Blackout Setup

This week I celebrated my first anniversary at my new job, but have been thinking for weeks about what kind of cake I would bring in to share with the team (because OBVIOUSLY there would be cake). Since I was a little bit burnt out on layer cakes after the Ultimate S’mores Cake, the one that ended up calling my name was this Chocolate Blackout Sheet Cake from Love & Olive Oil — and not just because of the sprinkles.

Chocolate Blackout Cake

This isn’t just any old sheet cake. It’s a super fudgey chocolate cake, covered with a thick chocolate glaze (also appealing to me, instead of making buttercream for the 50th time this year!) and finished with homemade chocolate crumbles and sprinkles. SOLD! I made this on Sunday afternoon and brought it in on Monday to share with everyone, with some super cute sparkley plates and forks.

Blackout Slice

To say they liked it was an understatement. I’ve never heard the word MOIST so much in my life! The best part was at the end of the day I heard a voice say “It’s okay, I don’t need a plate” and looked over to see our Director of IT just eating the last square of cake directly out of pan, and then scraping up all the bits across the bottom. I was laughing so hard as I walked over and asked if he even knew what the cake was for, and he nodded and said “Your anniversary, right?”. All you can do is laugh!

Chocolate Blackout Sheet Cake

Source: Love & Olive Oil

Ingredients

Chocolate Crumble

  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted to remove lumps
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp butter, melted

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted to remove lumps
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Glaze

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp corn syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted to remove lumps
  • big pinch salt

Directions

  1. For the chocolate crumbles, preheat the oven to 300° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork until it starts to get crumbly. I would recommend chilling the mixture briefly here, maybe for 10 minutes or so, then use your hands to really form some great crumbs.
  3. Spread the crumbs onto the parchment paper into a single layer, then bake for 20 minutes. Stir VERY gently halfway through baking, and when done, let them cool completely.
  4. For the cake, increase the oven to 350° and butter a 9×13″ pan. You’ll be serving the cake out of this pan, so pick a nice one.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and whisk until no traces of flour remain.
  7. Pour the mixture into the pan, using an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cake cool on a wire rack while you get the glaze ready.
  8. For the glaze, combine cream, butter, sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk gently until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.
  9. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and chocolate chips. Keep whisking until chocolate is totally melted, then whisk in cocoa powder until smooth.
  10. Pour all of the glaze evenly over the cake, then sprinkle with the chocolate crumbs and decorate with sprinkles! Let cool completely at room temperature, then chill for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.