Chocolate Sheet Cake with Buttercream Frosting

For Yellow Sheet Cake, click here.

So excited for you to try this gluten-free Chocolate Sheet Cake with Buttercream Frosting!

It has the most amazing soft and moist texture, the best chocolate flavor and a perfect cake to frosting ratio!

And before we get too far, I want to point out that we have recipes below for both this luscious vanilla buttercream as well as our famous creamy chocolate buttercream frosting.  BOTH are amazing!!

It’s essentially our Best Chocolate Cake with quantities and baking time revised to fit a half sheet cake size and it’s a new favorite!

I just made it this weekend for my son’s high school graduation (and decorated it with his school name and 2021!) and it was a huge hit!

Everyone loves the sheet pan size cake– it’s just the right amount of cake and frosting!

And based on how much you all love our Yellow Sheet Cake recipe, I made this one using a half sheet pan as well, so it’s perfect for feeding a small gathering and not having too much left over.

Just a quick note about the Best Chocolate Cake in case you haven’t seen it or made it yet.

The recipe is from my Aunt and it’s a longtime family favorite, which we make gluten-free using our favorite gluten-free all purpose flour, GF Jules (affiliate link).

It’s moist, the most amazing chocolate flavor and texture and SO GOOD! It’s that cake that my entire extended family makes whenever we need a cake — birthdays, holidays, random get togethers.

It makes a full size cake or doubles well for a double layer cake (shown here). I’ve recently made it as Chocolate Cupcakes and had so many requests for this sheet cake size, which may be my favorite yet!

So let’s make the gluten-free Chocolate Sheet Cake….

I have a cooking video on this page so you can see how easy they are to make.

As with all my recipes, there is a printable recipe with exact measurements and directions on the bottom of this page.

It’s made with all the usual goods —

all purpose gluten-free flour (we use with GF Jules -affiliate link )

sugar

egg

Hershey  cocoa (100% cacao unsweetened)

baking powder

baking soda

salt

canola oil

vanilla

coffee (we used a dark roast decaf) 

buttermilk (you can make some!) for extra flavor and moistness.

As an aside, you may have noticed that we are affiliate for GFJules.  To learn more about why we love GFJules flour and why we have used it for 10 years, click here.

Bonus: at the bottom of that post is a one-time use affiliate Discount Code.

And importantly, purchasing through an affiliate link does not change your cost at all. It generates a small percentage of the sale for me, and purchasing through an affiliate link helps me fund this website and all the recipes I share, so thank you!

Back to the gluten-free Chocolate Sheet Cake…

It is the easiest recipe ever!

All you do it mix the dry ingredients together, add in the wet ingredients and mix for 2 minutes until smooth and luscious!

Then pour into a prepare rimmed baking sheet and bake!

Pro Tip: It only bakes for 20-22 minutes but I always check at 20 minutes and cover the top loosely with foil so the top doesn’t burn.

Let cool completely and it’s time to frost it!

We have recipes for both an amazing creamy vanilla frosting and luscious chocolate frosting.  You can’t go wrong with either!

But after seeing how easy they are to make and how yummy they are, you will never use store-bought frosting again!

The Yummiest Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is made with just 4 ingredients, mixed together in a stand mixer or hand mixer.

confectioner’s sugar (also known as powdered sugar)

butter or dairy-free butter (room temperature!)

vanilla extract

milk or dairy free milk

And The Best Chocolate Frosting is made with just 5 ingredients, mixed together in a stand mixer or hand mixer.

butter or dairy-free butter

cocoa powder (we use Hershey’s cocoa, 100% cacao unsweetened)

vanilla extract

powdered sugar (also known as confectioner’s sugar)

milk or dairy-free milk

Let the cake complete cool, then using an icing spatula, small regular spatula or even a small knife, frost the cake!

The frosting sets pretty quickly.

Then feel free to serve as is, stop with sprinkles or decorate for any occasion.

You can make ahead and store in a cool place or a refrigerator, then slice into it and enjoy!

Just look at this texture!

It’s soft and moist and so perfect!

Hope you love it as much as we do!

For Chocolate Cupcakes, click here.

For Yellow Sheet Cake or Cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, click here.

For more Desserts/ Cakes, click here.

PIN it!

Scroll down for recipe and leave a comment if you make.