One Bowl Chocolate Cake

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 Cookdap community agrees: You don't want to miss this simple chocolate cake recipe.

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 Cookdap 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.

Cookdap 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.”