Name: One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 cups white sugar; 1.75 cups all-purpose flour; 0.75 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 1.5 teaspoons baking powder; 1.5 teaspoons baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 eggs; 1 cup milk; 0.5 cup vegetable oil; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 cup boiling water

Prep Time:

20 mins

Cook Time:

30 mins

Additional Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

1 hrs

Servings:

24

Yield:

2 to 9 - inch round cake layers

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Skip the store-bought mix and make this one-bowl chocolate cake from scratch. It's almost as easy as the boxed stuff, but it's so much more delicious. The Allrecipes community agrees: You don't want to miss this simple chocolate cake recipe.

A slice of chocolate cake seen from the back, with fudge frosting piped along the top and bottom edges — Pictured: One Bowl Chocolate Cake | Photo by Dianne. Dianne

How to Make One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

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:

Mix Dry Ingredients

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

Add Wet Ingredients

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.

Bake

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.

Best Frosting for Chocolate Cake

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 (this recipe is beloved by the Allrecipes community) or a crowd-pleasing buttercream (you'll love this recipe).

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

More inspiration: Frosting and Icing Recipes

How to Store Chocolate Cake

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.

Learn more: How to Store Frosted Cake

Can You Freeze Chocolate Cake?

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.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

"Loved this cake," raves Jinglebells. "It turned out so moist and rich. We all loved it. I am going to add more cocoa powder next time just because we all like chocolate so much. Easy to make and delicious."

"I make this cake all the time and my family loves it," says Kali Hintz. "They request it any time they get the chance to. Also, on top of that it is so easy to prepare and cook! The recipe is delicious, the cake is rich in flavor and also very moist. My number one choice of cake so far."

"This was fantastic," according to Hannah Culbertson. "I, like many other people, was a little scared after adding the water. But the cake was great! I actually made cupcakes, and it made 24 overflowing cupcakes. They tasted so good. Rich and fluffy all at the same time."

Editorial contributions byCorey Willliams

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions

Gather all ingredients.

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

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Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer.

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Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin.

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Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

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Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)

157	Calories
6g	Fat
26g	Carbs
2g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 24
Calories 157
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6g	7%
Saturated Fat 1g	6%
Cholesterol 16mg	5%
Sodium 217mg	9%
Total Carbohydrate 26g	9%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 2g
Calcium 36mg	3%
Iron 1mg	5%
Potassium 73mg	2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.