I realized recently that we don’t have a simple One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe on the blog. Plus chocolate cake is my favorite, so I was really surprised we didn’t have a one bowl chocolate cake recipe already! So I thought now would be the perfect time to put up our One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake with Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting! This cake is super fluffy, moist and really easy to make. I paired it with an equally as fluffy peanut butter frosting because I love the classic chocolate and peanut butter pairing and I’ve never been crazy about a chocolate on chocolate combo in general. I also kept this cake as a sheet cake because it’s in keeping with the whole quick and easy vibe of this recipe.
I’ve been asked a handful of times if there’s a specific pan I like to use for sheet cakes and yes there is! I really like this one. I love how sharp and straight the edges of this pan are. I also really like that cakes come out so clean even when I’m not lining the pan with parchment. If you guys are a big fan of this One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake with Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting, because you love the classic flavor pairing, you’ll love our Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies! Enjoy! xx, Jenny
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One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake with Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
INGREDIENTS
chocolate cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
fluffy peanut butter frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate shavings, for decorating
INSTRUCTIONS
- Chocolate cake: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease a 9”x 13” baking dish and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, water, oil, and extract (or paste) and whisk together until thick, even batter has formed.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of cake.
- Allow cake to cool enough to handle, then transfer cake to a cooling rack and cool completely.
- Frosting: Place butter and peanut butter into a mixing bowl and beat together with a hand mixer, until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl and add ½ cup sugar at a time until all sugar has been incorporated. Add vanilla, salt and heavy cream and continue to beat frosting until light and fluffy.
- Assemble: Evenly spread frosting over sheet cake and top with shaved chocolate. Slice and serve.
NOTES
- *Makes 1 (9”x13”) sheet cake
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Made it, tastes great, icing recipe makes a lot!!!
I split this in half and made cupcakes out of it (it made just about 12 cupcakes). It didn’t rise as much as I would have hoped, but it was delicious and the frosting was amazing. The cake was a nice deep, dark chocolate flavor. It was a tad crumbly, so definitely needed cupcake liners. Per America’s Test Kitchen, I actually used the hot water to bloom the cocoa, then added it with the wet ingredients. Overall, I’ll definitely make again. Might tweak it for a bit more fat or something so it’s not so crumbly.
This cake is gorgeous. Chocolate and peanut butter is heaven.
Per directions, water goes in with eggs, buttermilk , etc.
I’m a little confused. In your ingredients you list a cup of hot water. In your directions you do not mention the hot water. When do you put in the hot water?