Chocolate Sheet Cake

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This easy chocolate sheet cake is sure to become a staple in your recipe collection. The batter comes together in minutes, the cake itself is super moist and flavorful, and the chocolate buttercream is light, fluffy, and totally to die for.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Fabulous texture. Although my recipe for the Best Chocolate Cake is undeniably the moistest ever, this one is a close runner-up. It’s moist and wonderfully tender. You won’t be able to keep your fork out of it.
  • Fluffy frosting. The frosting for this cake is so light and fluffy. It’s the perfect complement to the tender cake beneath it. Learn more about what makes this frosting so special in the section below titled “What Makes This Cake Different?”.
  • Easy to make. This is such a simple chocolate cake recipe. The mixing method for the batter is straightforward (no fancy creaming or anything like that) and comes together in minutes. Plus, it’s a sheet cake. So, you won’t need to worry about stacking, filling, and frosting any layers.
slice of chocolate sheet cake on a plate with a bite taken out

What Makes This Cake Different?

I have a library of chocolate cake recipes on my site. You might be asking yourself, “What sets this one apart?”. I’ll tell you.

  • One layer. This is a sheet cake which means that all of the batter goes into one baking pan. No fancy layers to stack. Just bake the cake, let it cool, and spread frosting over the top.
  • Fast baking. Most of my chocolate layer cake recipes bake at 300°F and need about 30 minutes in the oven when the batter is divided between three 8-inch cake pans. This one bakes at 350°F in about the same amount of time but all of the batter is in one larger baking pan. Much more efficient.
  • A fluffier frosting. This is my usual chocolate frosting, but I beat it for a few minutes for this cake. This incorporates more air into the frosting, making it super light and fluffy.
  • Slightly firmer texture. My layered chocolate cake recipe (mentioned above) is truly the most tender chocolate cake, but sometimes it’s a little too tender, depending on what you need or want. This chocolate cake has a little less liquid and uses both baking soda and baking powder to achieve a little bit firmer texture, while still being super tender and amazing.

Looking for more chocolate cake recipes? I have been obsessed with this German Chocolate Cake lately, but feel free to peruse all of my chocolate cake recipes. Let me know which is your favorite.

Ingredient Notes

Here’s what you’ll need to make this chocolate sheet cake recipe. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below for precise measurements.

For the cake

  • All-purpose flour – Make sure to measure the flour correctly. Otherwise, you won’t end up with the proper texture for your cake layers. You don’t want a dry cake.
  • Sugar
  • Natural unsweetened cocoa powder – You could use Dutch-processed cocoa powder instead for a richer chocolate flavor, but it may not rise quite as much.
  • Baking soda and baking powder – I used both to get the perfect rise and texture.
  • Salt – Salt adds flavor to food and that’s true in baked goods. Without it, your cake will be bland.
  • Milk – I suggest using 2% or whole milk.
  • Vegetable oil – I used vegetable oil instead of butter in this recipe. It makes the cake so wonderfully moist.
  • Vanilla extract
  • Eggs – Be sure to use large eggs, not medium or extra large.
  • Hot water – The hot water helps the cocoa powder bloom, bringing out its full chocolaty flavor potential.

To make the frosting

  • Unsalted butter – The butter should be softened to room temperature before using. If it is too cold, your frosting will turn out lumpy. If it is melted, the frosting will be runny.
  • Powdered sugar – To add volume to the buttercream and also control the consistency.
  • Natural unsweetened cocoa powder – Dutch-processed cocoa powder will also work if you want a richer chocolate flavor.
  • Vanilla extract
  • Heavy cream – You could use milk, but it will thin out your frosting more quickly.
  • Chocolate shavings – I decorated this cake with chocolate shavings by running a vegetable peeler along the side of a chocolate baking bar. Feel free to use sprinkles or something else, as well.
close up angled image of a slice of chocolate sheet cake on white plate

How to Make Chocolate Sheet Cake

Get ready for an awesome cake. Here’s a quick overview of how to make this easy chocolate cake. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.

