Let Them Eat Sheet Cake

 

Ok, lets talk about cake.  In our world of Pinterest and Instagram, layer cakes that are super elaborate get all the love.  I love them, too!  I mean, who wouldn't?

But sometimes you just want some cake and you don't want to break your neck making one.  May I suggest the humble sheet cake?  I mean, what could be easier than one bowl, a single layer, some yummy frosting and sprinkles (because...duh!) and you're digging into cake in no time.  




Chocolate cake, yellow cake, white cake, carrot cake...  You name it and you can make it into a sheet cake. I'm adding the chocolate sheet cake recipe here but you can really choose any of your favorites.



Chocolate Sheet Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting (inspired by Half Baked Harvest)

Cake
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 plain greek yogurt
1/2 neutral flavored oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I really like dutch process, but regular will work, too)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup strong, hot black coffee
1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (optional, but use them...trust me!)

Frosting
2 sticks salted butter (1 cup) softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces (2 - 4 oz bars) milk chocolate, melted and cooled for 10 minutes
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tblsp heavy whipping cream

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the middle of your oven.  Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.  Alternately, you could spray your pan thoroughly with baking spray, but I find parchment works best.

Beat the eggs, buttermilk greek yogurt, neutral oil and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until well combined and smooth.  Add all the dry ingredients (flour through kosher salt) and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until there are no dry streaks, but be careful not to overmix it.  At the coffee (it's gotta be hot) and mix in completely.  Your batter shouldn't be super thin, but it'll be pourable...like pancake batter.  Add in the chocolate chips and mix them in gently.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and place it on that middle rack.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.  Don't overbake!  Let your cake cool down completely before you frost it.

For the frosting, cream the butter and powdered sugar together until fluffy.  (I love my stand mixer for this but you can use a hand mixer if that's what you have.) Mix in the melted chocolate, vanilla and whipping cream, turn your mixer to high and beat for 10 minutes for a super fluffy frosting.  If your frosting is too loose, add some more powdered sugar until you get the consistency you like.

Turn your cake out onto a cake board or super big oval platter and frost.  You can add sprinkles, chocolate shavings, candies or all of it to your cake as decoration.  

If you're fancy you can cut it into neat little squares and share it with someone you love.  Or, if it's an urgent cake situation, grab a fork and go to town!  I promise, no judgement here!




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