Remove the cakes from the pan and peel away the parchment paper. Place one round on a serving plate. Spread about 1/2" thick layer of the Burnt Swiss Meringue Buttercream, set another layer of the cake on top of the buttercream, repeat with more buttercream and finish with the final layer of cake. 
  5. Use the rest of the buttercream to do a crumb coat on the cake (see my YouTube video on crumb coating a cake). Set in the refrigerator to set firm. 
  6. Pour the ganache over the cake and serve.