Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake
This Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake is a rich, single-layer chocolate cake made without eggs and topped with a naturally pink frosting—no artificial food coloring required. Pumpkin puree is used as an egg replacer to create a soft, moist crumb without adding pumpkin flavor, making this cake perfect for Valentine’s Day, special occasions, or anytime you need an easy egg-free dessert.
If you’re looking for more eggless desserts, check out some of my other favorites like Eggless Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies, Eggless Strawberry Zucchini Cake, Eggless Sprinkle Cookies, Eggless Strawberry Honey Galette, Eggless Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Eggless Strawberry Shortcake.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake
- Ready In: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Makes: 12 servings
- Main Ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, cane sugar, Dutch cocoa, pumpkin puree
- Flavor Profile: rich, chocolatey, fudgy cake with vanilla buttercream
- Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils, vegan swap available
- Difficulty: Medium
- Why You’ll Love It: celebrate Valentine’s Day without artificial colors!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Completely Eggless: Perfect for egg-free baking, allergies, or when you’re out of eggs.
- Rich Chocolate Flavor: Pumpkin puree enhances moisture without adding pumpkin taste.
- Naturally Pink Frosting: No artificial food coloring, I use organic beet powder to make this pink (no beet taste!).
- Easy Single-Layer Cake: No stacking or complicated decorating required.
- Festive Heart Shape: Ideal for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, or special occasions.
- From-Scratch and Homemade: Made with love and real ingredients you can feel good about!
- Soft, Moist Texture: Stays tender without eggs or boxed mixes.
- Great Make-Ahead Dessert: Bakes beautifully and stores well.
I teamed up with my friends at Farmer’s Market to create this Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake for Valentine’s Day. I’m a huge fan of Farmer’s Market organic pumpkin puree, it’s what I used at my bakery for over a decade and it’s still the only pumpkin I’ll buy! Bonus, it's dog safe, so you can also make dog treats like Pumpkin Donuts for Dogs or Cranberry Pumpkin Dog Cookies with the extra!
Pumpkin makes a wonderful egg replacer, especially in chocolate desserts because the chocolate flavor overpowers pumpkin (so it doesn’t taste like pumpkin) and it makes desserts super moist and fudgy. Check out Easy Egg Replacers for Baking or my book, Effortless Eggless Baking if you’re new to baking without eggs.
If you’re looking for more Valentine’s Day desserts that are also free of eggs, check out favorites like Sourdough Red Velvet Cookies Without Food Coloring, Strawberry Cream Drops, Strawberry Chocolate Bars, Eggless Chocolate Strawberry Cookies, Valentine’s Day S’More Bars, Eggless Red Velvet Sourdough Cake Balls, Eggless Valentine’s Peanut Butter Blossoms, Vegan Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies or Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts.
Ingredients
- Pumpkin Puree: I’m using Farmer’s Market organic pumpkin puree to replace eggs in this eggless chocolate cake.
- Olive Oil: I’m using organic extra virgin olive oil in the cake, so it’s seed oil free. But, if you want to use a canola or sunflower oil, those also work too.
- Brown Sugar: I use a mix of both organic cane sugar and homemade light brown sugar. The light brown sugar adds more moisture, which really helps chocolate cakes from becoming dry.
- Beet Powder: I use organic beet powder to color the frosting pink, without artificial colors. Beet powder is incredibly neutral, and you will not taste the beets! It just provides a beautiful color, naturally. Feel free to use more for a darker or brighter pink if you want.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- I use my hand mixer for the cake as it’s so easy, but you could also use a whisk, spatula or stand mixer too!
- You will need a stand mixer or hand mixer for the frosting, either works.
- I frost the whole cake (sides too), but you can also just spread frosting onto the top for ease if you prefer.
- If you have a little extra cake on the sides after forming the heart shape, you can just trim it off using a bread knife (baker’s treats!).
- If you want to make a different frosting for this, try out Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting, Honey Buttercream Frosting, or even Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Ganache Frosting for richer chocolate flavor!
- Store extra cake in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out.
- Vegan: Replace the butter in the frosting with your favorite vegan butter, I recommend Miyoko's for the best flavor!
Topping Ideas
While I top this homemade heart cake with freeze dried raspberries, here are some other fun toppings you could also use instead!
- Rainbow sprinkles, I love India Tree, Watkins or Supernatural for dye free sprinkles
- Chocolate sprinkles
- Homemade Chocolate Ganache
- Homemade True Caramel or Homemade Caramel Sauce with Bone Broth
- Brown Butter Butterscotch Sauce
- Homemade Blueberry Syrup
- Chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate bar (dark, white or milk)
How to Make Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. To make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, add the extra virgin olive oil, milk, cane sugar, and pumpkin puree.
- Whisk together.
- Next, add in the all purpose flour, Dutch cocoa powder, ground vanilla bean, baking powder, and salt.
- Fold together with a spatula until a smooth cake batter forms.
- Transfer the batter to the cake pan and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the cake pan.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, water, beet powder, and vanilla extract.
