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This One Bowl Chocolate Cake is the best of all worlds: it’s easy to make, has the perfect chocolate flavor and topped with a fudge frosting.
This one bowl chocolate sheet cake is it!
I’m currently in that mode where it’s the quiet before the storm. I have a super busy month coming up and I’m diligently trying to get my little duckies in a row so I won’t be crying of stress every single day.
It’s crazy, we’re nearly to the end of July and then we have August. And once September hits, all anyone wants to talk about are pumpkin spice lattes and apples; I’m just not ready. LIKE, SO FAR FROM READY. I’m still obsessed with stone fruit and tomatoes and cherries.
And if you can believe it, I still haven’t made a pie this season. WHUT!! I’ve been sleepin’.
Josh and I have been cooking nearly every single night, making super quick meals. I can’t wait to share a few that I’ve been making. We eat outside in the backyard, under the little stringy lights and it’s become my favorite time of day.
Why Sheet Cakes Are Amazing!
This sheet cake deserves a place on that backyard table because it’s the perfect summertime dessert for a group. It’s so easy and leisure.
I love me some sheet cakes because they’re so simple. No cake layers, no fancy decorating needed. All you need is a few bowls, an offset spatula and some sprinkles.
This cake is made in one-bowl and is so ridiculously moist, without being dense. You can make this on a Friday and it would be delicious for the entire weekend.
How to Make this One Bowl Chocolate Cake
- Mix the dry ingredients together. This recipe has the usual suspects: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, instant espresso (this will bring out the flavor of the chocolate), baking soda, baking powder and salt. Give it a mix.
- Add the wet ingredients. In this cake batter we have eggs, buttermilk, warm water, olive oil and vanilla.
- Mix it all together. It will be a thinner batter than maybe you’re used to—it’s a-ok!
- Pour it in the 9×13-inch baking pan. And then bake it!
How to Make Fudge Frosting for One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake!
- Add the butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand-up mixer. If you don’t have a  stand-up mixer, you can use an electric hand mixer.
- Pour in the melted chocolate, sour cream/buttermilk or heavy cream and vanilla. Beat it all together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- When the cake is cooled, you can add all of the frosting to the top of the cake and spread it around, creating pretty swoops.
If you don’t own a sheet cake pan, it’s worth the investment. This is my favorite one.
If you make this One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake, let me know on Instagram!
One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 9×13-inch cake pan
- Off-set spatula
- Large stainless steel bowls
- Silicon spatulas
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Fudge-y Chocolate Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 6 ounces dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or buttermilk or cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make the Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 9×13-inch rectangular cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a the bowl of a stand-up mixer, with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer), add the flour, sugar, powder, instant espresso, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix, on low speed, until combined.
- Crack in the eggs, pour in the buttermilk, water, 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 25 to 35 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 and powdered sugar; beat until smooth and fluffy, about a minutes. Pour in the chocolate, sour cream and vanilla extract. Beat again until smooth, about 1 minute.
To Frost the Cake:
- Scoop the frosting onto the top of the cake and make a bunch of swoops, decorating the top how you like. Sprinkle 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.
- This cake can be wrapped with plastic wrap and kept for up to 4 days at room temperature or in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My cake also baked unevenly but it’s because I used a 12 x 9″ pan (disposable aluminum pan with a cover to take to a church meeting) so the batter was deeper than if I’d used a 13 x 9″ pan. After 25 minutes in the oven (and rotating after 15 minutes) I tested it every 5 minutes. The middle was still undone after 35 minutes but it took only another 3 minutes for the toothpick to come out clean. The edges were slightly overbacked but no big deal. However after it cooled, the middle slumped. Again, no big deal because I had sprinkled sliced almonds all over the cake before baking and it looked so decorative. I didn’t want to bother with the fluffy frosting so I tried the almonds and I really like the effect. However, if I had made the frosting, I could’ve covered the slumped middle! The important thing is that it tasted great and I’ll keep this easy recipe to make again.
Another great recipe! Very chocolatey delicious cake and frosting. Unfortunately my cake did not bake evenly and I don’t know why. I used my tried and true cake pan but the center just took an extra 15 -20 minutes to cook. As a result the endges were a bit over cooked. It’s still awesome though, especially with the fabulous frosting. Made this today for our 13th wedding anniversary. Thank you!!!!
oh that’s a bummer! happy anniversary! glad it worked out anyway! 🙂
This recipe is surprising because it does not have much oil in it (2 TBS) and no butter or other fat. My go-to chocolate cake has 1/2 cup of oil. I assume the recipe is correct as written, so is the cake light but not dry? Of course, there is plenty of butter in the frosting!
I know! It’s kinda crazy that it’s as moist as it is. I think the buttermilk definitely helps make it very moist. I’ve also tried this recipe with zero oil because one time I was out and it was still very moist.
anything with one-bowl and dessert in the title is for me!!! I’m not the world’s best baker, but cooking…like a dinner of Short Rib Ragu over Pappardelle from www.behindtheplates.com, that’s more my forte. Actually this cake after that sounds like an amazing family meal!!!
This sounds delicious! Just one question, I’m not a fan of coffee. Does the espresso make it very coffee-y? Could I just leave that part out? Thank you!!
Yes leave it out if you like. It’s there to accentuate the flavor of the chocolate–you taste no coffee! 🙂
Coffee enhances the chocolate. So, no, it does not taste like coffee.
Your sprinkles match the color of your blog…amazing. That’s all <3
*emoji with the sunglasses!*
This cake looks like it could be doubled pretty easily, besides looking super delish. Reunion time , ya’ know! Can’t wait to see how you are going to make sprinkles!!!
Looks amazing! Im going to make this today. Could milk or heavy cream be substituted for the buttermIlk?
I think milk would work! It might not be AS fluffy but it’ll still work!
Should I use a different quantity of milk if I use plain milk instead of buttermilk?
whole milk would probably be best.
Perfect timing! I was looking for something fudgy to make for a birthday. I will definitely be trying this!
oh yayyy! please tell me how it goes! 🙂
this might be the best sheet cake ever because casual vibes plus homemade sprinkles. love the contrast!
BALANCE!