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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.
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.
Hi Teighan,
I haven’t made this cake yet but would definitely like to try it since I have a lot of almond flour and natural cocoa powder from Costco. Did you use natural cocoa powder or dutch processed?
I used Dutch process and it came out with good chocolate flavor.
Hey there,
Here is the link for the cocoa powder that I used:
http://l.thrv.me/hbh-eqlexe-orgbakcocoa
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Sorry this was not a hit for us. Didn’t like the coconut oil flavor or the almond flour gritty texture. Although the frosting was delish. Do you think i could use butter and regular flour? Otherwise love your recipes!
Hi Maria,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Yes, butter and all purpose flour will work. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I am thinking of making this for the upcoming holidays. Would like to use a nicer presentation. I have individual Bundt cake pans or round cake pans for stacking. I am open to other ideas. What do you or do you recommend another pan option?
Hi Robyn,
This cake is quite delicate, I would not recommend for stacking. I would recommend using this recipe:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/simple-chocolate-birthday-cake-whipped-chocolate-buttercream-video/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Another hit in our household! Extended family came over and we all (including my son, who is notoriously critical) loved the cake.
Hey Katherine,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! ☘️xx
Sadly this was horrible. I love your recipes and often bake with almond flour but this didn’t work at all. It was very flat, oily and had no flavor. The wet to dry ratio is way off compared to Sweet Laurel cake for instance which works well.
Hi Claire,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. xTieghan
Absolutely delicious!!! And I’m not usually a chocolate cake person.
Came out perfectly fluffy.
So exciting to have such a great GF cake option now!
Went with 2 cups of icing sugar for the icing and it was perfect. I only had 1/4cup cocoa powder left for it and I actually enjoyed it that way because the icing wasn’t super chocolatey.
Will definitely be making over and over again.
Hey Samantha,
Happy Wednesday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go!! ☘️Tieghan
THE ABSOLUTE BEST for chocolate lovers. My entire family is crazy for this cake. It is rich and delicious. I made it for some who were gluten free and they were dreaming about it for days. I love the texture of almond flour baked goods. You knocked this recipe out of the park.
Hi Holly,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! Love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
So delicious. Rich, deep chocolate cake with a lighter sweet frosting, yum. I made this with regular flour as I didn’t have any almond flour. Was super moist and overall really good. Well done Tieghan!
Hi Connie,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that the recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try. Have the best week:)) xT
So good!! I made this cake for my friend who is both gluten free and dairy free, so I used unsweetened almond milk and used Earth’s Balance in place of butter. It came out great…perfectly moist, rich and chocolatey. Definitely would make again.
Hi Veronica,
Happy Sunday!! Love to hear that you have enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it!! xx
I mistakenly used the metric measurements to make this! I think they are incorrect e.g. it calls for over 400g of maple syrup – that’s a huge amount of maple syrup so as I was adding things I had to adjust. Tastes nice but would like to make it with correct measurements.
Hi Martina,
So sorry to hear this! Thanks for letting me know, will definitely have to take a look at this! xTieghan
Changes: Made this in an 8×8 pan.
Half of this batter made an 8×8 cake that was about 1/2 in tall. Ended up halving the cake and stacking because it was thinner than a brownie.
Cake is soft but dense. Wouldn’t say the cake turned out light and fluffy as described in the recipe. If you are thinking boxed cake fluffy, this is not the recipe to use. That being said, almond flour creates a distinct cake texture and if you are familiar with that, then that is what to expect.
I know the recipes have metric conversions, but I’d love to make the recipe with the measurements that Tieghan uses. For example, if Tieghan is scooping and leveling flour in cups or packing cups of almond flour, I would like to know that. Or if she weighing ingredients, I’d love to know that.
Love the fact that this cake uses maple syrup as the sweetener and almond flour. I would make again for a gluten free chocolate lover.
Hi Kay,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! I never weigh my ingredients, I try to keep everything pretty simple. Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe ingredient wise? It really should not have been dense. xT
This is LITERALLY THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I’VE EVER HAD. You need to make this ASAP. Not trying to be dramatic but it’s that good 🙂
Hey Alyssa,
Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear that it was a hit!! xTieghan
This cake is delicious. The almond flour lends a nice nuttiness. Neither the cake nor frosting are overly sweet (I went with 2c sugar for the frosting) so the chocolate flavor really shines. The mini chocolate chips add perfect little pops of sweetness throughout. The sheet cake style makes it very no-fuss and you can just pour the frosting on top and not spend forever frosting it.
Will definitely make again.
Hi Holly,
Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear that it was a hit!! xTieghan
I made this cake according to the instructions for a family gathering of 6 adults and 4 children. I would say that this is more of an adult cake than a kids cake. While the kids loved the frosting, they weren’t keen on the cake itself. The adults who had the cake really enjoyed it. I loved it and the frosting is a very nice recipe as well. I will definitely make tis again.
Hi Patricia,
Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear that it was a hit!! xTieghan
Can you make this without the coffee?
Hi Rosemary,
You can use water in place of the coffee. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it!! xx
So Good!!
This cake is insane. Like going-back-for-seconds-and-eating-straight-out-of-the-pan delicious! I hope more people give this a try because it’s probably the best chocolate cake I’ve tried.
Hi Diana,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
I would love to try this! Can coconut flour be subbed for almond flour ?
Hi Tina,
So sorry, I would not recommend coconut flour, but you could do a GF blend. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan