1. Preheat Your Oven

First things first! Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). This ensures your cake bakes evenly from the start.

2. Prepare Your Pans

Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. This will help your cake come out easily once it’s baked. If you have parchment paper, you can line the bottoms of the pans for extra insurance against sticking.

3. Combine Dry Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make sure there are no lumps; this will help your cake rise beautifully.

4. Add Wet Ingredients

Add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to combine everything for about 2 minutes until smooth.

5. Add Boiling Water

Carefully stir in the boiling water. Yes, it will look a bit runny, but that’s exactly what you want! This step helps to make the cake incredibly moist.

6. Pour into Pans

Evenly distribute the batter between the two prepared cake pans. You can use a kitchen scale if you want to be precise—each pan should hold about 1,000g of batter.

7. Bake

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Your kitchen will smell divine during this time!

8. Cool the Cakes

Once baked, remove the pans from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Then, transfer the cakes to wire racks to cool completely.

9. Make the Frosting

While the cakes are cooling, let’s make that luscious fudge frosting! In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, alternating with the milk. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Finally, stir in the vanilla extract.

10. Frost the Cake

Once the cakes are completely cool, place one layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous amount of frosting on top. Add the second layer and frost the top and sides of the cake. Don’t worry about perfection—rustic is beautiful!

11. Decorate (Optional)

If you want to get fancy, you can add chocolate shavings, sprinkles, or fresh berries on top for an extra touch. This cake is stunning just as it is, but a little decoration never hurts!