This is the cake my mom makes every single time the entire family is in town. And everyone always says, “Yes…. sheet cake!” It is one of those things. It has been a staple in our family since I was very young. I can remember my Dad hosting young farmers’ get togethers in his barn each fall – chili, cornbread, and sheet cake. We used to run our fingers around the edges while the icing was cooling. So good. I dressed this one up for Halloween with some googly eyes. It will definitely be on our Halloween menu – chili, cornbread, and sheet cake. Some (good) things (should) never change.
Chocolate Cake :
2 cup flour
2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular milk)
2 whole beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Icing :
1 stick butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
2-3 tablespoons milk (desired consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 cups powdered sugar (desired consistency)
For the cake, begin by combining flour sugar and salt in the bowl of mixer. Then, in a saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter. Add 4 tablespoons of cocoa, stir, add boiling and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, eggs, soda and vanilla and gently stir together until combined. Do not over beat. Line a Small Baking Sheet or Large Baking Sheet with Parchment – this recipe will work for either size, just depending on how thick you would like the cake. Pour chocolate batter into the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until cake tester comes out almost clean. I like to under bake this cake to make sure it is nice and moist.
While the cake is baking, prepare the icing. In a saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter. Remove from heat and add cocoa. Stir in milk vanilla and powdered sugar. Start with 3 cups of powdered sugar, then add more if you’d like it to be thicker. Pour icing over warm cake and spread out. Let it cool slightly before serving… if you can wait that long.
In classic great recipe style, it is versatile too. I used some leftover batter to make some individual mini spider cakes in my Small Tart Pans.
I used a simple white icing (just water mixed with powdered sugar – make it thick) to make the webs, then drug it out to the edges using a skewer. Super simple, but Emma was wowed! Favorite sort of homemade Halloween treats : )
