Deliciously moist, perfectly chocolatey, and bakes up beautifully each time. This perfect chocolate sheet cake is great for a large gathering, a birthday, or special dessert for family dinner or guests.
Oh boy, do I have a good for you all today! Who doesn’t need the perfect recipe for a chocolate sheet cake in their life?!? This cake is so rich with chocolate flavor (totally a good thing in my world!) and it bakes up perfectly each time! This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman and you know if it comes from her then it has to be perfection. 
My birthday was this past Thursday and I made this for my birthday cake 🙂 Yes. I made it myself. The husband is busy at work but made up for it by walking in the house from work with some roses. The older I get the less important birthdays are to me. My kids were so excited and kept asking me all day long “mom, how old are you turning this birthday?” I had to answer that question wayyyyy too many times 🙂
I have not been craving or wanting sweets or dairy at all this pregnancy. Which is why it was so hard to decide what to make for my birthday. I finally settled on chocolate cake because we all love chocolate. I had a piece of cake with some cookies n’ cream ice cream and it was heaven. But, I had a tummy ache from all the dairy and sugar for like day afterwards. It’s so sad. I see all this chocolate cake just staring at me in the kitchen and I can’t eat it…… and that’s so not like me to turn down some chocolate cake. All this baby wants is scrambled eggs and green salad. My other son was the same way when I was pregnant with him. SO weird?!?
Please give this chocolate sheet cake a try. It’s so yummy. I can’t say enough how good it is. The best part is the chocolate frosting that gets poured on top of the hot cake right out of the oven. It kind of soaks in and hardens on top. Oh my! So good!
Be sure and sprinkle some brown/chocolate sprinkles on top of the frosting immediately after spreading out the frosting. It dries and hardens fairly quickly, so you don’t want to miss your chance to get those sprinkles to stick on.
If you don't have buttermilk then add 2 teaspoons white vinegar to 1/2 cup of milk. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes. It's best to use whole milk for this but any milk will work.
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 cup (heaping) cocoa powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cubed
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- brown/chocolate sprinkles
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk together.
- In a saucepan, over medium-high heat melt butter. Add cocoa powder. Stir together.
- Add boiling water, and allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture in the bowl and stir together lightly to cool.
- In a glass measuring cup (or small bowl) combine the buttermilk, beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir together with a fork. Pour into the chocolate/flour mixture and stir together until fully combined. Pour into your cookie sheet (13" x 18") and bake for 20 minutes.
- While the cake is baking make the icing (I waited until there was about 12 minutes bake time left). Add butter, cocoa powder, and milk to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter has melted. Remove from heat and immediately stir in vanilla extract and powdered sugar.
- Pour over the warm chocolate cake as soon as it is done baking. Using a spatula, gently smooth the frosting out on top of the cake. Sprinkle with the brown chocolate sprinkles. Let sit and cool/harden for at least an hour or two before cutting it into squares.
Save this recipe for later and PIN IT to PINTEREST
2 Comments
Kris
November 17, 2017 at 6:20 pm What temp do I bake this cake. And....only bake for 20 minutes?Together As Family
November 18, 2017 at 10:49 am 350 degrees and yes it's only 20 minutes. It's a thinner cake because it's made in a sheet pan (aka- cookie sheet with sides). Keep your eye on it cause all ovens are different but it should only take around 20 minutes :)