Make the Cake

  • Prepare your pan & preheat the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a 9×13 inch cake pan with non-stick baking spray.
  • Mix the dry ingredients. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together.
  • Mix the wet ingredients. Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and eggs to a medium sized bowl and combine.
  • Combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Add the hot water and mix until combined.
  • Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  • Cool. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely.

Make the Chocolate Frosting

  • Beat the butter in a large mixer bowl until smooth.
  • Add the sugar. Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  • Add vanilla and cream and mix until smooth.
  • More sugar and cocoa powder. Add remaining powdered sugar and cocoa powder and mix until smooth.
  • Add remaining cream until the frosting is the right consistency.
  • Beat to add air. Beat frosting on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until it has lightened in color and gotten fluffy.
  • Frost. Spread frosting evenly onto the cake. Top with chocolate shavings, if desired.
fully frosted chocolate sheet cake in the pan with chocolate shavings on top

Getting Your Frosting Just Right

This is essentially my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting except with a little less sugar. I also beat the frosting for an extra couple of minutes to incorporate more air. The result? The lightest, fluffiest chocolate buttercream ever. So don’t skimp on that 2-3 minutes of whipping the buttery, sugary, chocolate frosting into a frenzy.

As always, remember to start with room-temperature butter. If it is too cold, you’ll find yourself with lumpy frosting.

More Tips for Success

Want to get this homemade chocolate cake right the first time around? Pay attention to these pro tips and tricks.

  • Don’t over-mix. When combining the wet and dry ingredients, do not over-mix. This can cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop, resulting in a tough, overly dense cake.
  • Make sure the water is hot. You want the water to be piping hot. The heat helps the cocoa powder bloom, leaving you with a much more satisfying chocolate flavor.
  • Room temperature butter. Allow the butter for the frosting to soften at room temperature before using. If it is too cold, your frosting will turn out lumpy. If the butter is too melted, the frosting will turn out runny.
  • Let it cool. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting it. If it is too warm, the frosting will melt and slide right off.
slice of chocolate sheet cake on white plate and cream colored napkin

How to Store This Cake

Cover any leftover chocolate sheet cake with a double layer of plastic wrap or arrange slices in a single layer in an airtight container. You can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

More Recipes to Try

Watch How to Make It

Read Transcript

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slice of chocolate sheet cake with a bite taken out
Recipe

Easy Moist Chocolate Cake

  • Author: Life, Love and Sugar
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 32 minutes
  • Total Time: 52 minutes
  • Yield: 12-15 Servings
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This chocolate cake recipe is super easy to put together, moist and delicious! It’s almost as easy as a box mix, but even tastier.


Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 3/4 cups (228g) all purpose flour
  • 2 cups (414g) sugar
  • 3/4 cup (85g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (240ml) milk
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup (240ml) hot water

Chocolate Frosting

  • 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups (345g) powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup (57g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 45 tbsp (60-75ml) heavy cream
  • Sprinkles, optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a 9×13 inch cake pan with non-stick baking spray.
  2. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
  3. Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and eggs to a medium sized bowl and combine.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
  5. Slowly add the hot water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  7. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool.
  8. To make the frosting, beat the butter in a large mixer bowl until smooth.
  9. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  10. Add the vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of cream and mix until smooth.
  11. Add remaining powdered sugar and cocoa and mix until smooth.
  12. Add remaining cream as needed and mix until smooth, keeping an eye on the consistency of the frosting so it doesn’t get too thin.
  13. Beat frosting on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until it has lightened in color and gotten fluffy.
  14. Spread frosting evenly onto the cake. Top with sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

For 8 inch pans: Divide the batter evenly between three 8-inch cake pans and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Slice
  • Calories: 430
  • Sugar: 47.2 g
  • Sodium: 421.7 mg
  • Fat: 19.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 63 g
  • Protein: 5.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 27.3 mg

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487 Comments
      1. miki

        thanks for the awesome recipe! Baked it for my company event and everyone loves it! Thanksss!

