Fudgy, beyond rich chocolate sheet cake topped with the creamiest peanut butter frosting. Feeds a crowd!
I saved a good one for today. I figured we can always use more peanut butter chocolate lava cakes in our lives—or really peanut butter and chocolate in any form. Especially if that chocolate is rich beyond belief, that peanut butter is in the form of frosting, and that cake is the size of Texas. And, of course, all those jazzy toppings.
Think of this as the single layer version of my towering chocolate peanut butter cake. Sheet cakes are quicker to bake and easier to decorate, which means you’ll be enjoying this cake even faster.
I’m so excited because I’ve never shared a chocolate sheet cake recipe on my blog before.
I’ve made this chocolate sheet cake a handful of times for various parties and I remember making it for an office party back when I worked in an office. And the entire thing disappeared in about .04 seconds. People flocked to it like it was a pot of shimmering gold under a rainbow.
How to Make Chocolate Sheet Cake
The first step we’ll do is melt down some butter with water and cocoa powder on the stovetop. This helps dissolve and hydrate the cocoa powder, which typically tends to dry cakes out. This also helps bring out the cocoa’s flavor. When mixed with a cup of butter, we have some seriously delicious chocolate liquid. Instead of water, you can use black coffee (like my favorite chocolate cake!). It’s completely incredible and truly deepens that chocolate flavor.
Then we’ll mix in all with dry ingredients. The usual suspects like flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk eggs, sugars, and vanilla extract in another bowl. Combine all of these mentioned ingredients together, then whisk in some buttermilk.
All of this chocolate magnificence goes into a half sheet pan, 12×17-inch baking pan—the same size we use for this chocolate cake roll.
Since it’s a thin cake, the bake time is quick, just like this funfetti sheet cake. Which means it won’t take long to cool, either. Which obviously means that you can cut into this chocolate cake and fall immensely in love sooner. But before all that, let’s frost it with the most unbelievable peanut butter frosting on the planet. It’s my go-to peanut butter frosting recipe, just made larger because this cake is enormous!
↑ ↑ Best peanut butter frosting to ever grace this earth.
One bite = super moist, fudgy, tender, and decadent with a party of texture on top in the form of: peanut butter cups, melted peanut butter, chocolate sprinkles, peanut butter chips, and more.
Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease a 12×17-inch half sheet/jelly roll pan. Set aside.
- Heat the butter, water, and cocoa powder together in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the butter has melted and everything is smooth and combined. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Pour the warm chocolate/butter mixture on top, then slowly whisk together until combined. It will be very thick.
- Whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together in a medium bowl. The mixture will be thick. Whisk in the vanilla until combined, then pour into the chocolate batter and whisk until combined. Finally, whisk in the buttermilk. Pour the chocolate batter into the sheet pan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. (Mine takes exactly 17 minutes.) Use a toothpick to test for doneness: stick it into the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, continue baking. Remove cake from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before frosting. The refrigerator helps speed things up, if you have room for the large pan!
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat softened butter and peanut butter together on medium-high speed for 2 minutes until completely smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for about 20 seconds, then gradually increase to high speed. Beat on high for 1 minute until combined and frosting is fluffy. Taste; add more salt if needed. To thicken, add more confectioners’ sugar and to thin, add more cream. Makes about 4 cups of frosting.
- Spread frosting all over cooled cake, and then top with toppings, if using. Slice and serve. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It’s so good cold!
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