rich. fudgy. chocolatey. insanely easy.
This chocolate 1/4 Sheet Cake… say hello to your new favourite chocolate cake recipe. In less than 30 minutes you can be slicing a fork through this rich, moist, absolutely scrumptious cake and yes, I know you should probably wait for it to cool a little before diving in but I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to. And I’m in charge here.
This cake whips up in a pinch. The batter is quick and easy, impossible to mess up, and the frosting gets poured straight on top of the hot cake… you don’t even have to cool it first!
Last minute guests? Whip this up and blow their minds. Forgot to make your kid a birthday cake? Get over your shame and parental incompetence and throw this in the oven right now. Bad day and need something to make you smile? This is it.
We need cake. I know some people out there will argue that cake is not a need but I ask you to give me five minutes with those people and I will prove them wrong.
Cake is love. Go ahead and tell me your love language and I’ll tell you how cake can meet your needs… Acts of service? I made you a cake? Physical touch? I will feed you some cake. Gifts? Too easy. Whatever your love thing is, cake will be there for you. It is the ultimate comfort food.
Scroll past the recipe if you’re looking for tips, substitutions, questions, etc. and details on how to make this recipe, but if you want to get straight to it, here’s my recipe-ish…
1/4 Sheet Cake
Equipment
- !/4 sheet pan – 9 1/2″ x 13″
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 1/2 Tbsp cocoa
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp espesso powder optional
For the Frosting:
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp cocoa
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 and spray a 1/4 sheet pan.
Make the Cake:
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Combine the sour cream, egg, espresso powder and vanilla in a separate bowl. Mix well.
- Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined (it will be crumbly, almost like cookie dough).
- Heat milk, butter and cocoa in a saucepan. Mix very well and bring to a boil.
- Pour the boiling mixture into the batter and mix until completely smooth.
- Pour batter into sheet pan and smooth so it’s spread evenly.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Make the frosting while the cake bakes:
- Bring the milk, butter and cocoa powder to a boil in a saucepan.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until completely smooth.
- Spread hot frosting evenly over baked cake.
- Top with sprinkles, if desired.
1/4 sheet cake Recipe ingredients, tips, substitutions:
Milk – I use whole milk, but you can sub in your milk of preference. You can even use water if you like.
Cocoa – unsweetened cocoa powder. Mine is the dutch processed kind, but natural is just fine. Need to know the difference? read this.
Flour – straight up all purpose flour.
Sugar – the standard white stuff.
Sour Cream – this really adds to the richness of the cake. You can use thick Greek yogurt in a pinch.
Espresso Powder – this is completely optional, and it doesn’t make the cake taste like coffee, but a small amount really enhances the chocolate flavour.
Powdered Sugar – also called confectioner’s sugar, or what I have always known it as: icing sugar (but a reader once asked me what the heck that was and so now I go with powdered).
1/4 Sheet Cake Recipe Variations:
Mexican Chocolate Version – omit the espresso and add in 1 tsp cinnamon and a big pinch cayenne pepper.
Chocolate Peppermint Version – add 1/2 tsp peppermint extract to the batter, and another 1/4 tsp to the frosting. Top the cake with crushed candy canes.
Chocolate Orange Version – add 1 tsp orange zest to the batter.
1/4 sheet cake Recipe, how to make it…
This is going to go quickly, so get ready…
Toss the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Give it a thorough mix and set it aside. In a separate bowl, stir up the sour cream, egg, espresso powder, and vanilla. Whisk it all together until it’s completely combined and smooth.
Now, mix it all together… add the egg mix to the flour mix and stir until you have a crumbly, cookie-dough-like situation. Don’t panic—it’s supposed to look like that!
Heat up the milk, butter, and cocoa in a small saucepan. Stir well and bring it to a gentle boil. Pour this hot, chocolatey deliciousness straight into your batter and stir until you’ve got a luscious, velvety-smooth mixture. No lumps here please – you can’t over-mix this one.
Spread the batter evenly into your sheet pan and pop it into the oven for 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
While the cake is doing its thing, let’s get the frosting ready to go. In a saucepan, bring milk, butter, and cocoa to a boil. Take it off the heat, and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until it’s completely smooth.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the hot frosting all over it and spread evenly with a spatula. The warmth of the cake will help it spread. Add sprinkles if you’re feeling festive (and even if you’re not because sprinkles make us happy). Allow the cake to cool so the icing sets and then serve.
looking for some more easy but super impressive dessert recipes? try these…
- Almond Vanilla Cake this is another great super easy cake that packs a lot of flavour.
- Cherry Chocolate Brownies – try to name a better combo.
- Brown Butter & Bourbon Impossible Pie – impossibly delicious and so easy.
- Upside Down Puff Pastry Apple Tart – this one’s a game changer.
- Rice Krispie Treats with Marshmallow Fluff – not your average no-bake treats.
If you like this 1/4 Sheet Cake Recipe let me know what you think in the comments below and please find and follow me on Social Media!