  1. Hema

    I made one cake and had some leftover so made two small trays too. The cake was absolutely delicious and will definitely make it again. However we now have the “unfortunate” problem of having more cake than we can eat, is it possible to freeze the cake? Thanks

  2. ham

    Hello,

    sorry by advance because i don’t speek english very well, I’m French, so it’s a beautiful cake and i would like to made this, but i don’t know what is the size of the plate ?

    Thank you

    Ham

  3. Caroline

    Hi there! I’ve tried this cake before and loved it! Everyone else loved it too!! I had used regular milk. I was wondering if Unsweetened Almond milk could work for the milk? Thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t tried it, but I’d guess it’d be alright. Almond milk doesn’t have all the fat though, so it might affect the texture a bit.

  4. Hope

    I made this today for my family and they all loved it My mom wants me to make it for her birthday next year. And even my dad who doesn’t like chocolate cake loves it. he said it was the best chocolate cake he’s ever had. c:

    Thanks for such a great recipe- I love your site and trying out all the food, especially because it’s teaching me how to bake. <3

  5. Sue

    I have made this twice now and both times the very middle is dry on top while the rest is very moist looking all around. It taste delicious just this dry spot in the middle. Of course when you ice it you can’t see it. Why do you think this happens? This has never happened with any other cake I have made.

  6. Kaya

    Hi I am sorry to complain but my frosting didn’t come out like yours do you have any tips but the cake came out great 

  7. Christine

    I’m SO glad I found your blog! I wanted to make my husband a ‘from scratch’ black forest cake and I just pulled it from the oven… it looks amazing! I was a little worried because the batter was really thin compared to what I’ve experienced with box cakes. I followed the recipe exactly as you wrote it (used grams measurement) so I crossed my fingers.

    Absolutely awesome– I nibbled a piece that came out with my fork to test. I also just finished making the chocolate frosting and am floored at how good it is. I used all butter but have never thought to use a bit of water instead of milk. I did that this time around and it helped loosen it up a bit and the frosting whipped up better too.

    I’ll be adding cherry pie filling to individual slices but am thinking I may try adding it to the batter next time and see how that goes. 😉 I wanted to thank you for such a great recipe! I’m saving this — it’s a good one!!

  8. Lauren

    Oh my goodness!  I baked this cake last night to bring to work for a coworker’s birthday.  I made my standard chocolate buttercream (I don’t use shortening).  Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly – even used sprinkles on top!  It is so good!  This will be my new “go-to” chocolate cake recipe!

    1. Lindsay

      So glad you enjoyed it!

      Yes, I tend to add some shortening to frosting for consistency reasons, but in an any frosting on my site where you see shortening, it can be replaced with butter. Just a preference. 🙂

  9. Ruth Ramos

    Thanks for this recipe Ms. Lindsay, everytime we bake a chocolate cake we use this recipe especially if we have an order with our customers. They gave us good feedback with our cakes and cupcakes. So thanks again.. 🙂

  10. Rachael

    Hi Lindsay, I made this cake today, but mine turned out awful! It didn’t rise, and it’s bland, dense and plastic-y in feel/ texture – what have I done wrong? I had to convert measurements because I’m in Australia, and I used extra butter because I didn’t have shortening, so is that where I went wrong? Thanks in advance ????

    1. Lindsay

      What measurements did you need to convert? The main ones have grams and ml listed. Do you also weigh things shown in teaspoons?

  11. Archana

    Thank you for such an amazing recipe. This is the first time I’ve been able to make a moist and delicious cake. And the frosting too!!

    1. Jade

      Very easy to make. Very moist and light. It took around 55-60mins for mine to cook through with a few moist crumbs at 180c. The hot water really does make a difference to the taste of chocolate. Thank you!






    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t actually made a half sheet cake, so it’d be hard for me to say. I’m guessing you’d want to double it.

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I’m the baker, recipe developer and photographer behind Life, Love and Sugar. I love sharing trusted recipes with helpful tips to give you great results.

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29