- Mix on low until combined and then speed the mixer up to high. Continue to whip until it’s light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl partway through mixing to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
- Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cutting board. Make two angled cuts (which will end up being the pointed part of the heart), cutting off the round portion of cake.
- Place the large portion of the cake on your cake plate for serving. Then, take a small amount of frosting, using a butter knife or spoon, and frost the two extra pieces on the cut side. Then press these pieces on the top (the rounded part) of the cake to create the heart shape.
- Crumb coat the outside of the cake, using a cake spatula, add a small amount of frosting onto the cake and sides to seal in crumbs. You want this layer to be very thin. Once the cake is completely crumb coated, place it in the fridge to set for 15 minutes as this helps seal in crumbs.
- You can re-whip your frosting or stir it up a bit if it begins to dry out for the final frosting layer. Remove the cake from the fridge and frost the cake completely, making it smooth. Add freeze dried raspberries or sprinkles around the boarder of the cake (optional) or even all over.
Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake FAQ's
This eggless chocolate heart cake is made without eggs by using pumpkin puree as an egg replacer. Pumpkin adds moisture and structure to the cake, creating a soft, tender crumb without affecting the chocolate flavor.
No — this cake does not taste like pumpkin or noticeably different from a traditional chocolate cake. The cocoa and chocolate flavors remain rich, while the pumpkin simply helps keep the cake moist and fudgy.
Yes! This recipe is perfect for Valentine’s Day thanks to its heart shape, chocolate flavor, and naturally pink frosting. It’s festive, easy to decorate, and great for gifting or sharing.
Common egg substitutes for chocolate cake include pumpkin puree, applesauce, yogurt, mashed banana, sour cream, or even heavy cream and milk. This recipe specifically uses pumpkin puree because it provides moisture without adding extra sweetness or flavor. Check out Easy Egg Replacers for Baking for more info!
The cake recipe itself is vegan, but I use butter in the frosting. But, you can easily make it vegan by swapping out your favorite vegan butter for the frosting. I recommend Miyoko’s as I think it works and tastes the best.
If you want to make the heart shape, you need to bake it in a round cake pan to create the heart shape out of the cake. But, if you want to make this cake but don’t plan on turning it into a heart, you can also bake it in a square cake pan as well.
Yes. The cake can be baked a day in advance and frosted before serving. Eggless cakes often stay moist longer, making them great for make-ahead desserts. Just be sure to wrap the cake completely in plastic wrap to avoid it drying out. Then you can unwrap, cut, shape and frost. If storing for longer than a day, store the baked, wrapped cake in the freezer. Thaw for 24 hours in the fridge.
Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
More Chocolate Cake Recipes
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Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer (or hand mixer)
- Mixing Bowl
- 9-inch Cake Pan
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Batter
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup milk
- 213 grams cane sugar
- 113 grams light brown sugar
- 170 grams pumpkin puree
- 308 grams all purpose flour
- 75 grams Dutch cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground vanilla bean
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
Frosting
- 226 grams salted butter (softened)
- 454 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon beet powder (more for darker pink color)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- freeze dried raspberries (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
- To make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, add the extra virgin olive oil, milk, cane sugar, and pumpkin puree and whisk together.
- Next, add in the all purpose flour, Dutch cocoa powder, ground vanilla bean, baking powder, and salt and fold together with a spatula until a smooth cake batter forms.
- Transfer the batter to the cake pan and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the cake pan.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, water, beet powder, and vanilla extract.
- Mix on low until combined and then speed the mixer up to high. Continue to whip until it’s light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl partway through mixing to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
- Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cutting board. Make two angled cuts (which will end up being the pointed part of the heart), cutting off the round portion of cake (see photos or video as it’s much easier to see).
- Place the large portion of the cake on your cake plate for serving. Then, take a small amount of frosting, using a butter knife or spoon, and frost the two extra pieces on the cut side. Then press these pieces on the top (the rounded part) of the cake to create the heart shape.
- Crumb coat the outside of the cake, using a cake spatula, add a small amount of frosting onto the cake and sides to seal in crumbs. You want this layer to be very thin. Once the cake is completely crumb coated, place it in the fridge to set for 15 minutes as this helps seal in crumbs.
- You can re-whip your frosting or stir it up a bit if it begins to dry out for the final frosting layer. Remove the cake from the fridge and frost the cake completely, making it smooth.
- Add freeze dried raspberries or sprinkles around the boarder of the cake (optional) or even all over.
- Then it’s ready to serve!
- Store extra cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- I use my hand mixer for the cake as it’s so easy, but you could also use a whisk, spatula or stand mixer too!
- You will need a stand mixer or hand mixer for the frosting, either works.
- I frost the whole cake (sides too), but you can also just spread frosting onto the top for ease if you prefer.
- If you have a little extra cake on the sides after forming the heart shape, you can just trim it off using a bread knife (baker’s treats!).
- If you want to make a different frosting for this, try out Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting, Honey Buttercream Frosting, or even Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Ganache Frosting for richer chocolate flavor!
- Store extra cake in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out.
- Vegan: Replace the butter in the frosting with your favorite vegan butter, I recommend Miyoko's for the best flavor!
Nutrition
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My most favorite chocolate cake ever!