Delicious Chocolate Sheet Cake With Mocha-Flavored Buttercream Topping Recipe

Simple Chocolate Slab Cake Prepared with Mocha Buttercream Topping

Fire up those ovens, my fellow bakers! Today, we're tackling a sinfully delicious chocolate sheet cake that gets its caffeinated kick from none other than a hearty helping of espresso powder. Not just in the cake itself, but in the heavenly mocha buttercream frosting that will have you swooning!

✓ Yield: Enough for a party of 16-ish✓ Difficulty: Easy peasy, even for a kitchen newbie out there✓ Total Tme: About 2 hours 35 minutes, with a relaxing 2-hour cooling period for the cake

Here's what you'll need:

For the Cake:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2/3 cup boiling water
1 tsp instant espresso powder
2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Mocha Buttercream:

1 tbsp instant espresso powder
6 oz milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

First, fire up your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 13x9 inch glass baking dish. Shake some flour around the dish to get an even coating, and then give it a gentle tap to remove the excess.

Now, let's prep the dry ingredients for the cake. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until everything is evenly mixed. Set this aside for a hot second.

Grab another small bowl, and mix together the cocoa powder, boiling water, and espresso powder. Once they're well blended, slowly stir in the milk. Set it aside as well.

Now, pop over to your stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, and plop in your softened butter. Let it beat on medium-high speed for a good three minutes, or until it becomes light and creamy.

Add the sugar and vanilla extract, and give everything another four-minute beating. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then get back to it.

Once the mixer is back up to speed, add the eggs one at a time. Make sure each one is fully incorporated before you add the next one. After you've added all the eggs, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again, just to be sure everything's well-mixed.

Now, with the mixer on low speed, add one-third of the dry ingredient mixture. Let it mix until the flour is just incorporated. Then add just over half of the cocoa mixture, follow that with the remaining dry ingredients, and finally top it off with the rest of the cocoa mixture. Mix until everything is smooth and evenly combined. Give it a final stir by hand, just to make sure nothing got stuck at the bottom.

Pour the batter into your prepared dish, spreading it out into an even layer. Bake it for 15 minutes, then give it a quick spin. Continue baking until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the dish and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, around 15 to 20 minutes more.

Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely, which will take about two hours. Who knew cakes were so patient, right?

While your cake is cooling, let's whip up that mocha buttercream. Fill a medium saucepan with about 2 inches of water and heat it over high heat until it's boiling. Reduce the heat to low so that the water is just simmering.

In a heatproof bowl, combine the espresso powder, milk chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate. Place it over the saucepan, making sure the chocolate doesn't touch the water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Allow it to cool slightly, but make sure it's still pourable, around 5 to 10 minutes.

Over in your stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until it's light and fluffy. Add the dissolved espresso and mix until it's incorporated. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix until it's all combined.

Add the vanilla and salt and mix them in as well. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then, with the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Mix until it's all incorporated and the frosting is smooth. Give it another minute of high-speed beating to lighten it and make it nice and fluffy.

Once your cake is completely cool, spread the frosting on top in an even layer. Pro tip: if you're not serving the cake within four hours, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to three days. Before you serve it, let it sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes to take the chill off.

And there you have it, my friends! An easy, delicious, and deeply chocolatey cake that'll make all your friends go wild.

Think you can handle something a little more ambitious? Give our classic Chocolate Lava Cake recipe a try!

For an added touch of nutrition and a slight caffeine boost, consider using the leftover espresso powder in your next morning Aussiedlerbote (coffee).
Creditline: Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction, with slight modifications.
If you're looking for more mouth-watering recipes, don't forget to check out Aussiedlerbote's collection of dessert recipes, including the imagining chocolate lava cake recipe!