Buttermilk Chocolate Cake…the BEST chocolate sheet cake.

Buttermilk chocolate cake is one of my mom’s go to desserts for feeding a crowd. This recipe has been a family favorite for years…this cake is the best! So moist and soft, it just melts in your mouth. With a thin chocolate frosting on top, this cake with vanilla ice cream and is a home run. Some people call this chocolate cake: Texas Sheet Cake, but we’ve always called it Buttermilk Chocolate Cake, but you can call it whatever you want.

What size sheet pan do you use for Texas Sheet Cake?

We use the 18×13 inch sheet pan size…it’s the standard sheet pan size for most home cooks. It’s called a “half sheet pan” because it’s not the full size sheet pan that is often used in restaurants. I like to add a piece of parchment paper onto the sheet pan before pouring the batter onto the pan. You can also grease the pan with butter or with non stick cooking spray.

Ingredients for Buttermilk Chocolate Cake:

For the Cake:
3 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
For the Icing:
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
4-5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar

How to make Buttermilk Chocolate Cake:

Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a large glass bowl mix together the dry ingredients sugar, flour and salt and set aside.
In a saucepan set to medium high heat melt and combine the butter, water and cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth.
Pour melted cocoa butter mixture over the flour mixture while still hot. Mix to combine.
Add in the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla and eggs.
Mix all to combine by hand, careful not to over mix.
Pour cake batter into a well greased sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
While the cake is baking make the Chocolate Icing.
In a saucepan set to medium high heat melt the butter and add the cocoa powder. Whisk to combine. Remove mixture from the heat and add in powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Continue to mix until you get a smooth consistency. Add a little more milk to thin it out if needed.
While cake is cooling or completely cooled, pour the chocolate icing over the cake and gently spread the icing over the cake.
Let the cake cool and the icing set.

What kind of cocoa powder do you use for buttermilk chocolate cake?

We always use the classic Hershey’s brand cocoa powder for this recipe, but if you have a favorite, feel free to use what you love, like Guittard brand or Girardelli, or Nestle.
-here’s a photo of the butter, water and cocoa powder warming and mixing together.

-Photo of the hot cocoa + butter mixture pouring over the dry ingredients…one thing that is great about this recipe is that often times recipes call for softened butter when it comes to baking, but this recipe calls for melting the butter, so you can use frozen solid butter from your freezer if needed…so no planning ahead…and no wait time for the butter to soften.

Can you freeze chocolate cake?

Yes! This cake freezes perfectly. You can cover it with foil and freeze it. If you don’t want to your dishes to be in the freezer the whole time you are freezing the cake, you can cover a piece of cardboard with foil and use it to give support to the cake in the freezer.

Why buttermilk in cake?

Buttermilk is the key to make this cake so moist…and yes I hate that word too, but it’s the best for describing this cake. Buttermilk is the liquid that is leftover from churning butter and it adds a little bit of tang to cakes. Just like sour cream and yogurt can add a little tang to cakes, buttermilk does the same thing. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily substitute with 1 cup whole milk and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Mix the two together and let sit for a few minutes before adding it in as a buttermilk substitute.

How to store this cake:

Once baked, this cake is fine to leave out at room temperature. If you have the room in your fridge, and you like the cake to be served chilled you can cover the top and refrigerate it. They make sheet pan lids that fit perfectly over the top of the half size, but you can use foil. If it’s winter and the temps are low, I love to use my garage as a giant fridge/freezer…if the pan is covered up, it keeps it cold perfectly. I just find a high up shelf in my garage…that’s one good thing about winter. Ha! Any extra chocolate icing cake be added to a plastic food storage container and frozen to be used at a later date…if you have enough to add it to another cake.

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

Perfectly moist chocolate cake with a thin chocolate frosting on top served up in a sheet pan to feed a crowd.

Author Kami | NoBiggie.net

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake:

3 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1 1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the Chocolate Icing:

1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
4-5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Make the Chocolate Cake:

Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a large glass bowl mix together the sugar, flour and salt. Set aside.
In a medium sized saucepan set to medium high heat melt and combine the butter, water and cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth.
Pour melted cocoa butter mixture over the flour mixture while still hot. Stir to combine.
Add in the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla and eggs.
Mix all to combine, mixing by hand, careful not to over mix. This is the key to a light moist cake.
Pour cake batter into a well greased sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Make the Chocolate Icing:

In a saucepan set to medium high heat melt the butter and add the cocoa powder. Whisk to combine. Remove mixture from the heat and add in powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Continue to mix until you get a smooth consistency. Add a little more milk to thin it out if needed.
While cake is cooling, or completely cooled... pour the chocolate icing over the cake and gently spread the icing over the cake. Let the cake cool and the icing set.