Easy Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

If you love basic yellow sheet cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, then you’ll love this cake! I’ve tested this recipe and perfected this easy yellow sheet cake. It’s a melt-in-your-mouth moist and the creamy chocolate buttercream frosting is the perfect topping. 

Yellow sheet cake with buttercream frosting is one of those classic recipes. I grew up with a yellow cake and chocolate frosting. It seemed like it was the one constant at every party. It was a family favorite. 

This cake is moist with melt-in-your-mouth chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s the best cake to put whatever you want on top. Sprinkles? Strawberries? Cherries? Bits of candy? Or do what I did and leave it with just the chocolate buttercream frosting. 

If I’m in a hurry, this is the go-to cake that quick and easy to pull together for those last-minute parties. 

You could go out and buy a yellow cake mix, but once you make this cake from scratch, you’ll never go back to boxed cake mixes again. It’s so easy. 

This cake has lots of flavor and the chocolate frosting on top adds the perfect touch of sweetness. 

Can I make this Yellow Sheet Cake Recipe into Cupcakes? 

Yes, absolutely! To turn this into cupcakes it’s a simple matter of pouring the batter into a cupcake pan. It makes anywhere from 18 to 24 cupcakes. 

You can even use the same Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. Add a few sprinkles and you’ll be ready to go. 

How to Make a Yellow Cake from Scratch? 

Nothing fancy with this recipe. This yellow cake recipe has flour, sugar, unsalted butter, eggs, baking powder and vanilla for flavoring.

You can substitute buttermilk for whole milk, but I prefer the whole milk in this recipe. I think whole milk tastes better in a yellow cake and buttermilk for a chocolate cake. 

What makes a Yellow Cake Yellow? 

First there are no dyes in a yellow cake. Yellow cakes use butter and eggs.

By combining these two ingredients it creates the yellow cake mix batter, its signature yellow coloring. 

Because of the butter and eggs, it also creates and tastes much richer than white cake. 

Tips for making the Yellow Sheet Cake Recipe: 

Use all ingredients at room temperature. Using cold milk, butter or eggs can cause your cake to fall and appear flat. 

You can make the cake beforehand and freeze it for up to two months. You’ll want to wait to frost it until it’s unthawed. 

We can store frostings and fillings for up to 1 week. 

Do I have to refrigerate a cake with buttercream frosting? 

If you’d like to make the buttercream frosting ahead of time, frosting can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks. 

If you’ve already decorated your cake with the chocolate buttercream frosting, we can store cake with frosting at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

If you prefer to refrigerate your cake with frosting, you can put it into the refrigerator unwrapped until the frosting hardens. Then place it into an air-tight container. 

What makes the cake moist and fluffy? 

Creaming the butter and sugar together. I just love to see that yellow color come out. By whisking the butter and sugar together it helps to make the cake fluffy and moist. 

Need more moist chocolatey goodness in your life? Be sure to try my Triple Layer Chocolate Cake or Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies.

Let's Bake!

Yellow Sheet Cake Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter, room temperature - Ideally unsalted butter should be left out on the counter for at least 1-2 hours to get to room temperature before using. This is the most important step in making a Yellow Cake. It's the difference between a fluffy and moist cake versus a dense cake.

Granulated Sugar - Whisking the butter and sugar together will create the beautiful yellow color.

Large Eggs, room temperature - Eggs into the butter and sugar creamed recipe will enhance the yellow coloring.

Real Vanilla extract - There's nothing better than a hint of real vanilla in a cake. Vanilla is like adding the salt to your favorite dish.

All-purpose Flour - Flour provides the rise and structure needed in baking.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda - These two provide the binder in this recipe. It holds it all together.

Salt - Just a pinch to enhance the flavor.

Whole Milk - I prefer whole milk in a yellow cake and buttermilk in a chocolate cake.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter - As in the cake mix step, leaving your unsalted butter out and bringing it to room temperature will insure you arrive at a sweet buttercream frosting.

Cocoa Powder - My favorite cocoa powder never fails to deliver a perfectly sweetened chocolate buttercream frosting.

Powdered Sugar - By adding the powdered sugar into the unsalted butter and cocoa powder mixture, you'll balance out the bitter taste of cocoa powder and turn it into the ultimate sweet buttercream frosting for your yellow sheet cake.

Whole Milk - I prefer whole milk for a chocolate frosting.

Real Vanilla Extract - There's nothing better than real vanilla extract. It gives that slight taste of vanilla.

Yellow Sheet Cake Directions:

Oven Temperature: 350° degrees.

You'll want to use a 9 inch by 13 inch glass oblong pan to make the Yellow Sheet Cake. You can use round pans if you, prefer. However, a sheet cake are the longer oblong style cakes.

Mix the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.

Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

You'll slowly start to add the dry ingredients until it's just blended.

Pour in the milk slowly so not to splash it in the mixer.

Pour the cake batter into the pan of your choosing and bake for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Frosting Directions:

After you let your yellow sheet cake cool, it's time for the good stuff!

This is the best part as far as I'm concerned!

Mix the butter and cocoa powder until you have it completely blended.

Using your mixer on low-speed add in the powdered sugar until it's all combined.

Next add in your eggs and vanilla extract until it's the consistency you want for your cake.

Tools Used for this Recipe

• Glass Sheet pan - This one even has a lid for storage.
• Mixing Bowl
• Spatula
• Mixer

Free Printable Recipe