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Retro-Style Chocolate Sheet Cake. I’m taking us back a bit in time with this delicious fudgy chocolate sheet cake. Picture a flavorful, light, and fluffy chocolate sheet cake with rich chocolate flavor. Then add the most delectable, roll your eyes back good, chocolate frosting that’s sweet and fudgy. This cake is naturally gluten-free and takes so little effort to make. It’s extra chocolatey and every last bite is truly delicious.
I’ve always wanted to make a simple chocolate sheet cake. But that was just it, it felt too simple and basic to share with you all. I know that sounds kind of silly, but I like to share more unique recipes with you guys. My hopes are that I will inspire you to create something fun to cook up for dinner or dessert.
To this day, I haven’t shared a super classic chocolate sheet cake. Maybe someday I will, but honestly, I love this cake even more. It’s classic…but better.
I’ve been thinking back to the recipes our moms and grandmas would bake up and the sweets we enjoyed as kids. Rich chocolate peanut butter bars and sweet sheet cakes for birthday parties. To me, the peanut bars were delicious, but the sheet cakes always lacked a bit in flavor. Probably because most of them were store bought or box cakes.
I got to thinking about how I could still make a retro-inspired sheet cake, but still improve upon it a bit. I wanted to give the cake more flavor, make it less sweet, and figure out a better frosting that didn’t just taste like lots of sugar.
So then I played around with this cake, using almond flour, and maple to sweet things. And adding coffee to really pull out and highlight the chocolate. It ended up being so wonderful, and I love that it’s a bit more wholesome too.
The cake details
Nothing fancy here, just mix the wet ingredients with the dry and simply bake the cake in a baking dish. One bowl – nothing complicated. As mentioned, I used almond flour for this cake, so it’s naturally gluten-free.
And then, I used maple syrup as the sweetener, which I really love. Cakes are, of course, delicious, but I hate the “sugar” headache you can get when they’re overly sweet. Don’t worry though, this is still plenty sweet!
The frosting
While the cake itself is on the more wholesome side, the frosting is a tried and true retro-style classic.
The frosting needed to be thick and fudgy, but yet soft and almost runny. Think of a just set top that has glazed over and stiffened, but underneath is fudgy, loose frosting.
Very old school, very vintage, which is exactly what I was going for. Just like the kind of frosting your grandma would make.
Once the cake has cooled, simply spread the frosting over top and that’s it, easy.
You can let the frosting set up or just cut in and enjoy!
Looking for easy old-school-style desserts? Here are a few ideas:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies
Giant Salted Espresso Hot Fudge Cookies
Lunchroom Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Lastly, if you make this Retro-Style Chocolate Sheet Cake be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Retro-Style Chocolate Sheet Cake
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 569 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup brewed coffee
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (optional)
Chocolate Icing
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup warmed milk
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2. In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil, milk, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. Add the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined, then slowly beat in the coffee until combined. It will be thin. If using, stir in mini-chocolate chips.3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes, until the top is just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool completely before frosting 4. To make the frosting. Add the butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and 1/4 cup warm milk to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until smooth, adding additional warm milk until the frosting becomes thicker, but still drizzly. Taste, adding more sugar if needed. Spread the frosting over the cake. Let sit for 1-ish hour to set. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Storing: this cake will keep well for 3-4 days at room temperature or in the fridge.
To Bring Eggs to Room Temperature: place the eggs in a bowl and fill with warm water. Let sit 5 minutes.
This post was originally published on February 18, 2022
Made this tonight and it’s delish!
Hi Haley,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xxT
Great cake, but my frosting turned out light brown and very whipped! Any suggestion on how to keep it runny and darker like pictured?
Amazing! Followed the recipe exactly and it came out stunningly delicious. Decadent, not too sweet, with a rich chocolate flavor – one of the best (and easiest) cake recipes I have ever had the pleasure of making. Thank you!!!
Hi Amanda,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xxT
Hey Courtney,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! Was there anything you may have adjusted in the frosting? Was your milk warm? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
This looks delicious and I am planning on making it today. Would buttermilk work as a substitute for the whole milk in the cake? Thank you
Hi there,
Yes, that would work for you. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
My son has a tree nut allergy so I was wondering how this would be going truly retro 🙂 and using regular AP flour? I could also use cassava but thought AP would be the simplest.
