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Some baking projects start with good intentions and end with flour on the counter, cocoa powder on the floor, and every measuring spoon in the sink. Miyoko Schinner’s vegan chocolate cake mix offers a way around that. The vegan cheese pioneer, cookbook author, and host of The Vegan Good Life with Miyoko recently shared a pantry-ready mix designed for quick cakes, brownies, mug cakes, muffins, and more.
Schinner, who helped transform the vegan dairy space through her work in plant-based cheese and butter, says the idea came partly from her oldest daughter, who loved chocolate and baking as a teenager. But those kitchen sessions often came with chaos.
Read more: The Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cake
“My oldest daughter loves chocolate, and she loves to bake,” Schinner says. “And all through high school, she would be tinkering around in the kitchen trying to make the best chocolate cake or brownies or chocolate chip cookies.”
The problem, Schinner jokes, was the mess. Her daughter would pull out ingredients, try different recipes, and leave the kitchen covered in the aftermath. That inspired Schinner to create a homemade mix that could sit in the cupboard and make dessert easier at any hour.
She explains that the goal was not to copy the boxed mixes people buy from the store, but to make a homemade version that works whenever a chocolate craving hits. The mix can turn into a mug cake late at night, a birthday cake for guests, or a tray of brownies without needing to measure every dry ingredient from scratch.
“If you’ve got friends coming over and you don’t want to make a huge mess, but you need a cake, a birthday cake, or you need some delicious brownies, you’ve got your cake mix that can turn into a variety of things,” Schinner says.
The secret ingredients that make the mix stand out
Find more of Miyoko Schinner’s incredible vegan recipes on her YouTube channel.
Schinner starts the vegan chocolate cake mix with flour. She uses both all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour, but she makes it clear that bakers have options. Those who want to keep things simple can use only all-purpose flour or cake flour. The whole wheat pastry flour adds a little nutrition without making the texture too heavy.
She also notes that the mix can work gluten-free. Schinner says she has had success with Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour, but specifies that she does not mean the blend that contains chickpea flour.
The flour choice sets up the base, but the chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder. Schinner uses natural cocoa powder rather than Dutch-processed cocoa. She explains that this matters because natural cocoa powder works best with baking soda, while Dutch-processed cocoa needs a different leavening agent.
“If it just says cocoa powder, it is natural cocoa powder,” Schinner says. “Do not use Dutch-processed, which is an alkalized cocoa powder.”
She sifts the cocoa powder to remove lumps, even though the recipe in her book calls for sifting all the dry ingredients together. In the video, she takes a more relaxed approach and only sifts the ingredients most likely to clump, including the cocoa powder and baking soda.
The mix also includes salt and organic sugar. Coconut sugar can work too, Schinner says, but bakers should use slightly more if they choose it. She explains that coconut sugar adds a caramelly flavor, which can deepen the finished dessert.
Then come the two ingredients that make the mix more interesting: finely ground coffee and cinnamon. Schinner says these additions do not make the cake taste obviously like coffee or spice. Instead, they make the chocolate flavor more complex.
“It is this dark chocolate. Oh my god, it’s a fantastic dark chocolatey flavor,” Schinner says. “But in addition, it’s got an element that just takes it over the top that makes it much more complex and that elevates it. And that is the addition of both ground coffee and cinnamon.”
She recommends dark roast coffee for the mix and adds cinnamon alongside it. The result is still a chocolate cake mix, but with a deeper flavor than cocoa and sugar alone can provide.
Prepping and storing the mix
Once all the dry ingredients are in the bowl, Schinner whisks everything thoroughly. This step matters because the mix will later be used in smaller amounts. Any unmixed patches of flour, cocoa, baking soda, or sugar could affect the texture and flavor.
Schinner turns the bowl as she whisks and checks for streaks or uneven spots. She says people can sift everything together if they prefer, but she finds her method easier. The key is not speed. It is making sure the mixture looks completely uniform before storing it.
“I do find that it works and I don’t tell anyone and they never know,” Schinner says.
Once mixed, the dry blend goes into a large container. Schinner says it keeps in the cupboard for months, which makes it a useful option for people who bake often or want dessert without the usual setup and cleanup.
That storage step is the whole point. Instead of opening several bags and containers every time, bakers can scoop from one jar and move straight into making a cake, brownies, or another chocolate dessert.
Turning it into chocolate cake
After preparing the pantry mix, Schinner shows how quickly it can become a cake. She measures four cups of the dry mixture into a bowl, levels each scoop, and makes a well in the center.
The wet ingredients stay simple. She adds liquid oil, vinegar, vanilla, and boiling water. Schinner says butter is not needed for the cake batter, and the oil works well without sacrificing flavor.
“You’re not going to miss the butter flavor,” Schinner says. “This is so delicious as it is.”
The boiling water plays an important role. Schinner explains that it reacts with the baking soda in the mix right away, helping the cake rise and giving it a tender texture. She then whisks the batter until smooth and even.
Unlike muffins, which can handle a rougher batter, Schinner says cake needs a more uniform texture. She whisks until there are no lumps and the batter looks fully combined.
She pours the batter into a parchment-lined half sheet pan with greased sides, though she says the same batter can make two eight- or 9-inch layers or cupcakes. Schinner drops the pan gently to release air pockets and help the batter settle evenly.
The cake bakes at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes in the sheet pan. Schinner checks that it has pulled away from the sides and feels bouncy before letting it cool.
Read more: This Pistachio-Packed Vegan Dubai Chocolate Cake Is To Die For
Making brownies with the same mix
The brownie version starts with one extra step. Schinner melts dark chocolate and vegan butter together over a double boiler. She uses slightly sweetened dark chocolate, not unsweetened chocolate, and says a 70 or 80 percent chocolate would work well.
Melting the chocolate with butter helps keep it smooth. Schinner explains that chocolate can turn grainy if it gets too hot on its own, but the butter helps prevent that.
While the chocolate and butter melt, she makes a flax egg with ground flax seeds and water. A chia egg would also work. The mixture sits for a few minutes until it thickens.
Then the vegan chocolate cake mix comes back in. For brownies, Schinner uses the dry mix as the base and adds the flax egg, maple syrup, and the melted chocolate-butter mixture. The maple syrup helps keep the brownies moist.
She stirs everything together until the batter becomes thick and glossy. At this point, bakers can add chopped walnuts or pecans, or leave the brownies plain.
“Some people love to have a nutty brownie,” Schinner says. “Other people just want pure chocolate delight, and they don’t want the interference of a nutty walnut or something.”
The brownie batter goes into a greased 9-inch Pyrex dish. Schinner tops hers with walnuts, then bakes the brownies at the same temperature as the cake: 350 F.
The brownies need patience after baking. Schinner warns that cutting them while warm will make them crumble. She lets hers cool overnight before slicing them into clean pieces.
“Yes, of course, with brownies, you must exhibit self-control and not try to cut into them when they’re warm, cuz they just crumble to pieces,” Schinner says.
When she cuts into the finished batch, the brownies have a dense, moist interior. Schinner pairs one with coffee as an afternoon pick-me-up.
The cake, meanwhile, is set aside for decoration. Schinner plans to finish it with aquafaba Swiss buttercream and ganache in a following episode, turning the simple pantry mix into a full layer cake.
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