This is the chocolate cake I’ve made more times than I can count. Sift the dry ingredients, whisk in the wet, add boiling water last — the batter will be very thin, almost like chocolate milk, and that’s exactly right. It bakes into two moist, flat layers that keep beautifully for five days and taste deeply of chocolate without being heavy.
The boiling water is what makes this cake: it blooms the cocoa, producing a darker, more intense chocolate flavor and a crumb that stays tender and moist. When you pour it in and the batter looks far too thin to possibly become a cake, trust it and keep going.
Prep: 20 minutes · Bake: 35 minutes · Cool: 1 hour · Serves 12
What You Need
- 1 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (90g) unsweetened cocoa powder — Dutch-process for more intensity, natural for standard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups (400g) white sugar — caster or regular granulated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Frosting: 1.5x batch of chocolate buttercream — scaled up by 50% from a standard recipe
How to Make It
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) — 320°F if using a fan/convection oven. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bases with parchment.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl. Add the sugar and salt and whisk briefly to combine. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and whisk well for about 30 seconds until the batter is smooth and lump-free.
Add the boiling water and whisk to incorporate. The batter will be very thin. This is correct. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans.
Bake for 35 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes.
Turn the cakes out upside down onto wire racks — the flat bottom becomes the top surface for frosting, which gives you cleaner, neater slices. Cool completely before frosting, at least 1 hour.
Pan Options and Timing
Same oven temperature for all pan sizes:
- Two 9-inch (22cm) round pans — 35 minutes
- Two 8-inch (20cm) round pans — 38 minutes
- Three 8-inch (20cm) round pans — 32 minutes
- Single 9-inch pan — 40 to 45 minutes
- Bundt pan — 50 minutes
- 9×13 inch rectangle — 35 to 40 minutes
If baking on two separate oven shelves: bake the top pan for 35 minutes, then move the bottom pan up to the top shelf and bake for a further 5 minutes.
Springform pans: the thin batter leaks through the gap where the sides meet the base. If using one, press softened butter into that seam to plug it, and place a tray on the bottom oven rack to catch any drips.
Storage
Keeps in an airtight container for up to 5 days — still moist and tender on day five. Refrigerate if frosted and it’s very warm. Freezing is not recommended; this cake is so moist that thawing makes the crumb wet and pudding-like rather than cakey.
Per Slice (cake only, before frosting)
- ~340 calories
- 10g fat, 59g carbs, 5g protein
Make This for Any Celebration
This is the chocolate cake I come back to because it works every time without fail. The thin batter looks alarming the first time you make it, and then the cakes come out of the oven flat and even and deeply chocolatey and you make it again. And again after that.
Tell me in the comments which pan size you used and whether you went Dutch-process or natural cocoa. Rate the recipe, save it on Pinterest, and subscribe for more.
Print
Classic Chocolate Layer Cake
A deeply chocolatey two-layer cake made with a very thin batter — boiling water added last — that bakes up moist, tender, and completely flat. Frosted with chocolate buttercream. Keeps beautifully for 5 days.
- Total Time55 minutes
- Yield12 slices 1x
Ingredients
The Cake
- 220 g all-purpose flour (1 3/4 cups)
- 90 g unsweetened cocoa powder (3/4 cup) — Dutch-process for more intensity, natural for standard
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 400 g white sugar (2 cups) — caster/superfine or regular granulated
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 240 ml milk, low-fat or full-fat (1 cup)
- 120 ml vegetable or canola oil (1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 240 ml boiling water (1 cup) — added last
Frosting
- 1.5x batch chocolate buttercream frosting
Instructions
Make the Batter
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 320°F (160°C) fan. Grease two 9-inch (22cm) round cake pans with butter and line the bases with parchment paper.
- Mix dry, then wet: Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl. Add the sugar and salt and whisk briefly to combine. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk well for about 30 seconds until the batter is smooth and lump-free.
- Add boiling water: Pour in the boiling water and whisk to incorporate. The batter will be very thin — this is correct and intentional. Divide evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
Bake and Cool
- Bake for 35 minutes until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks upside down — the flat base becomes the frosting surface — and cool completely before frosting, at least 1 hour.
Notes
The batter is very thin and this is correct — the boiling water blooms the cocoa and produces an exceptionally moist, tender cake. Don’t be alarmed. Turn the cakes out upside down onto the wire rack; the flat bottom becomes the top surface for frosting, giving cleaner slices. If placing the pans on separate oven shelves, bake the top pan at 35 minutes, then move the bottom pan to the top shelf for a further 5 minutes. Do not use a springform pan with this batter without sealing the base first — the thin batter leaks through gaps. Keeps in an airtight container for 5 days. Freezing is not recommended as the texture becomes very pudding-like on thawing.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American, Australian
Nutrition
- Calories: 340
- Sugar: 40
- Sodium: 360
- Fat: 10
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Carbohydrates: 59
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 5
