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This Chocolate Peppermint Sheet Cake is an easy way to serve a delicious chocolate cake. Flavored with peppermint and drenched in a quick frosting, this cake is going to be a fabulous addition to your holiday dessert table!
I love chocolate and peppermint together. It is one of my favorite things around the holidays. Plus, can we give some love to sheet cakes. They are so easy to make and just as tasty as a decadent layered cake. This cake is super easy to make and can be frosted before cooled. Seriously, it's fast, so incredibly easy and feeds a crowd!
Chocolate Peppermint Sheet Cake Ingredients
- Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- Sugar
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Sour Cream
- Eggs
- Pure Peppermint Extract
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Salted Butter
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Instant Coffee Granules
- Hot Water
- Powdered Sugar
Substitution Suggestions:
- Sour Cream: Plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream in any recipe including this cake.
- Extracts: Use pure vanilla and peppermint extracts. Using the imitation ones leaves a not so pleasant after taste to the cake.
- Salted Butter: I prefer to use salted butter in my baked goods. If you like, you can use unsalted butter and add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt to the cake batter and the frosting.
- Cocoa Powder: My favorite cocoa powder to use is Hershey's. I also made this cake with Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder and it was extremely delicious, especially if you are a dark chocolate lover like me!
- Instant Coffee: If you don't have instant coffee, you can use instant espresso granules or you can replace the hot water with hot brewed coffee.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Sheet Cake
- In a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, peppermint extract and vanilla extract.
- Melt butter, cocoa powder and instant coffee granules together in a medium sauce pot, over medium heat.
- Whisk in the hot water and cook until the edges begin to bubble, but DO NOT boil. Remove from heat.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix it together on low until just combined.
- Add the sour cream and eggs mixture and mix together until fully combined and smooth.
- Bump up speed and mix on medium speed for 30 seconds.
- Pour the cake batter into a greased half sheet pan (18x13). Tap it on the counter a few times.
- Bake the cake in a preheated 350°F oven for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Rotate the pan half way through for even baking.
- After you rotate the cake, make the frosting.
How to Make the Quick Frosting
- Start by melting the butter in a medium sauce pot over medium heat.
- Whisk in cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds.
- Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract, peppermint extract and milk.
- Then whisk in sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
- If the frosting cools too much and isn't pourable, warm it again over very low heat on the stove so it is easily pourable.
- Once the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour warm frosting over the cake. I like to place the cake on aluminum foil to catch any over flow of the frosting. Makes clean up a lot easier.
- Let the cake cool completely and then garnish with crushed peppermint candies or candy canes. Dye free, of course!
Tips for Chocolate Peppermint Sheet Cake
- Always fluff your flour, then spoon and level to measure. Do this when baking anything. It will help eliminate any extra flour from being added to the recipe. Too much flour in this cake will make it dry and unpleasant.
- Don't skip the instant coffee. It does not make the cake taste like coffee, instead it brings out the chocolate flavor in the cake.
- This recipe is for a half sheet pan (18x13 inches). Do not use anything smaller or you will have a huge mess in your oven!
- Rotate the cake half way through baking. It helps with even baking and keeping the top of the cake level.
- Sift the powdered sugar before making frosting. It makes it so much easier to whisk in without getting any clumps.
- If the frosting cools too fast before your cake is done, warm it over very low heat until it is easily pourable.
- Garnish the cake with peppermint candies right before serving. Doing it any earlier will make the candies melt and become an ugly sticky mess.
Why You'll LOVE This Sheet Cake:
- It's fast and easy to make.
- This cake doesn't need to be refrigerated.
- It can be made a day or two ahead of time and will not dry out.
- This feeds a crowd and is perfect for celebrations and holidays.
Storing Sheet Cakes
Storing: Store this sheet cake tightly covered at room temp for about a week. It will stay nice and tender if tightly covered. I like to use a layer of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Some sheet pans also have lids you can add over the plastic wrap.
Freezing: Believe it or not, this cake freezes incredibly well. You can either freeze it whole or individually. Freeze it without the candy garnish. The candy will just melt and become a sticky gross mess if frozen and thawed. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Label, date and freeze. The cake will last 3 months in the freezer.
Thawing: Thaw the cake on the counter uncovered for a few hours. Individual slices will only take around 30 minutes to thaw.
More Delicious Homemade Cake Recipes:
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Pumpkin Pie Bundt Cake
- Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Glazed Lemon Pound Cake
- Pumpkin with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Almond Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Crock Pot Chocolate Lava Cake
Chocolate Peppermint Sheet Cake
This Chocolate Peppermint Sheet Cake is an easy way to serve a delicious chocolate cake. Flavored with peppermint and drenched in a quick frosting, this cake is going to be a fabulous addition to your holiday dessert table!
Servings: 30
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups salted butter, 3 sticks
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
- ¾ cup hot water
Frosting
- ½ cup salted butter
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon pure peppermint extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a half sheet pan (18x13 inches).
- In a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl, combine all purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract and peppermint extract.
- Melt butter, cocoa powder and instant coffee in a medium sauce pot over medium heat.
- Once all melted and combined, whisk in the hot water. Cook just until the edges start to bubble, but DO NOT boil. Remove from heat.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Mix on low just until combined.
- Add the sour cream and egg mixture and mix until fully combined and smooth.
- Bump up speed and mix on medium for 30 seconds.
- Pour cake batter into greased half sheet pan (18x13 inches).
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Rotate the cake half way through baking.
- After you rotate the cake, make the frosting.
Frosting
- Melt the butter in a medium sauce pot over medium heat.
- Whisk in cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract, peppermint extract and milk.
- Then whisk in sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
- If the frosting cools too much and isn't pourable, warm it again over very low heat on the stove so it is easily pourable. Once the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour warm frosting over the cake.
- Let the cake cool completely and then garnish with crushed peppermint candies or candy canes. Dye free, of course!
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 466IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg
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