It truly couldn't be easier to make this chocolate cake — just mix the ingredients and bake! You'll find the full recipe below, but here's a brief overview of what you can expect: 

Stir or whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.  

Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for about two minutes. Stir in boiling water. Don't worry if the batter seems a little thin, as reviewers say that's perfectly normal. 

Pour the cake batter into prepared pans. Bake for about half an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Let cool and top with your favorite frosting. 

When it comes to frosting this simple chocolate cake, you've got plenty of options. We're partial to this top-rated Creamy Chocolate Frosting — it has almost 2,000 rave reviews and it comes together quickly with just a few ingredients you probably already have on hand.

Of course, no matter the cake flavor, you can never go wrong with classic cream cheese  or a crowd-pleasing buttercream . 

You could also try Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting for a decadent, candy bar-inspired flavor pairing. 

The best way to store this one-bowl chocolate cake depends on the frosting you choose. A buttercream-frosted cake can sit (covered) at room temperature for up to five days. If you use cream cheese frosting, though, you'll want to refrigerate it within two hours. 

Yes! You can absolutely freeze this chocolate cake. We recommend freezing the individual, unfrosted layers. Just wrap the (completely cooled) layers tightly in storage wrap. Follow that with a layer of aluminum foil labeled with the date. For the best protection, store the double-wrapped cake layers in an airtight container. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

Ingredients