Yesterday our puppy turned 1.
She needed a cake, obviously. Specifically a chocolate cake (since chocolate is soooo good for dogs – it’s actually really bad for dogs, just in case you didn’t know). According to doggie age charts (depending on which one you look at), Juniper is around 14 years old (in human years). She’s a teenager and I’ve had enough of her crazy dog drama (it’s real, you guys).
So really, I actually made this cake for myself.
One- cake is my all-time favorite food and i’ll take any excuse I can get to eat it. Second- I still have a long time to wait until she’s a mature, lazy, non-chewing adult dog. Third- a puppy and a toddler to myself all day, both of which don’t listen to me, is not at all my idea of a good time. Especially since Octavian wants nothing to do with the poor dog 90% of the time.
So I made the easiest cake ever.
I may love to eat cake, but I have little experience making fancy layered cakes, so… baby steps.
You guys, this cake is so good. So moist and so much chocolate. Just the way I like it.
Dark Cocoa Buttermilk Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
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For the Cake:
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3 large eggs
- 2.33 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar - packed
- 2.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups buttermilk
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese - at room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter - 1 stick, softened
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4.5 cups powdered sugar - plus more if needed
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Bring butter and eggs to room temperature by removing them from the refrigerator 30-45 minutes prior to baking.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients- stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed, gradually increasing speed to high, and continuing to beat for approximately 30 seconds more. In a small bowl whisk together the granulated sugar and the brown sugar until combined. Slowly add the sugar mixture to the butter mixture, beating at medium speed for approximately 4-5 minutes or until butter and sugar is light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
- Next, add the flour mixture and buttermilk to mixture, alternating between each addition (flour...buttermilk...flour...buttermilk...flour). Beat after each addition just until combined. After final addition beat on medium for an additional 15 seconds, scraping down sides if needed.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove cooked cake from the oven and allow cake to cool completely before applying cream cheese frosting.
- Once cool, frost the top of your cake (see instructions below) with desired amount of frosting (I used approximately two-thirds). Cover and store remaining frosting in the refrigerator for later use (or for anyone who really loves their frosting 😉
- Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles, chocolate shavings, candy pieces, or enjoy as-is.
For the Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together all ingredients for the cream cheese frosting except for the powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, adding additional milk (1 teaspoon at a time) if needed, until desired consistency is reached. Makes approximately 3 cups.
Nutrition
Enjoy!
