Take-Along Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake

Looking homely but tasting great: Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

This is one of those recipes that has been in my little wooden recipe box forever. I return to it whenever I want to make a quick and easy cake and especially if it's a cake that has to do a little travelling. This dark chocolate cake bakes in a 13" x 9" pan and if you're really lucky you have one of these pans with a lid, and if you're really, really lucky your lidded pan fits into one of those padded carriers and comes with its own ice pack.

As I said, this cake is easy to put together. You can mix it up in a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but the batter is quite thin so it's easy enough to do by hand. When it's fully cooled, you can add icing (I like a chocolate butter cream and the recipe for it follows) or just dust on a little icing sugar. I recommend storing this cake in the refrigerator and serving it while it's still a little chilled. The chocolatey cake is moist and tasty by itself and is also an excellent base for a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a few strawberries.

MA's Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake

Ingredients ready and pan greased and floured

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease and flour a 13" x 9" x 2" pan.

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk or soured milk
1 cup strong black coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Beat for 2 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder.

Add eggs, milk, coffee, oil and vanilla.

Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Batter will be thin.

Don't worry: the batter should be thin.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until tester poked into centre of cake comes out clean. The middle of the cake may have a sag but as long as the tester comes out clean, it's done. The saggy middle will be disguised by the frosting.

Cool cake completely in pan.

Frost with chocolate butter cream icing or dust with icing sugar.

Store in refrigerator and serve slightly chilled.

Makes about 12 servings.

Printable Recipe for MA's Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake

MA's Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp cocoa
2-3 tbsp cream or milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter.

Sift together icing sugar and cocoa.

Add sugar and cocoa mixture to butter, alternating with cream or milk.

Blend in vanilla and beat until creamy.

Spread onto cooled cake.

Makes icing for 13" x 9" sheet cake. Double the recipe for a layer cake.

Printable Recipe for MA's Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting