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This Mini Chocolate Sheet Cake is inspired by your favorite devil’s food cake. The crumb is light, rich and super flavorful. The frosting is fudge-y and delicious, incorporating melted chocolate and heavy cream. This is the perfect alternative to a large classic sheet cake. Top it with your favorite homemade sprinkles!
Disclaimer: This is an update on an old recipe. I replaced the raspberry frosting with fudge-y, delicious chocolate frosting. And obviously took new photos but really the cake recipe itself is the exact same.
This recipe is perfect for a smaller chocolate cake. It’s made in an 8×8-inch brownie/cake pan.
What is Devil’s Food Cake
Devil’s Food Cake is also known as chocolate cake, fools! But there are some chocolate cake recipes out there that use melted chocolate; I opt for cocoa powder. Coffee in place of the hot water, adds a lovely enhanced chocolate flavor. There is a healthy amount of salt and the buttermilk gives this cake a super light texture.
How to Make the Fudge-y Chocolate Frosting:
- Temper the chocolate. This is what gives the frosting the flavor and the color and flavor. And let it cool to mostly room temperature. A bit warm is ok, you just don’t want it to be super hot or else it’ll melt the butter.
- Beat the butter and sugar together. Use the paddle attachment and a stand mixer and beat until combined with no pockets of powdered sugar.
- Add the melted chocolate. Add the melted chocolate and beat until combined. And then add the heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy. This really gives the frosting a super fluffy texture.
How to Make Chocolate Sheet Cake for Two:
- Mix together the dry ingredients. Just add the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low just to combine.
- Add everything else! This is a very easy cake, just add the rest of the ingredients and mix on low just until they’re combined.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake.
Tips and Tricks
- The coffee should be brewed on the stronger side. No weak cups of coffee! The stronger, honestly the better. The coffee will bring out and highlight the chocolate flavor in this cake.
- Be sure to line your 8×8 cake pan. I see this a lot: people are like, it’ll be fine! And then their cake sticks to the bottom of the pan and they’re all mad. Think of parchment like our insurance plan.
- For the frosting you want slightly warm melted chocolate. It shouldn’t be added to the butter super warm because it will melt the butter. But you also don’t want to cool it too much or else it’ll be solid.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know on Instagram!
Looking for more recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
- Mini Yellow Cakes with Malt Chocolate Frosting
- Birthday Cake
- Carrot Snacking Cake
- Piña Colada Cake
- Carrot Cupcakes
Mini Chocolate Sheet Cake with Fudgey Frosting
Ingredients
Sheet Cake for Two:
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup coffee
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fudge-y Chocolate Frosting:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch kosher salt
- 3 ounces semi-sweet (or dark) chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Sprinkles of choice, as garnish
Instructions
To Make the Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 8x8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, using a whisk, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Crack in the eggs, pour in the buttermilk, coffee, olive oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. The batter will be thin—that’s ok!
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the cake pan for about 5 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack and cool until room temperature before frosting.
To Make the Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar and salt; beat until smooth, about a minute.
- Pour in the melted chocolate and heavy cream. Beat again until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
To Frost the Cake:
- Scoop the frosting onto the top of the cooled cake and make a bunch of swoops, decorating the top how you like. Top with a handful of sprinkles
- Cut and serve. If you want nice, neat slice, transfer to the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes and then slice and serve.
Notes
- The coffee should be brewed on the stronger side. No weak cups of coffee! The stronger, honestly the better. The coffee will bring out and highlight the chocolate flavor in this cake.
- Be sure to line your 8x8 cake pan. I see this a lot: people are like, it'll be fine! And then their cake sticks to the bottom of the pan and they're all mad. Think of parchment like our insurance plan.
- For the frosting you want slightly warm melted chocolate. It shouldn't be added to the butter super warm because it will melt the butter. But you also don't want to cool it too much or else it'll be solid.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Adrianna!
Your chocolate sheet cake with Raspberry frosting has been my go-to cake recipe for it’s simplicity and yet unbeatable flavors for so so long. Could you please share the raspberry frosting recipe again? I can’t seem to find it anymore but am definitely not done making it…hopefully 🙂
Thank you?
So delicious!
Hi Adrianna!
I’ve had plans to make this cake for the longest time and I happen to have dark/black cocoa powder that I need to use up soon! Would it be okay to substitute the cocoa powder for that? Thank you! x
Hi Adrianne!
I’ve had plans to make this cake for the longest time and I happen to have dark/black cocoa powder that I need to use up soon! Would it be okay to substitute the cocoa powder for that? Thank you! x
This cake is definitely going to be made. Your mini carrot cake is phenomenal! My fam is still talking about that brown butter cream cheese frosting.
Any chance you can reshare the raspberry frosting recipe that you used to have with this cake? My mom’s fave combo is chocolate and raspberry. 🙂
I also have your mini cheesecakes with guava on my “Must Bake” list.
Love the size for 2 <3 Though I'm a cake lover, everytime I hestitate to bake a cake because I cannot finish all of it and leave it wasted.
How did you know I was coming to your website to look for a chocolate cake recipe?! What luck! Excited to make this tomorrow, I love your mini carrot cake recipe, I’ve made it so many times, everyone loves it. Like the other person who commented and for whatever reason, I also thot it said ‘mint’ – weird! Thanks for all the work you do and for sharing your gorgeous recipes.
haha amazing timing! hope you love it!
WHY SO SO MUCH SUGAR?
this is a dessert. it’s a cake. sugar adds moisture and flavor to cakes. you’re more than welcome not to make it.
I made it this weekend with a little less than a cup of sugar and it was still the best cake I had in a while! And the icing was magical.
Thank you Adrianna, I’ll make that recipe then!
Can you double the recipe if you want an 8” round double layer cake? Would it be the same? A friend of ours had made cupcakes from this recipe which were delicious.
Better yet, use this recipe and bake it in two 8-inch round pans!
https://www.acozykitchen.com/one-bowl-sheet-chocolate-cake/