Eggless Berry Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This easy berry chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting features moist, eggless chocolate cake layers, a thick cream cheese frosting and a generous topping of fresh berries. It’s simple to prepare and makes an elegant dessert for birthdays or gatherings.

I love layer cakes, and this one is a favourite: three chocolaty, moist layers made from an easy eggless chocolate cake batter, stacked with a thick cream cheese frosting that tastes like cheesecake, then crowned with bright, slightly tart berries. The contrast of deep chocolate, tangy frosting and fresh fruit is what makes this cake special. If you enjoy combining tart elements with rich cake, try a similar approach with lemon curd or white chocolate cream cheese frosting on other recipes.

What You Need

The cake is based on a straightforward one-bowl eggless chocolate cake. Cocoa powder is used rather than chopped dark chocolate to emphasize a bold chocolate flavour. The ingredients are pantry-friendly and easy to source.

• Cocoa powder: Use Dutch-processed cocoa for a deeper, more pronounced chocolate flavour and darker colour.
• Oil: Choose a neutral oil such as canola or another flavourless vegetable oil so the chocolate remains the star.
• Vinegar: Required to activate the baking soda. White vinegar or apple cider vinegar both work.
• Milk: Whole or up to 3.25% fat milk gives a moister cake, but non-dairy milks like oat or soy are excellent substitutes.
• Salt: If substituting table salt for kosher salt, use about half the amount so the cake doesn’t become too salty.
• Cream cheese: Use full-fat block cream cheese (not whipped or spreadable) for the best flavour and texture in the frosting.
• Butter: Unsalted butter is recommended for the frosting to balance the cream cheese’s saltiness.
• Berries: Any combination of fresh seasonal berries works—strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or red currants. In winter you can substitute chocolate curls or citrus slices if fresh berries aren’t available.

See the recipe card below for exact ingredient quantities.

How To Make This Berry Cake

This recipe yields three 6-inch cake layers that assemble into a tall, elegant cake. The method is straightforward: mix the wet and dry components separately, combine them briefly, bake, then frost and top with berries.

Step 1 – Whisk the wet ingredients together in a measuring cup, including the milk, vinegar and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa) into a large bowl.

Step 2 – Add the oil and brown sugar to the wet mix, then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until a smooth batter forms. Mix just until combined.

Step 3 – Divide the batter evenly between three prepared 6-inch pans (buttered and dusted with cocoa or flour, and lined with parchment). Level the batter in each pan to ensure even layers.

Tip: Properly prepare pans by greasing, lining with parchment and dusting the sides—this helps the layers release cleanly after baking.

Step 4 – Bake on the middle rack until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the layers cool and firm up before removing them from the pans.

Tip: Baking three separate layers is faster and easier than baking one deep cake and slicing it into tiers afterward.

Step 5 – For the frosting, beat the unsalted butter with the icing sugar until smooth and fluffy.

Step 6 – Add cold blocks of cream cheese to the butter and sugar mixture and continue whipping until the frosting is smooth and thick. The order is important: butter and sugar first, then cream cheese, to avoid a thin, soupy frosting.

Tip: Beating the butter with icing sugar before the cream cheese produces a thicker, pipeable frosting while using less icing sugar than many recipes.

Step 7 – Level the cooled cake layers with a serrated knife, then stack them with frosting between each layer. Smooth the outside and top with a generous mound of fresh berries.

Variation – For a sweeter, different take, try a white chocolate cream cheese frosting in place of the standard version.

Storage

Because the cake is frosted with cream cheese frosting, store it in the refrigerator. Cover cut edges with parchment to prevent drying and wrap the cake loosely in foil once the frosting is firm. The cake keeps up to a week refrigerated; slices can be frozen for longer storage. Remove from the fridge 30–60 minutes before serving so the frosting softens slightly for the best texture.

More Chocolate Recipes

If you love chocolate, explore other desserts such as dark chocolate cheesecake, Nanaimo bars, banana oatmeal cookies or white chocolate macadamia cookies for more ideas and flavour combinations.

If you try this recipe for the best berry chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting (or any recipe on this site), please leave a star rating and a comment to share how it turned out — I love hearing from readers!

📖 Recipe

Berry Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Layers of eggless chocolate cake frosted with thick cream cheese frosting and topped with fresh berries.

Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 503 kcal

Equipment

• Stand mixer or electric mixer (optional)
• Three 6×2-inch (15×5 cm) round cake pans
• Serrated knife or cake leveler

Ingredients

Eggless chocolate cake

• 185 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 7.5 mL baking soda
• 37 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1.25 mL salt
• 15 mL white vinegar
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 250 mL milk
• 60 mL canola oil
• 200 grams light brown sugar

Cream cheese frosting

• 218 grams icing sugar
• 173 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
• 500 grams full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese, cold (block)

Toppings (optional)

• 225 grams fresh strawberries
• 225 grams fresh raspberries
• 225 grams fresh blueberries

Instructions

For the cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Prepare three 6×2-inch round pans by brushing with melted butter, dusting with cocoa and lining the bottoms with parchment.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa in a medium bowl.
• Combine milk, vinegar and vanilla in a separate bowl, stir and let sit a few minutes to thicken.
• Whisk in the oil and brown sugar to the milk mixture.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.
• Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean (start checking around 25–30 minutes).

For the frosting

• Important: Beat the icing sugar and butter together first until smooth. Then add the cream cheese and beat until the frosting is creamy and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes or longer if needed.

To assemble

• Level the cooled cake layers with a serrated knife.
• Place the bottom layer on a cake stand or turntable and spread about one quarter of the frosting on top. Add the second layer, more frosting, then the third layer. Smooth frosting over the outside of the cake.
• Pile fresh berries on top to finish.

Notes

• If using table salt instead of kosher salt, reduce the amount by about half to avoid an overly salty cake.
• Use full-fat block cream cheese; do not use whipped or spreadable varieties.
• If berries are out of season, decorate with chocolate curls, candied citrus or festive sprinkles instead.
• You can bake this batter in one deep 6-inch pan if preferred; baking time will be longer (about 60 minutes) and you must check for doneness in the centre to avoid collapse.

Nutrition

Calories: 503kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 6g

Nutrition information is an approximation.