Simple 4-Ingredient Chocolate Cake

If you're looking for the world's simplest, quickest, tastiest chocolate cake from scratch, this is the recipe for you!

At a Glance: 4 Ingredient Chocolate Cake

👩‍🍳 Skill Level: Super beginner-friendly
🥄 Flavor Profile: Rich, chocolatey, moist, and deeply satisfying
🧁 Options Included: Sheet cake, cupcakes, or mini loaves
🎯 Best For: Quick weeknight desserts, birthday cakes, or no-fuss baking

Can I Really Bake a Cake with Only Four Ingredients?

The idea might seem preposterous. Crazy, even! I certainly felt that way when I first stumbled across the recipe online.

It happened on a particular day when I found myself out of all-purpose flour. I happened to have a bag of self-rising flour in the pantry and decided to use that. But, what recipe would I choose?

I perused the web and landed on a chocolate cake recipe that looked doable at Kirbie's Cravings. So, I gave it a try. And, y'all. . .I'm so glad I did. Turns out, less really is more sometimes!

What Ingredients are Missing in this Cake?

This recipe reminded me a little of my Screwball cake, which is short on ingredients. Noticeably missing from this 4-ingredient cake: eggs, oil, and butter. All three of those things are often key players in cake recipes (especially chocolate) so I truly didn't know how or if this would work.

Like I said. . .it did! And I'll tell you more about that later. For now, let's look at what you'll need to make this delicious cake.

4-Ingredient Chocolate Cake Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here's a quick look at what you'll need. These are such simple ingredients! You might already have them on hand in your kitchen.

• 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup white sugar (granulated sugar)
• 1 ⅓ cups whole milk

That's it! Just four simple ingredients!

How to Make this Delicious Chocolate Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and sugar until they are all well combined.

Pour the milk into the bowl.

Whisk, whisk, whisk!

Pour into prepared pan and place in preheated oven.

Bake for thirty minutes or until the cake springs back to the touch. A toothpick should come out clean.

Remove and place on wire rack to cool.

I served mine with a dark chocolate frosting (much like my chocolate ganache frosting) but you could also use my Dreamy Buttercream or even my Marshmallow Fluff frosting (which, I think, would be amazing with this chocolate cake).

Store leftovers in an airtight container. They will stay fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days or a bit longer in the refrigerator. You can freeze this cake to eat later. Slice and place in freezer bags up to two months.

What to Expect from This Cake

I was so surprised at this cake, friends. It's a perfectly lovely chocolate cake, just what you would expect! You can bake it into a layer cake, if you like. I haven't tried it yet in a bundt, but it would be fun to give it a try. I'm always so excited to find new-to-me recipes like these, especially the easy ones!

Other Chocolate Cakes from Out of the Box Baking

If you like this recipe, you'll love some of my other chocolate cakes. Here are some fan favorites:

Ultimate Chocolate Cake: If you're a chocolate lover you're going to adore this Ultimate Chocolate Cake Recipe! It's rich and decadent, with a tender, moist crumb. Once you've whipped together this easy cake, you'll never look back.

Easy Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake: If you love rich, decadent chocolate cake but you've sworn off gluten, this is the recipe for you. You can stop searching for the perfect flourless, gluten free chocolate cake, my friend. You've found it right here, in this post.

Chocolate Pound Cake with Sour Cream: If you love a rich chocolate cake but enjoy the weight of a pound cake, this is the recipe for you! It comes together in just a few short steps and starts with a box of cake mix! 

Best Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (With Chocolate Mayonnaise Frosting): If you're looking for a rich, moist cake, loaded with flavor, you've come to the right place. This Old Fashioned Chocolate Mayonnaise cake is a southern favorite guaranteed to please everyone on your guest list. And this yummy recipe takes things a step further, adding a rich chocolate frosting with mayonnaise in it, as well!

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That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe. 

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you're at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 165 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.