Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

12 Comments

5 from 4 votes
24 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
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Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting is an easy kid friendly birthday cake! Rich, fudgy chocolate frosting and classic yellow cake recipe from scratch!

A layered Yellow Cake is an easy to make Cake Recipe for any occasion. This sheet pan yellow cake is even easier, with no layering, and you can serve it right out of the pan!

Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting slice on plate

YELLOW SHEET CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE FROSTING

From Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake to this delicious yellow cake version, is there any easier way to make a cake for a birthday party or potluck? Just whip up an easy batter from common pantry ingredients, pour it into a 9×13 inch baking pan, and in less than 45 minutes you have a dessert to feed a crowd.

A Yellow Sheet Cake is the ultimate old-fashioned birthday cake! Ever since they’ve been selling boxed cake mix and canned chocolate frosting, this cake has shown up at parties for kids young and old. As good as the store-bought cake mix version is, you can’t beat a great recipe like this Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting, 100 percent made from scratch.

Without artificial ingredients, this Yellow Sheet Cake recipe is full buttery flavor and a super moist and soft crumb. The Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is melt-in-your-mouth smooth and delicious. Make extra chocolate buttercream to keep on hand for everything from cookies to donuts to pancakes. It can be stored in the fridge for up to a month!

If this is your first time making a Yellow Sheet Cake from scratch, you’ll love how much easy and affordable this recipe is. You likely have most of the ingredients on hand so this yellow cake recipe costs a fraction of store-bought cake mix and frosting. Plus there’s no complicated steps or cake layers to worry about toppling, this is a go-to cake for anyone to make!

Tips for Making Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

  • If you want to frost your cake out of the pan, line your baking pan with parchment paper before greasing. Once cooled, turn your cake upside down on a serving platter and add frosting.
  • This yellow cake calls for cake flour for a lighter, softer crumb. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, measure 2 cups all-purpose flour and remove 4 tablespoons flour. Sift flour with 4 tablespoons cornstarch and use in this recipe.
  • Speaking of flour, make sure to measure your flour properly. Spoon cake flour into a measuring cup, careful not to pack down, then run a flat side of a knife across the top to remove excess.
  • Bring all dairy ingredients and eggs to room temperature before making your yellow cake batter. Room temperature butter should be still cool to the touch and not warm or so soft it’s caving.
  • Creaming the butter and sugar is important for the moistness and softness of yellow cake. Don’t rush this step, you want the butter-sugar mixture to be light and fluffy.
  • You can top this Yellow Sheet Cake with any frosting you like! Instead of chocolate buttercream, try a Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (just add cocoa powder) or glaze with a Chocolate Ganache.

MORE SHEET CAKE RECIPES:

Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting in baking pan

VARIATIONS ON YELLOW SHEET CAKE

  • Decorations: Decorate the chocolate frosting with mini chocolate chips, M&Ms, chopped walnuts or pecans, sprinkles, or mini marshmallows.
  • Birthday Sheet Cake: Fold in a 1 cup rainbow sprinkles (rainbow jimmies, not the non-pareils) to the cake batter and top the frosting with another ½ cup for a fun, colorful birthday cake!  
  • Sour Cream: Add sour cream to the cake batter and/or the frosting for a tangy, extra moist cake. Use ½ cup sour cream and reduce milk to ¾ cup in the batter. For the frosting, reduce butter to 4 tablespoons and use 2/3 cup sour cream.
  • Buttermilk: You can also replace the milk with buttermilk or full fat yogurt for a melt-in-your-mouth soft Yellow Sheet Cake.
  • Raspberry: After yellow cake has cooled, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam (or other jam) and place in freezer 20 minutes to set. Top with chocolate frosting.
  • Cupcakes: Use this yellow cake batter to make cupcakes. Spray or line a 12 cup muffin tin. Divide batter evenly and bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Jelly Roll Pan: Make a larger, thinner Yellow Sheet Cake in a jelly roll pan. Line pan with parchment paper and spread batter evenly. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-22 minutes.

EASY, CLASSIC CAKES FOR ANY OCCASION

HOW TO STORE YELLOW SHEET CAKE

  • Serve: Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting can be at room temperature up to 2 days frosted and 4 days unfrosted. Cover tightly with saran wrap before storing in a cool, dry place.
  • Store: Cover the cake pan tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate Yellow Sheet Cake for up to 1 week. Leave on the counter for at least 20 minutes before serving.
  • Freeze: Freeze Yellow Sheet Cake frosted or unfrosted for up to 1 month. Cover with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil or cake pan lid. Defrost at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting cross-section in baking pan

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Dinner, then Dessert

Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting is an easy kid friendly birthday cake! Rich, fudgy chocolate frosting and classic yellow cake recipe from scratch!
Yield 24 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting slice on plate
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk

Chocolate Frosting:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking pan with baking spray.
  • To stand mixer, add butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
  • Add in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, then add the vanilla extract.
  • Alternate adding in the milk and the flour mixture, until just combined.
  • Spread into baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through.
  • In a clean stand mixer cream together butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla.
  • Mix on the lowest setting until just mixed together, then raise speed to medium high until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Wait until cake has cooled before frosting.

Nutrition

Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 38mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 533IU | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword: Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

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Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Sabrina, I want to make your yellow cake but in an 11x15x2 pan. Do I double the ingredients! Would that work?

    Reply

  3. Hello Sabrina,
    I’m a newbie to baking/cooking so I don’t know a lot yet. In this recipe it says to use a 9 by 13 baking pan. I don’t have any cake pans or baking pans–I only have a 9 by 13 glass baking dish. Would that work too?
    Also, in general baking, when a recipe mentions a “9 by 13 baking pan” or “9 by 13 cake pan”, could I use my 9 by 13 glass baking dish?
    Thank you so much for your help!
    Love your website! Alina

    Reply

  6. Why do we always think making a cake from scratch is so hard? This is wonderfully easy and delicious! Classic American yellow cake with chocolate frosting…who doesn’t love that?

    Reply

  7. I would like to make this yellow cake in a larger size pan (11×15). Do you recommend using the recipe above plus a half recipe more to accommodate the larger pan? And would the baking time be increased a few minutes longer? Thanks for your help!

    Reply

    1. That might be too much. I’d recommend adding about 25% more because an 13×9 is 117 sq inch and 11×15 is 165 sq in. It will probably take about the same time bake since it’s spread out in a larger pan. Good luck!

      Reply