Hey Ashley,
All purpose flour will also work well for you here. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Made it tonight and it is delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Hi Melissa,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend:) xT
Could I use salted butter in place of coconut oil in the cake recipe? Also, if I omit the coffee in the cake recipe, would I need to add additional of anything else or decrease baking time? Thanks! I can’t wait to try this! 🙂
Hey Karli,
Yes, butter will work. You will want to use water in place of coffee. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
How did you get the icing to drizzle and be fudge like? I used my stand mixer, added the warm milk and it was still butter cream like texture so I kept adding warm milk to thin – I doubled it and decided to stop. It was more like chocolate whipped cool whip texture- still delish but not like yours. Any advice? Also I refrigerated frosted cake overnight and the frosting did not harden like buttercream usually does so that was a plus too 🙂 thanks for posting such delicious things. I’ve been on a roll making your recipes almost weekly – like your cowboy cookies holy hell those are amazing!
Hey Sara,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try. This frosting is nothing like a buttercream frosting. It is soft and fudgy. Was there anything you adjusted? It’s hard for me to say without seeing you end results. Let me know how I can help!! xTieghan
I am going to give it a go again. Is it possible I over whipped the frosting?
Definitely, that will cause it to become thick and butter like.
This cake is delicious!! I subbed half and half/ water because I didn’t have milk. Seemed to turn out fine but I will make again w milk to see if there’s a difference. I also used honey instead of maple syrup because I prefer it. I was not able to frost it because my husband came home and literally ate half the cake while I was upstairs ? but honestly it didn’t even need it. I have been looking for a replica of simple mills and THIS IS IT!!!
Hey Sarah,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Can you use a 1/4 sheet pan instead of a 9×13 baking dish?
Hi Pam,
Sorry, I wouldn’t recommend that for this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Well, your response was late in coming, so I went ahead and used 2 1/4 sheet jelly roll pans and filled each with a batch of the recipe exactly as written. I then made a 2 layer cake out of it separated by a layer of chocolate mousse and topped with a chocolate buttercream frosting. It was the hit of the party! The cake baked up perfectly and was ultra moist. The flavor, much like your Old Fashioned Iced Fudge Brownies, was a chocolate bomb. I did use the mini chocolate chips which added a wonderful bite of chocolate to the moist cake; and, because it wasn’t specified in the recipe, I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder. People kept commenting on how chocolatey the cake was, and the coffee really pushed that point over the top! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!!!!
Hey Pam,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend:) xT
We LOVED this cake! Seriously so so easy to throw together. I think it would be the perfect easy dessert for a dinner party. I only had almond milk and that worked out fine. I also added sliced almonds for texture since I didn’t have chocolate chips. The frosting is an absolute dream. I wish I could post the picture of my daughter after licking the spatula!
Hi Jen,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Everything you offer us chocolate based is absolutely amazing.
Miki x
https://www.littletasteofbeauty.com/
Thanks so much!!
Made this and loved it! Couldn’t believe how sweet and delicious it turned out without more sugary ingredients!
Hi Jordan,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it!! Have the best day:) xx
Absolutely divine!! Perfect chocolate cake that felt indulgent but not too sweet! Also, so, so easy to make! I will definitely be making this again!
Hey Catherine,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it!! Have the best day:) xx
I loved finding a sheet cake that uses almond flour and maple syrup. It turned out wonderfully. I did a half recipe in an 8 inch square pan and only had to bake for about 22 minutes as a result. I am baking at altitude (7000 ft) and didn’t need to make any adjustments for that. We cut back on the frosting (only using a fourth of what was written) and it was the perfect ratio for us. Thanks for another great recipe! My husband loved it!
Hey Amanda,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xT
Hi do I need to refrigerate if I won’t be serving til night time? Also, can I sub almond for regular flour without changing the measurement? Also, do you have a vanilla cake with chocolate version?
Hi there,
Nope, you can keep this at room temp until serving. Yes, all purpose flour will work for you. Here are some other cake recipes you might enjoy:
https://fett-weg.today/chocolate-vanilla-birthday-cake/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/vanilla-birthday-cake-with-whipped-chocolate-buttercream/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT