Perfect Chocolate Sheet Cake
This Perfect Chocolate Sheet Cake is rich, moist, and deeply chocolatey with a soft crumb and fluffy chocolate buttercream. Baked in a 9×13-inch pan, it’s an easy crowd-pleaser!
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 731kcal
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ¾ cups (219 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (90 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- ½ cup (112 g) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (237 g) freshly brewed hot coffee, or hot water
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 1 ½ cups (3 sticks / 340 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (500 g) confectioners' sugar
- ¾ cup (88.5 g) cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 pinch table salt
- 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- With mixer on low, slowly add wet ingredients to dry.
- Add hot coffee (or water) and mix just until combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan. Tap pan on the counter to remove air bubbles.
- Bake 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs (no wet batter). Start checking at 28 minutes to avoid overbaking.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Chocolate Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk butter and sugar on medium-high speed until very pale and fluffy or about five minutes. Be sure to stop at least once and scrape the bowl.
- With the mixer off, add in cocoa powder, vanilla and salt.
- Turn mixer on low and blend for about 30 seconds.
- One tablespoon at a time add in heavy cream.
- Once all cream has been added and mixture is mostly combined, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Now turn the mixer onto medium-high to high and whisk for 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture is lighter and fluffier. The frosting will be shiny and seem to have many large air bubbles throughout and this is exactly what we are going for. (You can smooth those out on the cake if so desired.)
- Generously frost the cooled cake with chocolate buttercream* (or your favorite topping).
Notes
*This makes a generous amount of frosting. Use it all for a thick layer, or save a little for piping or another treat.
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece with frosting | Calories: 731kcal