No-Mixer Eggless Chocolate Cake

Ever faced a situation whereby you wanted to bake a cake but found out there’s no eggs at home? That’s what happened to me a couple of months back when I wanted to bake something for X’s breakfast the next day. But thanks to my virtual best friend, Google, I found an eggless chocolate cake recipe that is surprisingly delicious! So I re-baked the cake a few days back, made it look a bit prettier, did a photoshoot for it and here it is!

Eggs are essential in cakes recipes because they act as a binder to hold all the fats and sugar together. It also add a bit of fat and moisture to the cakes as well, making the cake more moist. Flour is also a binder, so to make up for the lack of eggs in the recipe, more flour is used – but too much flour can make a cake dry, hence the amount of liquid also increases. Ultimately it’s just a play on the ratio between the dry and wet ingredients – thankfully I don’t have to do any experimentation as other bakers out there have already did the job (;

This eggless chocolate cake is essentially dairy-free as well but I added a simple chocolate ganache on top (made with equal parts of dark chocolate and cream) so it’s no longer dairy-free, but makes the cake more chocolatey and indulgent. I sprinkled toasted, chopped peanuts and crunchy chocolate pearls on top so that there will be a crunch and nuttiness in every bite (and they make the cake look a lot more prettier too!)

Oh and did I mention that no mixer is needed for this cake? Just a couple of mixing bowls, a wire whisk, a spatula and a baking tin! Now I don’t have to worry about running out of eggs at home anymore – I can bake this cake anytime, and so can you!

Step-by-Step Photos
1) Place cocoa powder and instant coffee in a small bowl. Add in the boiling water and whisk until the cocoa powder has dissolved.	2) In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt together with a wire whisk.
3) Add in the room-temperature water, oil, vanilla and the cocoa-coffee mixture and whisk until everything is incorporated. Change to a spatula and scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl a few times to ensure everything is well-mixed together.	4) Scrape the batter into the prepared baking tin. Bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Tent the cake with a piece of aluminum foil if the top looks like it's going to burn.

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Eggless Chocolate Cake

If you want to bake a chocolate cake but have no eggs at home – this delicious recipe is for you. Bonus – you don't need a mixer to make it! The recipe is for a 8×4-inch loaf, but I baked it in my 8×5-inch tin, so the cake is slightly shorter.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 1 8×4-inch loaf

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INGREDIENTS

 

MetricImperial

Cake

• ▢ 40 grams cocoa powder, either natural or Dutch-processed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
• ▢ 125 ml boiling water
• ▢ 190 grams all-purpose flour
• ▢ 150 grams caster sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 pinch salt
• ▢ 125 ml room-temperature water
• ▢ 80 ml canola / vegetable oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla

Ganache

• ▢ 50 grams heavy cream, minimum 30% fat content
• ▢ 50 grams dark or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Assembly

• ▢ Chocolate pearls for decoration
• ▢ Chopped nuts for decoration

INSTRUCTIONS

Cake

• Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F (non fan-assisted). Grease the bottom and sides of a 8×4-inch baking tin and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Place cocoa powder and instant coffee in a small bowl. Add in the boiling water and whisk until the cocoa powder has dissolved (see Naggy Notes). Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt together with a wire whisk. Add in the room-temperature water, oil, vanilla and the cocoa-coffee mixture and whisk until everything is incorporated. Change to a spatula and scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl a few times to ensure everything is well-mixed together.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared baking tin. Bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Tent the cake with a piece of aluminum foil if the top looks like it’s going to burn.
• Remove the baking tin from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely while you make the chocolate ganache.

Ganache

• Place the cream in a small pot and set over medium heat until small bubbles begin to appear on the sides – do not let the cream come to a boil. If it comes to a boil, remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes before using.
• Pour the cream over the finely chopped chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside (no need to chill in the refrigerator) and let the mixture cool to room temperature before using.

Assembly

• Once the cake has cooled completely (takes about 1 hour), run a spatula along the edges of the baking tin and invert the tin on a serving plate. Peel off the baking parchment (if it’s stuck onto the cake) then turn the cake right side up.
• Pour the ganache over the cake, spreading it with the spatula. Sprinkle chocolate pearls and nuts all over the cake before serving.

Storage

• Leftover cake can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

NOTES

1. Don’t have the cake pan stipulated in the recipe? Try using my Cake Pan Conversions Calculator to convert the recipe to the cake pan you own!
2. Mixing a hot liquid with cocoa powder is known as “blooming”. This process intensifies the flavour of cocoa powder. Coffee also helps to intensify the chocolate flavour, but is unnoticeable in the cake. You can omit the coffee powder if you don’t have any on hand.
3. Adapted from All Recipes

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