The details
Here’s one for the chocolate lovers out there. I definitely am one. I wanted my signature chocolate cake to be richly flavored with espresso, fudgy without being dense, and slathered in creamy, rich, and not-too-sweet frosting. This one fits the bill. Not only that, but chocolate sheet cake is a great one for those who are a little bit wary of assembling layer cakes. Simply mix the batter, pour into a prepared pan, bake it up, and slather on that delicious chocolate buttercream. You can decorate with frosting swoops from a spatula or pipe it on like I did (I used Wilton tip No. 8B). The frosting is pretty foolproof, looks amaze, and tastes even better. Sometimes dessert doesn’t have to be complicated to impress. Oh, listening to Barry White while making this Rich + Fudgy Chocolate Sheet Cake is not optional.
Ingredient Notes
One big tip for this recipe: Do NOT skip the espresso powder! It provides such depth and complements chocolate flavors so well. Let it dissolve in that hot water and add slowlyyyy it in at the end of making the batter (it tends to splash, which I learned the hard way). You’ll never go back to making chocolate cake without it. I also use espresso powder for rich chocolatey flavor in my Coconut Oil Espresso Brownies.
Lastly, I highly recommend a glass of full-bodied red wine with this one. Recently, two close friends of Charlie’s and mine (hi, Jack & Kate!) came over with 12, yes 12, bottles of wine to taste to determine selections for their wedding. I served up some of this chocolate sheet cake with our wine and couldn’t help but notice how heavenly it tasted with those final cabs and deep red blends. Or maybe it was the fact that we drank 12 different wines and everything tasted good. Who knows!
Bake to this music
Rich + Fudgy Chocolate Sheet Cake
This is my deepest, richest, and moist-est (for lack of a better word) chocolate cake and the creamiest fudgy frosting. It’s perfect for that real chocolate lover in your life, or as an ending note to date night! Bonus, it’s delicious with a glass of red wine.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup neutral oil
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole-fat buttermilk, room temp
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tsp espresso powder
For the fudgy frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tbsp heavy cream, room temp
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper and/or grease and flour.
- Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sifted cocoa in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Mix together hot water and espresso powder in a heat-proof bowl and set aside.
- Mix together oil and sugar at medium speed until thoroughly combined. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl in between additions. Add vanilla extract. Mix on medium-high speech for 3-4 minutes until entire mixture is lightened in color and emulsified.
- Slowly add flour mixture and buttermilk at low speed, alternating flour-buttermilk-flour-buttermilk-flour. Once combined, slooooowly stream in water/espresso mixture, beating on medium-low until homogenous.
- Pour batter into pan. Batter will be quite thin. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with crumbs only. Cool to room temp on a wire cooling rack.
Make your fudgy buttercream:
- Cream together unsalted butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
- Add in sifted cocoa and powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until combined and smooth.
- Add heavy cream on low speed, and once incorporated, increase speed to medium high and whip butter cream until fluffy and lightened in color.
- Assemble your cake: spread buttercream on and create swoops with a spatula, or be fancy and pipe it on like I did. Top with sprinkles if desired.
Notes
- Espresso powder can be found in the baking section of gourmet grocery stores or on Amazon. It is provides the deepest, most rich chocolate flavor and is required for this recipe!!
- If piping the frosting, I recommend you double the frosting recipe. You will likely have a little left over.
- Cake can be made ahead of time and stored tightly wrapped at room temp. Once frosted, store the cake in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Keywords: chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, sheet cake