Classic and Easy Chocolate Cake

Gather the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. The cakes will release better if the bottoms of pans are lined with a circle of parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar, and cocoa powder. Add salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and whisk until everything is blended.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla, and whisk to combine. Then whisk in boiling water.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pans and transfer to oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, or with a crumb or two attached. Start testing after 27 minutes to avoid over-baking.

Cool cakes for 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack. Loosen edges by running a knife along sides, turn cakes out onto racks, and cool for at least another hour.

Once cool, you can trim your cakes to be more level, eating any scraps or keep as is. Place one layer on a cake stand, then cover with a layer of frosting. Place the second layer, top side-down on the buttercream. Finish the cake with the remaining buttercream, as desired.