This chocolate chip sheet cake is topped with a fudgy chocolate frosting and loaded up with mini chocolate chips! Made in a 9x13-inch cake pan, this chocolate chip sheet cake is perfect for birthdays or bake sales (or hi, just because!) It's moist thanks to the combination of butter and neutral oil, but thick enough that the mini chocolate chips don't sink into the cake batter!
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I've had a few comments from people about turning my vanilla layer cake into a sheet cake, so I had to get to work! I took my funfetti strawberry cake and got testing. I ended up using this final recipe for my confetti sheet cake!
My funfetti cake has already been tweaked to prevent the sprinkles from sinking, but after some testing, I realized that the mini chocolate chips (and gravity) would require a few more adjustments.
I increased the amount of flour and decreased the buttermilk to make the cake batter a lot thicker. Yay, no sinking mini chips! I then covered it in a chocolate sour cream frosting (my absolute fave frosting) and added rainbow sprinkles, because why not?
If you wanted to switch up the frosting, this would be amazing with vanilla bean buttercream or Oreo frosting. I did a lil poll on my insta to find out what frosting should go with this cake, and let me tell you, the results were CLOSE! But chocolate won, so here we are! If you want a super chocolatey cake, try my chocolate buttermilk sheet cake!
Grab your ingredients
There are a few key ingredients you'll need to make this chocolate chip sheet cake! Number one being, well, chocolate chips! Make sure you're using mini chocolate chips; that way, they're less likely to sink in the cake batter. I also swap out some of the butter for a neutral oil (think vegetable oil or canola oil) to help make the cake moist and soft.
Let's Make This Sheet Cake!
- Mix the butter, sugar, and oil together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, make sure you really scrape that bowl!
- Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Pour the cake batter into a greased and lined 9x13-inch cake pan. I like to add a few more chocolate chips on top! Bake in the oven.
- Combine butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Then mix in the cocoa powder, melted chocolate, sour cream, and salt.
- Frost your (completely cooled) sheet cake and enjoy!
Dry Cake versus Chips Sinking
It can be a real balancing act when you're adding mix-ins to a cake. On one hand, you want a soft, tender crumb. On the other hand, you don't want all the chocolate chips sinking to the bottom. The trick? Reducing the buttermilk and bumping up the flour a bit. This helps suspend the chips in the cake batter.
But, there is a trade-off! The cake won't be as moist. So here's my pro tip: always use a kitchen scale to measure your flour. It's the best way to avoid overpacking a measuring cup and drying out your cake.
Storage
I recommend storing the frosted cake in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. You should store it in the fridge because of the frosting! Let the cake come to room temperature before enjoying.
You can make the cake the day before. Once cool, tightly wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature, then frost the next day.
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Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Chocolate Chip Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Equipment
- 9x13-inch cake pan
- Stand Mixer
- Kitchen Scale
- Measuring Spoons
- Bowl
- Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
- small offset spatula
Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Cake
- ⅓ cup (75 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ⅔ cup (333 grams) white sugar
- ¼ cup (50 ml) neutral oil
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (113 ml) buttermilk room temperature
- 1 cup (182 grams) mini chocolate chips
Chocolate Frosting
- 3 oz (85 grams) semisweet chocolate chopped
- ½ cup (110 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup (113 grams) confectioners' sugar
- ½ cup (42 grams) cocoa powder dutch-processed
- pinch kosher salt
- ¼ cup (60 ml) sour cream room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃. Grease and line a 9x13-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter with the oil and sugar until creamy on medium speed. This will take about 2-3 minutes, and it'll look a bit grainy and fluffy.⅓ cup (75 grams) unsalted butter, 1 ⅔ cup (333 grams) white sugar, ¼ cup (50 ml) neutral oil
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl after each addition.4 large eggs
- Mix in the vanilla extract.3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour with the baking powder and salt.2 teaspoons baking powder, 3 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, then mix on low. Add ½ the buttermilk. Repeat once more, then end with the flour mixture.½ cup (113 ml) buttermilk
- Gently stir in the mini chocolate chips.1 cup (182 grams) mini chocolate chips
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 33-42 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing and letting them cool completely on wire cooling racks.
- Melt your chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, stopping every 10-15 seconds to stir so it doesn't burn. Once melted, set aside.3 oz (85 grams) semisweet chocolate
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' on low speed until combined. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy½ cup (110 grams) unsalted butter, 1 cup (113 grams) confectioners' sugar
- Add the cocoa powder and mix on low speed until combined, then increase to medium speed for 1-2 minutes. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is getting combined. No butter left behind!½ cup (42 grams) cocoa powder
- Add in the sour cream, melted chocolate, and salt and mix once more.pinch kosher salt, ¼ cup (60 ml) sour cream
- Frost your completely cooled cake and enjoy!
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I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
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