I found the original recipe for this Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting in the Hershey’s Best-Loved Recipes cookbook I got many years ago. Over the years we’ve made a few tweaks and this has become a go-to cake at our house. It’s an easy homemade chocolate cake that’s so soft and perfect, with a melty peanut butter frosting that turns into almost a peanut butter fudge consistency once it cools. We like to top it with chocolate sprinkles and a little flaky salt. Mini Reese’s Pieces are cute, too!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Cake
- Butter – Always use real butter if you can.
- Water
- Cocoa powder
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Eggs
- Buttermilk – Or sour cream. These ingredients help the cake retain it’s moisture for a soft, tender crumb.
- Vanilla extract
Frosting and Topping
- Butter
- Half and half or cream
- Vanilla extract
- Peanut butter baking chips – Find these on the baking aisle near the chocolate chips.
- Powdered sugar – Sifted to avoid lumps.
- Chocolate Sprinkles or Mini Reese’s Pieces – Optional, for topping the finished cake. We also like some flaky salt on top!
How to Make a Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Grease a 9×13″ baking pan (and flour if you’d like to; I usually don’t).
- This cake batter starts off on the stovetop. You’ll combine some water, butter, and cocoa powder and boil for a minute. Set that aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer you’ll combine your flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. To that you’ll add some eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and beat it all together.
- Add the cocoa mixture and beat until just combined and then pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before making your frosting.
- Once the cake is cool, you’ll prep your frosting on the stovetop. Melt some butter, peanut butter baking chips, and milk over medium heat, stirring frequently, until everything is smooth. Remove from heat and add in a splash of vanilla and some powdered sugar. You can mix by hand or use an electric mixer to incorporate some air and make it smooth and fluffy.
- Pour the frosting over the cooled cake and smooth with a spatula then, if desired, sprinkle with mini Reese’s Pieces. Allow the frosting to cool completely before serving.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished, cooled cake, covered tightly, at room temperature and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- You can freeze individual frosted slices as well. Wrap tightly in plastic and then foil and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or for a few hours at room temp.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re looking for an all chocolate cake, this Texas Sheet Cake might be a good option for you! Butterscotch baking chips would also behave much like peanut butter chips in the frosting here, so you could try those and top with mini M&Ms.
While I haven’t tried it myself, it would probably work well with your favorite dairy-free butter and milk replacements. I would just make sure the butter replacement you use has a fat content similar to butter. Some of the dairy-free spreads contain a lot of water, which can really change the way baked goods and frostings turn out.
This recipe should work well with a good 1:1 gluten-free flour blend!
Yes, this is a great make-ahead cake since it needs to sit and cool anyway! make it all the way through, cover tightly, and allow to sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours before serving for peak freshness.
Yep! You can freeze it even after frosting. For best results freeze individual portions wrapped tightly in plastic then foil and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or a few hours at room temp.
Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 ¾ cups flour spooned lightly into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup buttermilk or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1 10- ounce package peanut butter chips
- ⅓ cup half and half or cream I prefer half and half, but you could also use milk
- ⅓ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted (so measure it first, then sift it)
- optional toppings: chocolate sprinkles, flaky salt, mini Reese's Pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease a 9×13″ pan or line with parchment and set it aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, and cocoa powder. Over medium heat, stir the mixture frequently until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), add the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and whisk together to combine. Add the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk (or sour cream) and beat until blended. Add the cocoa mixture and beat until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out wiht just a few loose crumbs attached. Allow to cool completely.
- To prepare the frosting, combine the peanut butter chips, half and half or cream, and butter in a medium saucepan over gentle heat. Stir frequently, just until the chips are melted and the the mixture is combined smooth. Note: Overheating can cause mixture to seize)Remove from heat, then whisk in the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar until smooth. Pour the frosting over the cake and smooth with a spatula, then, if desired, sprinkle toppings.
- Tip: Use a plastic knife for the best slicing experience. While the frosting is warm, it will be gooey (and delicious.). After cooling, it's kind of like a layer of fudge (also delicious!)
Notes
- Store finished, cooled cake, covered tightly, at room temperature and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- You can freeze individual frosted slices as well. Wrap tightly in plastic and then foil and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or for a few hours at room temp.
Questions & Reviews
Would this frosting work with the Texas sheet cake?
I’m with Virginia. . . I don’t know what I did wrong, but the frosting turned out all thick and gooey and carmely, not soft and fluffy. Any ideas what I did wrong? Mine had oil forming around the edges of the frosting as well. Any tips on how to fix this in the future would be appreciated. . . thanks so much! Love your site!
How did I screw this up? I just made this for my son’s 10th birthday, and the frosting got all gross and the separated. The second I quit stirring it, oil starts to forming to the edges. It’s yucky…I don’t think I can put it on a cake 🙁
I love the recipe, but I have a question. I have made this twice and both times I end up with the flour and chocolate not mixing well together. I have little lumps of flour floating when I am done mixing it. Is the chocolate part supposed to cool before mixing with the flour and buttermilk? It cooks fine just ends up more like a brownie than cake.
It really is more thick and fudgy and brownie-like than a regular cake–more Texas sheet cake-ish, you know?
This cake looks so yummy! I realize it is a “sheet” cake but it is possible to make this in two round pans and have the frosting drip off the sides of it?
I made this tonight and it came out fantastic!! My husband was eyeing it all night long until I finally cut pieces! I was wondering though… how do you get your servings to look so clean and not messy around the edges? I baked mine in a 9×13 as the instructions said and about halfway cutting vertically down the cake the icing got really broken up and “messy” on either side. Tips?
Looks so good! Can I ask what store you get the mini Reese’s Pieces? I’ve never seen them before!
I was at Walmart and they carry them. They’re next to the Reese’s peanut butter chips. Not directly next to the chocolate chips so it’s probably why you haven’t seen them before! 🙂
I will just have to make this soon because my brother gets excited with chocolate cakes!