Chocolate Birthday Cake
This birthday chocolate sheet cake has always been the most requested by my 5 kids on every birthday.
It´s is a tender and moist chocolate cake, glazed with chocolate coffee icing and sprinkled with confetti perfect for birthday parties.
You can personalize this cake with your favorite icing/frosting and topping.
I love to sprinkle unsweetened shredded coconut on top of the glaze or candies for a colorful look. This chocolate cake stays fresh if covered for 2-3 days.
What I love about this Sheet Cake; It´s perfectly portable, easy to slice and serve and so delicious, and such a crowd-pleasing party cake!
I hope you love this cake as much as I do!
Before you start
Read the recipe completely; make sure you have everything you need.
For all the step-by-step, pictures scroll to → Notes and click on the clickable link
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*Note
Cocoa powder, I use unsweetened from the brand Valrhona (or Cacao Barry Extra Brute) it is Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder, this is pure chocolate with an intense flavor.
If you are going to use grocery store cocoa powder, your cake may not look as dark and taste chocolaty as mine but still super delicious.
Chocolate Sheet Cake
- 7 large eggs, room temperature
- 300 gram white sugar
- 150 gram dark chocolate bittersweet 63 to 70 %, finely chopped
- 200 gram unsalted butter, melted
- 155 grams all-purpose flour, sifted
- 45 gram best-quality unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 50 ml sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk, at room temperature
- 50 ml strongly brewed coffee or espresso
Chocolate Coffee Glaze
- 100 gram unsalted butter, melted
- 350 gram confectionary sugar, sifted
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 4 tbsps best-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tbsp strongly brewed coffee, warm
Topping
- Unsweetened shredded coconut
- or Candy, like mm´s or smarties, etc.
- sprinkles
Directions for the chocolate sheet cake
- Preheat your oven to 350F°/180C° Grease and line a 40 x 30 cm ( 16 x 12 inch) sheet pan.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- In a small saucepan melt the butter over low-medium heat, As soon as the butter is melted increase to medium heat and let it simmer, stirring with a spatula until the butter has a beautiful golden yellow color and is silent.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate, with your spatula slowly stir until the butter and chocolate are combined, set aside, for now, to cool a bit.
- Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip up the eggs and sugar until fluffy and light in color, about 10-12 minutes. ( make sure your eggs are at room temp) If your eggs are not at room temperature, warm them in the shell by placing the eggs in a bowl of hot tap water for 5 minutes before you whip them up.
- Add the strongly brewed coffee and sour cream to the cooled chocolate/butter mixture stir until smooth and combined.
- Set the mixer to low,( Mix lightly) and slowly pour the chocolate/butter mixture into the whipped egg mixture in a thin, steady stream, aiming for the side of the bowl rather than the whisk until just combined. About 10 seconds.
- With the mixer on the lowest setting,( Mix lightly) add the flour/cocoa mixture in three addition or use a large spoon and add a little at a time, aiming for the side of the bowl and mix on the lowest setting just until you have added all of the dry ingredients, Than stop mixing!!
- It is very important to mix lightly and stop the mixer as soon as you have added all of the dry ingredients— about 15 to 20 seconds. At this point, you still will see some of the dry ingredients.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, Use a balloon whisk instead of a silicon spatula, to keep the volume you whipped up, and very gently fold the cake batter until all of the dry ingredients have disappeared, Be very delicately.
- Periodically shake out the batter that collects inside your whisk. Use a large silicone spatula at the end of folding in order to reach the bottom of the bowl and to scrape the batter into your prepared baking tray.
- Bake in the center of the oven at 350F°/180C° for around 20-23 minutes or until the cake is baked through. every oven is different, begin checking for doneness at 17 minutes.
- To test for doneness, insert a cake tester/toothpick into the center of the cake, if it comes out clean, it´s done.
- Allow cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack, if you do not plan to cover the cake with glaze right away, make sure to cool the cake and then cover with plastic wrap to make sure it stays fresh.
- Flip the chocolate sheet cake upside down on another sheet pan it makes for a nicer cake piece when you cut the cake later on. Or just leave the cake in the baking pan.
Chocolate Coffee Glaze
- Make the glaze by melting the butter in a medium-size saucepan, then add the rest of the ingredients, and with a whisk combine until smooth and shiny.
- Pour the chocolate glaze on top of the slightly warm cake, spread it evenly all over the chocolate cake.
- As soon as the glaze is almost set, sprinkle the top with confetti/sprinkles or unsweetened shredded coconut or decorate with smarties or other candies.
- Slice this delicious cake and enjoy it.
- Because this cake is made with butter, I prefer keeping it at room temp ( covered ) and never in the fridge to keep it moist for at least 2 days.
- If you prefer keeping the chocolate cake in the fridge, that´s fine too, it makes for a fudgier chocolate sheet cake.
