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Our best-loved chocolate sheet cake topped with smooth chocolate frosting is simply delicious and feeds a crowd!
best-ever Sheet Cake
We think it’s pretty hard NOT to like cake – especially chocolate cake.
It happens to be a personal favorite, but more than ANY other recipe on the website, this chocolate sheet cake recipe is my favorite. No joke – I crave it fortnightly and can never stop eating it because it’s so MOIST and DELICIOUS!!
This also happens to be one of our top desserts we make when company comes over, because it’s easy, it’s delicious and it feeds a crowd (another favorite is our White Texas Sheet Cake).
It’s perfect for gatherings, holidays, parties, BBQs and anything else you can imagine. And it’s especially addicting served with vanilla ice cream. We can’t have this cake lying around at the house, because we will literally eat the whole pan. It’s just so soft, has the best chocolate flavor and is SO addicting!!
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- For sharing! This sheet pan cake is great for feeding a crowd. It makes around 24 servings.
- No fuss. This is one EASY cake. There is little prep and it bakes up in only 20 minutes. No layers, just a soft, chocolatey cake!
- Our best-loved sheet cake! This is a top-requested recipe and one we often bring to events and potlucks.
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour – see how to Measure Flour Correctly
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder – use natural cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs – room temperature eggs incorporate better
- 1 cup buttermilk – see how to Make Your Own Buttermilk (buttermilk subs can be used, but we highly recommend real buttermilk for best results) 😉
- 1 cup hot water
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil – or canola oil or melted coconut oil
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- toppings (optional) – chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts, milk or white chocolate chips, chopped toffee, or toasted coconut
How to Make Chocolate Sheet Cake
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 11×15 cake pan and set aside.
- BATTER. Stir 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, ½ cup cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add 2 eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup hot water, and ⅔ cup oil to the dry ingredients. Beat with a hand mixer until combined and smooth (it should be runny). Pour the chocolate mixture into a greased 11×15-inch baking dish.
- BAKE. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- FROSTING. Melt ½ cup butter in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 5 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add 3½ cups powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.
- Remove from the heat and pour over the warm cake. Spread frosting quickly and add nuts right away, since frosting sets up quickly.
Chocolate Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup hot water
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- chopped nuts, for topping (optional)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, hot water, and oil. Beat with a hand mixer until combined and smooth (it should be runny). Pour into a greased 11×15-inch baking dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Frosting
- Melt butter in a medium pot over low heat. Add cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.
- Remove from the heat and pour over the warm cake. Spread frosting quickly and add nuts right away, since frosting sets up quickly.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Wedding-sized pieces: 1×2 inches
Party-sized pieces: 2×2 inches
Dessert-size pieces: 3×2.5 inches
Make the cake as instructed, but do not add frosting. Once cool, cover with plastic wrap and store on the counter for up to 24 hours, or freeze for 2 months. When ready to serve, make frosting and add it to the cake.
Store leftovers, covered, at room temperature for 2-3 days or in a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1-2 months.
Hi! I have a question…i swear i made this cake and loved it, especially the FROSTING but i don’t remember adding the VEGETABLE oIl. Is this a recebt change? Thanks!
No, but I do have another chocolate cake on the site, that doesn’t have the veg oil. Could you have tried the other one?
Made this cake today to take to family dinner and it’s great. Very quick to put together too. I’ll definitely make this recipe again.
Happy to hear that! Thanks so much for trying it!!
I decided to be cautious because my oven runs a little hot so i baked my cake at 350F for 20 min and when I checked on it it was still entirely liquid. So i bumped the heat up to 375F. I’m hoping it still turns our alright, ive never made a sheet cake before (but plenty of others with a hich success rate) so im just hoPing it was a temperature problem. The frosting is already done and tastes delicious.
How did it turn out? I hope it was baked all the way through & you liked it!
Wow buddy!!! In this lock down period you helped me a lot… Thanks buddy.. I would like to try this tomorrow 🙂
Glad I could help! Hope you like this!
how much is a cube of butter?
8 Tablespoons 🙂
Hi Kristyn, I am having problems with this recipe and I don’t know what I am doing wrong. First, I use the ingredients on the back of the lemon cake mix box, which is 1 cup water, 3 eggs, and 1/3 cup oil. Then I add the cup of but5termilk and other ingredients. I put in a 350 degree oven and bake, and bake and bake. It took almost 45 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan. May I should have used glass. At any rate, while it’s cooling, it just flops down to about an inch height, making me think that it fell. Then I make the icing, and when it’s done, it has a grainy texture which I attribute to the dry 2 tbsp of lemon jello mix. My friend loves this cake but I am always embarrassed to take it to her because I think it has fallen, but she says it’s so good and begs me to make it for her. With the info I’ve given you, can you tell me why the cake ends up an inch high when it comes out of the oven to the top of a sheet pan, about 2 inches? Help!
Is this comment for the chocolate sheet cake? I’m thinking you meant it for another recipe..let me know, so I can see if I can help 🙂
When I was making this cake the batter came out a little watery.
Is that typical? not sure if I did it right. hoping to impress my friends for a Valentine get together.
Thanks I love the website.
Awe, thank you!! It isn’t a thick, batter, but It’s not completely runny either. It’s in between. Did it turn out ok? I hope so!!
I have an urgent question!! I’ve made this cake numerous times with complete success. I would like to make it tonight but I’m out of vegetable oil. could I use unflavored coconut oil instead?
So, sorry I did not respond sooner! Did you try the coconut oil? I personally have not tried & would love to know what you thought. Thank you!
Had a lot of trouble. First…what was a cube of butter? We thought about 2 tablespoons off a 1/4 pound stick. But I wondered if that was enough for the frosting. Googled it. No, it’s 1/4 pound stick. Then the oven temperature. A 25º range, 350º to 375º What??? Then 4-6 Tablespoons cocoa and milk for the frosting. From 4 to 6 is a 50% difference. It was a frustrating mess. Didn’t focus in on the frosting recipe until the cake was in the oven.
Hi there! Is this made in a normal 13×9 pan? Did I miss the pan size? Thanks, Tina
It’s in a paragraph above the recipe. You can use an 11×14 or a jelly roll pan. Hope that helps 🙂 Enjoy!!