I think we’ve talked here before about how much I love sheet cakes. It’s all the flavour of a layer cake, but just way, way more laid back. They are super easy to transport (you just take the whole pan with you), are the best for loading up with sprinkles, and, I don’t know about you, but I LOVE making the swirls with my little offset spatula. I could seriously do it all day - it’s so relaxing to me.
Today’s recipe is a chance for me to love on the sheet cake just a little more, with this double chocolate situation. There’s a chocolate olive oil sheet cake on the bottom - it’s rich and moist, but still has a lovely springy texture, and a depth of flavour from the olive oil in the recipe. I then topped it with a fave of mine - milk chocolate german buttercream. Chocolate has got to be one of my all time faves when it comes to German buttercream. Someone once described it as room temperature ice cream, which I think is really just the perfect description. The chocolate goes so nicely with the silky buttercream, giving you this smooth, decadent topping to the cake. This cake would go great with a load of different buttercreams - in fact, there are a heap on the site here for you, but I can’t go past a good double chocolate pairing, and sprinkles are optional but also kind of necessary.
Let’s take a quick sec to talk about the oil I used in the recipe - I used the Robusto Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Filippo Berio. I love all of their oils, but the Robusto is great to use in baking where you really want the oil flavour to shine through. Here, it gives flavour, and the perfect texture to the cake, but also gives another dimension to the chocolate flavour of the cake, which is so perfect! If you wanted to have a slightly less intense olive oil flavouring, their Extra light olive oil is my go to for when I need a neutral oil in baking too. If you haven’t tried adding olive oil to your cake before, I highly recommend giving it a try!
A few wee tips:
- I used a milk chocolate in the buttercream, which gave a very light taste, but if you wanted something a bit darker, sub the milk chocolate for a good quality dark chocolate.
- Ideally the pastry cream for the German buttercream needs to chill down - I like leaving it for at least a few hours, or overnight if I can.
- This cake is great as it comes together all in the one bowl - you end up with quite a bit of mixture, so make sure that you have a big enough bowl!
Thank you so much to Filippo Berio for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.
Made this recipe and love it?
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A note on salt and oven temperature
It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.
All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.
Using the double / triple function in the recipe card
You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!
Tools and equipment
For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
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Chocolate Olive Oil Sheet Cake with Milk Chocolate German Buttercream
- Yield: Makes one 9” x 12” cake - serves 12-16 people 1x
Description
Chocolate Olive Oil Sheet Cake with Milk Chocolate German Buttercream
Ingredients
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
- 375g all-purpose flour
- 350g sugar
- 120g dutch cocoa
- 2 tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
- 180g Filippo Berio Robusto Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 330g whole milk, at room temperature
- 300g freshly boiled water
Milk Chocolate German Buttercream
- 110g sugar
- 12g (1 ½ Tbsp) cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 190g whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 340g (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 180g good quality milk chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
Instructions
CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL SHEET CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Lightly spray a 9”x13” baking pan with baking spray, and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the eggs, vanilla bean paste, Filippo Berio Robusto Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and milk, and mix to combine well. Add the boiling water and whisk until incorporated.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, and tap a few times on a flat surface to remove any excess bubbles.
- Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, until the centre springs back, or a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out cleanly.
- Cool in the pan completely.
MILK CHOCOLATE GERMAN BUTTERCREAM
- In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn starch, egg, egg yolk and salt. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla to just shy of a simmer. Remove from the heat.
- Using one hand to whisk constantly, pour half of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. This helps to temper the eggs and stop them from scrambling. Whisk until incorporated, and then pour the whole lot back into the saucepan.
- Heat the milk and egg mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it begins to bubble. It will thicken quickly. Once it has thickened, cook for one minute, then remove from the heat. Pour into a shallow container or bowl of a stand mixer and press some plastic wrap over the surface to avoid a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold - at least four hours, preferably overnight. If you need to speed this process up, you can place the pastry cream in a bowl, then place the bowl in an ice bath. Stir frequently.
- Fit your mixer with the whisk attachment, and place the pastry cream in the bowl. Whip the mixture on medium until creamy and lump-free. Begin adding the butter, a few cubes at a time, until fully incorporated. It may look curdled at some point but just keep whipping - it will come together! Once the buttercream is homogenous, add the cooled melted milk chocolate and mix to incorporate.
ASSEMBLY
- Transfer the cake to a serving plate or board. Dump the milk chocolate buttercream onto the cake, and, using an offset spatula, spread over the cake, creating swirls in the buttercream. Add sprinkles if desired.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
can i substitute the coco and esspresso for lemon juice to make a lemon cake
No. Please don't do that. Look for a lemon cake recipe 🙂
Made this as a half recipe to reduce gluttony as it was a birthday cake for 2, and it was sooo good. Made it in a weird oval glass Pyrex dish (gamble!) and it was fine, kept as fresh as the day I baked it, for about 4 days, in the middle of high Summer. Will make again and again. Delicious!
I made this for my daughter’s birthday cake as chocolate cake was her request. I must say it’s not a favourite flavour cake of mine but HOLY MOLY this one was amazing!! The German buttercream icing makes it! It’s like a dreamy ice creamy texture! This cake was a hit! And lasted so long as so big!
Ahhh so happy to hear you loved! I hope she had a happy bday! x
I had never made a sheet cake before and did not realise how large it would be - which is perfect for gatherings/ birthdays. It was also very moist and delicious!
★★★★★