Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake with Strawberry Frosting

5 from 3 votes

Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake with Strawberry Frosting

We love this rich Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake slathered with fresh Strawberry Frosting – a delicious match made in heaven!

Prep Time40

Cook Time40

Total Time1 10

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, dark chocolate, strawberry

Servings:

Calories: 546kcal

Author: Tricia

Ingredients

For the strawberry syrup:

1 pound fresh strawberries, cleaned with hulls removed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the cake:

1 cup whole milk
8 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate, chopped fine (not chocolate chips)
½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼ cup black Dutch-processed cocoa powder (see notes)
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coffee extract (see notes) or ¼ teaspoon espresso powder

For the frosting:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
strawberry syrup
3 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk, more or less as needed for desired consistency

For garnish and serving:

whole strawberries
sliced strawberries

Instructions

To prepare the strawberry syrup:

Clean 1-pound of fresh, ripe strawberries and remove the hulls. Process the strawberries in a food processor until most pieces are ¼ to ½ inch thick. Be careful not to over-process the strawberries.
Place the processed strawberries in a medium mixing bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Cover and allow the strawberries to rest at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Strain the strawberries through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Using the back of a spoon, gently press the strawberries to extract all the juice. You should have about ½ cup of juice. Discard the strawberry pulp and seeds. Heat the strawberry juice on medium-high heat, stirring constantly and cook until the juice is reduced to about ¼ cup, about 10 minutes. Cool completely then cover and refrigerate until needed.

To prepare the chocolate cake:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly coat a 13x9-inch baking pan with vegetable cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium saucepan combine the milk, chocolate and cocoa powders. Heat on low and cook, stirring frequently until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Add the oil, eggs, vanilla and coffee extract to the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the flour and sugar. Using a stiff spatula or wooden spoon, stir until combined.
Pour the prepared batter into the baking pan. Bake for 30-32 minutes or until the center is firm when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs attached.
Cool completely before frosting.

To prepare the frosting:

In a large mixing bowl combine the butter and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer (or whisk attachment of stand mixer) until the mixture is blended and lightened. Add the vanilla, prepared strawberry syrup and salt. Beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar 1-cup at a time blending until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of milk or cream and blend. Add a little more powdered sugar or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Spread over the cooled cake. Garnish with a few whole strawberries, if desired. Top with fresh sliced strawberries when served.
Store leftover cake well covered at room temperature or for longer storage it may be refrigerated. Cake will keep 3-4 days.

Notes

Black Dutch-processed cocoa is optional. If you don't have it on hand, use all (3/4 cup) regular Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder in this recipe.
Click HERE to get information and a recipe for Coffee Extract.
Cake recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition