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This deliciously easy chocolate cake recipe is topped with homemade chocolate frosting. This 2-layer cake is simple and decadent!
If you love chocolate cake, you’ll also love our Classic Chocolate Sheet Cake and Flourless Chocolate Cake.
We Love This chocolate cake!
I’ve tried several made-from-scratch chocolate cake recipes over the years, and I finally found a winner!
This easy chocolate cake recipe is a family-favorite that is so soft, delicious and MOIST. Yes, I just said the “m” word, but for good reason. 😉
More reasons why we love it:
- Easy. This easy chocolate cake calls for simple ingredients that I always have on hand so it can easily be made without a trip to the store!
- Delicious. This homemade easy chocolate cake was perfectly fudgy and moist.
- Party perfect. You can’t beat a slice of easy chocolate cake served with Ice Cream.
We love dessert, and especially cake, which is why we have so many cake recipes here on the site (have you tried our Cream Puff Cake and Favorite Sheet Cake recipes?!)
IngredientS
- all purpose flour – or cake flour for a silkier crumb
- white sugar
- unsweetened cocoa powder – since the recipe also uses baking powder, you can use natural or Dutch processed cocoa powder.
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- milk
- vegetable oil
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- boiling water
- butter
- powdered sugar
- half and half
How to make chocolate cake
- PREP. Grease two 9″ round pans, line with parchment paper, and set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- DRY INGREDIENTS. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- ADD WET INGREDIENTS. Whisk in milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- COMBINE. To finish it off, pour in a cup of boiling water and stir everything together.
- BAKE. The cake batter will be thin. Pour the batter into greased 9″ round cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes.
- COOL. Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto wire racks. Cool completely and frost with chocolate frosting.
Variations
- Other decorations. sprinkles and birthday candles, frosting flowers, a worded message, beautiful berries, or sliced almonds or chopped walnuts.
- Cupcakes. Turn this cake into cupcakes! Just add cupcake liners to a muffin tin and fill to about ⅔ full. Bake for 17-19 minutes. Makes about 24-30 cupcakes.
The Frosting
It’s hard for us not to make a delicious Chocolate Buttercream frosting for this best chocolate cake.
- BEAT. The frosting is best when the butter is already softened. Once it is, beat all the ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Add or take away half and half to get it to be the frosting consistency you desire.
- FROST. Spread this delicious frosting over your cake and add any sprinkles before it sets up.
Frosting Tips
- Crumb coat. Add a thin layer to coat the crumbs. Let it set and then add a thicker layer of frosting without worry that the crumbs will get caught up in it.
- Types of frosting. Try a chocolate ganache, or even Whipped Cream.
- Frostings flavors. Add a sweet Vanilla Frosting, Caramel Frosting, or even Peanut Butter Frosting. Bright flavors like lemon, orange, and berry are a perfect contrast that works well, too.
- Layers. Buttercream and custard are both great choices to spread between cake layers. Spread an even layer, leaving an ¼ inch of space around the edge so there is room for it to spread when the next layer is added.
Storing cake
- Bake ahead of time. Bake a cake 2-3 weeks ahead of time and store it in the freezer until ready to frost it. Allow the cake to cool and wrap each layer with plastic wrap and again with foil before freezing.
- STORE. Keep frosted cake stored, uncut on the counter for 4-5 days. Cover it with a cake keeper or a large bowl to protect the cake from dust.
- Unfrosted cake is best stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then placed in a Ziploc bag on the kitchen counter for up to 3-4 days or in the fridge for en extra day.
- Once the cake has been cut, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the exposed cake, or cover it with more frosting to prevent drying out. Store for 3-4 days at room temperature.
- FREEZE. Place the frosted cake in the freezer for 4-5 hours, or until the frosting is solid. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then again with aluminum foil for 4-6 weeks. Unwrap the plastic wrap, recover it lightly with the foil, and allow the cake to thaw. Freeze unfrosted layers if using later than 5-6 days.
For More Cake Recipes:
Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe
Our deliciously easy chocolate cake recipe topped with homemade chocolate frosting is a no-fuss family favorite for good reason!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Chocolate Frosting
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 6-8 tablespoons half and half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 9-inch round pans with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk in the milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla till smooth. Stir in the boiling water, mixing until smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then invert onto cooling racks. Cool completely.
Frosting
- Beat all ingredients in a bowl until smooth, adding enough half and half to get a spreadable consistency.
- Place one cake on a cake stand or serving tray. Spread about one cup of frosting on the top. Place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining frosting.
- Serve immediately or cover and let sit overnight.
Video
Notes
Turn this cake into cupcakes! Just add cupcake liners to a muffin tin and fill to about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 17-19 minutes. Makes about 24-30 cupcakes.
Store frosted cake. Cover and store the cake on the counter for 4-5 days. Once cut, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the exposed cake, or cover it with more frosting to prevent drying out. Store for 3-4 days at room temperature.
Freeze frosted cake. Place the frosted cake in the freezer for 4-5 hours, or until the frosting is solid. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then again with aluminum foil for 4-6 weeks. Unwrap the plastic wrap, recover it lightly with the foil, and allow the cake to thaw.
Nutrition
Calories: 562kcal, Carbohydrates: 96g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 449mg, Potassium: 289mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 74g, Vitamin A: 320IU, Calcium: 89mg, Iron: 2.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best cake I’ve made and I’ve used it several times now and it’s so moist and delicious
Yay! I’m so glad you love the cake!
The best chocolate cake I ever made! Thank you for this recipe. Easy and delicious!
You’re welcome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake!
Can you make this as cupcakes?
You bet! You’ll just want to reduce/adjust the baking time. Cupcakes are done when you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean/just a few crumbs.
I absolutely love this recipe I have you used it dozens of times. I even substitute the water with coffee to add an extra depth to the cake! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
I loved it it turned out amazing, but it needed to cook for an extra 1 min, Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome!! So glad you enjoyed the cake recipe!
Made this for my husband’s birthday today. The cake is lovely, moist, and has a well-balanced flavor using Nesley’s chocolate powder. The frosting recipe is very too sweet, though. Four cups of sugar is twice as much as we needed here. I filled the cake with fresh roasted pumpkin puree and covered it with a chocolate ganache of my own instead of using your frosting. A big hit with the family, and THANK YOU for the basic recipe! 🙂
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the cake. Thanks for sharing what you did!
This is my go to chocolate cake recipe! It is so delicious! I’m looking for some advice though on how to turn this into a two tier cake? I’d like two 9” layers and two 6”. Any suggestions?
I’m so glad you love the cake recipe!! One recipe yields two 9 inch cakes. I haven’t tried doing it with tiers, but I’m thinking if you wanted to add 2 6 inch cakes, you could probably half the recipe and it would fill the two 6 inch cake pans? You’ll have to let us know how it turns out if you make the two tiers! So fun!
Riki,
One thing we’ve done is to put a cardboard round support between the tiers; but you can’t cut or eat it and would have to be warned that it was there. You can also use plastic straws or dowels inserted vertically to help stabilize the tiers. Even with this additional support, you might have trouble stacking four of these cakes into two or four tiers because of how moist they are. The bottom tier may collapse like quick sand under the weight of the top tier, especially if the filling is very moist or watery, like fresh fruit, for example. Recommend you not add any more moisture to the cake with your filling or you can almost guarantee that it won’t stand up.
Good luck!
how many cupcakes will this recipe makeD
It should make about 24.
I’ve made this once and it was DELISH!
I’d like to try it with almond milk, have you ever tried a Dairy free milk with this recipe?
I’m so glad you loved the cake!! I haven’t tried this recipe with almond milk, but if you do, you’ll have to let us know how it turns out.
Absolutely my new go to chocolate cake recipe! It is so delicious and everyone raved about it! The only thing I did differently was I used Bob’s Red Mill one to one gluten free flour. The cake is moist and the flavor is fantastic! I was a little nervous with how runny it was when I put it in the oven but I just went with it and so glad I did, it came out perfect!
Hooray!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the chocolate cake. And great to hear about the gluten free flour too. Thanks for sharing!