As a child, I ADORED chocolate cake. Honestly, I still do. Though I am not the largest fan of white frosting, I find this recipe quite delicious. I thought, aesthetically, the darkness of the cake and the brightness of the white would look cool to photograph, so that’s where the idea for this recipe is stemming from. Truly though, I do not think there is a more classic cake in the world than chocolate sheet cake. It is at every kid’s birthday party, and I think I eat it at least 10 times a year at various events. So, why should you not learn to make it yourself? It will be a billion times better than something store-bought, and it takes about the same amount of time to make as it does to actually go to the store and buy a cake. Be adventurous! Make this chocolate sheet cake and be proud of what you’ve done!
I love the idea of a sheet cake. They are so low stress, but they yield the same delicious result as a three-layer cake. Without the hassle of stacking cakes on top of each other, portioning your frosting between each layer, or actually having to try hard to decorate them, sheet cakes are a blessing. All you need to dress up a sheet cake are some sprinkles and frosting swooshes, and that’s it! I like to make my frosting swirls with the back of a large spoon. I try to go clockwise and counter-clockwise when I am making the swoops to try and give the cake a sporadic and exciting pattern. Try it out yourself and see what works for you! The best part of all is if you hate how it looks, you can always smooth it out and start again.
What kind of cocoa is best? Does it matter?
Up until about 4 years ago, I had no concept of “types” of cocoa. To me, there was Hershey’s 100% Natural Cocoa (if I were lucky) and most often, Aldi basic brand cocoa. I later learned that both of these are natural cocoa powders and that there was a whole world of chocolate flavor out there to explore. I went through many brands and types of cocoa powders, learning about dutch-processed, blends, black cocoa, and even cacao powder. In the end, I concluded that I preferred dutch-processed, which made me re-evaluate just how I bake my recipes.
Though I prefer dutch-processed, you may prefer the more acidic natural cocoa powder that is common in America. If that is your preference, that is totally cool! However, you will have to make a small adjustment to this recipe if you want to stick with natural cocoa. Different cocoa powders have different pH levels, meaning they react differently depending on what kind of leavener you are using. For this recipe if you would like to swap for natural cocoa, you can, but you should swap the amounts of baking powder and baking soda, meaning now you would use 2 teaspoons of baking soda and only 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder. This will give the correct rise to your cake instead of having a sad, flat cake coming out of your oven.
Chocolate Sheet Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ¾ cup Cocoa Powder (dutch process is best for this, but natural can work too)
- 1 cup Boiling Water
- 1¾ cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1½ teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 cup Whole Milk (buttermilk also works)
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter (melted)
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
For the Frosting:
- ¾ cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
- 2½ cups Powdered Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1-2 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream (whole milk will also work)
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick spray and flour. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, add the cocoa powder and boiling water. Whisk to incorporate all of the cocoa powder. Set aside to allow the cocoa to bloom while you prepare the other ingredients.
- To a large clean bowl, add the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine. To these dry ingredients, add the milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk together until just incorporated and a few streaks of flour remain. The mixture will be thick at this stage.
- Carefully, add the cocoa and boiling water mixture to the cake batter until well combined. It should still be hot/warm at this point. The cake batter will become significantly thinner at this stage.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and salt and mix on low until it begins to incorporate. Add the vanilla. Once fully incorporated, beat on high for 2-3 minutes until it looks lighter in color and very fluffy. If the mixture is too thick add 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream and beat to combine. Continue adding 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Follow me on Instagram @BAKINGWITHLEMON and hashtag your posts #BAKINGWITHLEMON if you make one of my recipes! I adore seeing you guys get creative with baking!
