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Our favorite chocolate sheet cake recipe. It’s simple, moist, delicious and serves a lot making it our go-to party dessert – perfect with ice cream.
This is our most-requested dessert for family functions! This classic sheet cake is simple, moist and topped with an irresistible frosting making it great for holidays, BBQs and parties.
best-ever Sheet Cake
I think it’s pretty hard NOT to like cake. It’s just so good… and today’s recipe is probably the dessert that I consider the most addicting of any I’ve ever made before. It’s true – this Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake is the BEST EVER, and it’s easy (Also be sure to check out our White Sheet Cake recipe).
If you don’t believe me, just try it. I promise it will not disappoint. We got the recipe from a family friend years ago, and it quickly became a favorite.
This particular cake makes a lot, so it’s become a staple for get togethers and birthday parties (it’s big where the word Texas comes in). 😉 We change out the sprinkles based on the occasion and usually serve it with different kinds of ice cream. If you like chopped pecans you can add those too!
If I’m going to be honest, I can’t have this cake laying around at my house, because I will literally eat the whole pan. It’s just so soft, so flavorful and SO addicting!!
How to Make Sheet cake:
Although this cake is made in a jelly-roll pan and is made with classic pantry ingredients, we omit the pecans which are classic in a Texas Sheet Cake recipe.
Can you add the pecans if you like them? Of course!! We just have so many kids in the family that sprinkles tend to get a better response than the nuts. But as I mentioned, we tend to have all these ingredients on hand which means we make this all the time!
To make this cake, mix the flour, sugar, Hershey’s baking cocoa, baking soda, and salt together. Add eggs, oil, buttermilk and hot water and mix all together.
Pour this into a greased jelly roll pan or an 11×15 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
While cake is still warm, make frosting by combining butter, cocoa, milk, vanilla and powdered sugar in a small pot. Heat and whisk until butter is melted and there are no more clumps. Pour over the warm cake and top with sprinkles right away before the frosting sets.
Can you add nuts? Of course! Most classic Texas sheet cake recipes have chopped pecans in the frosting. Our kids just happen to like sprinkles better so that is why we use them. 😉
Buttermilk Substitute
This recipe calls for buttermilk, but that is the one ingredient that many don’t always have on hand. Although there really isn’t anything that tastes JUST like buttermilk, there are plenty of buttermilk substitutes than you can use in a recipe.
- ACIDIFIED MILK
- Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup, and add enough milk until it measures 1 cup. Stir, and let sit for five minutes before using.
- WATERED-DOWN YOGURT
- Whisk a bit of milk or water into plain, unsweetened yogurt until you get a buttermilk-like consistency (generally around 1/4 liquid with 3/4 cup yogurt).
- WATERED-DOWN SOUR CREAM
- Whisk together equal parts sour cream and water. This hack is particular good in Pancakes.
- CREAM OF TARTAR AND MILK
- Whisk 1 3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar into one cup of milk.
Even though this cake may be the demise of any diet or healthy eating I’m trying to accomplish, it’s also my cheat treat! I really don’t think you can find a cake that is more soft or scrumptious!
How to store + FREEZE sheet cake?
STORING. If properly stored, which means tightly covered or in an air-tight container, sheet cake can last on the counter for up to 3 days. Place in the fridge and it should last for up to 1 week.
FREEZING. You can freeze sheet cake, but we recommend not frosting it. Wrap the cake with aluminum foil making sure none of the cake is exposed. Be sure to roll the foil seam slowly and press all the ends together to preserve its freshness, then place in the freezer for up to 2 months.
We love having friends and family over and typically turn to our sheet cakes to feed so many people. This is definitely one of our favorites, but be sure to check out the rest of the sheet cakes found on the site. They’re all delicious and feed a crowd.
For all my gluten-free friends, be sure to check out this Flourless Chocolate Cake.
For more sheet cake recipes, check out:
- Lime Sheet Cake
- Lemon Sheet Cake
- White Texas Sheetcake
- White Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Cherry Sheet Cake
- Strawberry Sheet Cake
More Collections: Cakes That Feed A Crowd
Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe
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
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- sprinkles for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- To make the cake, mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, hot water and oil and beat together with a hand mixer until combined and smooth (it should be runny). Pour into a greased 11-x-15-inch baking dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- To make the 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 sprinkles right away, since frosting sets up quickly.
Video
Notes
Feed a Crowd: This cake makes a lot, so it has become a staple for get-togethers and birthday parties in our house. We change out the sprinkles based on the occasion and usually serve it with different kinds of ice cream. If you like chopped pecans, you can add those too by mixing them into the frosting before spreading it onto the cake.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!!