Southern Living Chocolate Sheet Cake sliced and ready to serve — Photo:
Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel

Active Time:

25 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 55 mins

Servings:

There's nothing quite like a chocolate sheet cake to lift your spirits. Take it from one of our testers in the Southern Living Test Kitchen, who couldn't stop thinking about this sheet cake for two days straight after trying it.

Buttermilk and sour cream together make the cake part of this chocolate sheet cake super rich and moist, and a bit of coffee boosts the depth and intensity of the chocolate flavors. The chocolate buttercream is classic, chocolaty, and sweet. The balance is perfect, and it reminds us a little bit of devil's food cake. But you'll have to see for yourself.

Learn how to make chocolate sheet cake. This recipe is a great alternative to a classic layered chocolate cake, with all of the impressive flavors and celebratory vibes, but without all the icing fuss.

Ingredients for Chocolate Sheet Cake

For the cake:

Baking spray with flour: Keeps the cake from sticking to the dish.
Strong-brewed coffee: Deepens the cocoa flavor and adds some moisture to the batter. Keeping it at room temp helps the mixture meld with with the eggs in the batter. And don't worry. You won't taste coffee.
Canola oil: Instead of butter, we use oil as the primary fat to keep the cake crumb extra tender and moist.
Whole buttermilk and sour cream: Add acidity, a slight tang, and generally help to moisten the batter and ensure a tender crumb.
Vanilla extract: Offers mildly sweet vanilla notes and brightens up the flavor of the cake.
Large eggs: Binds the batter together and helps it rise.
All-purpose flour: This provides the structure of the cake. You could use cake flour, but all-purpose flour is typically easier to find, and it's sturdy for all the ingredients in this recipe.
Granulated sugar: For sweetness and tenderness in the cake.
Unsweetened cocoa: Provides a slightly acidic, bitter chocolate flavor. The rest of the ingredients will bolster it and make it extra chocolaty. Opt for traditional unsweetened cocoa (like Hershey's) as it helps to interact with the baking soda and baking powder to leaven the cake. (Dutch process cocoa is neutral, and might not have quite the same rise in the oven.)

Baking soda and baking powder: These leavening agents together ensure that the cake rises.
Kosher salt: Enhances the overall flavors of the cake.

For the buttercream icing:

Unsalted butter: This should be just softened so you can whip up great buttercream.
Powdered sugar: This type of sugar adds body to the frosting and won't leave behind any grainy texture.
Unsweetened cocoa: More cocoa is used here for the deep, robust flavor.
Vanilla extract: More vanilla extract also helps elevate all the flavors of the frosting.
Kosher salt: A bit of kosher salt helps balance and bring out all the notes of the flavors in the chocolate and enhances the icing overall.
Heavy whipping cream: A bit of very heavy cream with making icing spreadable.

Southern Living Chocolate Sheet Cake ingredients — Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel

Our Tips for Making a Great Chocolate Sheet Cake

It's an easy recipe to make, but even experienced bakers can learn a thing or two about sheet cakes:

Whip wise: Use a paddle attachment when making the buttercream to help reduce the amount of air that gets into the icing during the mixing process; this ensures a nice and smooth buttercream.
Make ahead: Store the unfrosted cake in an airtight container or wrapped very tightly in plastic wrap, and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Frosting cheat: This buttercream frosting can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; let it come to room temperature completely before using.

How To Decorate A Chocolate Sheet Cake

Once you've iced your chocolate sheet cake, you can decorate it as you like! This makes it extremely versatile to all sorts of occasions and tastes. Here are some ideas to inspire you:

Chocolate chips, like mini chocolate chips, up the "chocolate" factor for chocolate lovers. You could also add white chocolate chips for some visual intrigue
Sprinkle with crushed up Oreos for a cookies-and-cream version of the cake—you could even use a vanilla buttercream instead for a different flavor and look.
Classic rainbow candy sprinkles for a birthday celebration aesthetic

More Sheet Cake Recipes To Try

There's a reason why sheet cakes are beloved by so many—they're simple to prepare, simpler to ice, and they're easy for toting along to potlucks and parties. Here are a few more sheet cake recipes you might like to try:

Ingredients

Cake:

Baking spray with flour
1 1/4 cups strong brewed coffee, at room temperature
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup whole buttermilk
1/3 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups (about 10 5/8 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup (about 1 1/4 oz.) unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Buttercream:

1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups (about 16 oz.) powdered sugar
1 cup (about 3 1/4 oz.) unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Rainbow candy sprinkles (optional)

Directions

Prepare the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with baking spray; set aside. Whisk together coffee, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs in a medium bowl until fully combined.

Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel

Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Make Cake batter:

Gradually add coffee mixture to flour mixture in large bowl, beating with an electric mixer on low speed, until batter is combined and smooth, about 1 minute.

Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel

Pour batter into prepared baking pan.

Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
Bake Cake:

Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely in baking pan on a wire rack, about 1 hour.

Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
Prepare the Buttercream:

Beat butter with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
Add cocoa and sugar to butter mixture:

Whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa in a medium bowl until fully combined and no lumps remain. Reduce mixer speed to lowest setting, and gradually add powdered sugar mixture to butter mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until just combined after each addition and stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed, about 6 minutes total.

Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
Add cream:

With mixer running on lowest setting, beat in vanilla and salt. Slowly add heavy cream, beating until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat 20 to 30 seconds to remove any lumps, being careful not to overbeat.

Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
Add frosting to Cake:

Using an offset spatula, spread frosting in an even layer over cooled cake. Top evenly with rainbow candy sprinkles (if using).

Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel