Indulge in the Best Chocolate Sheet Cake with Dreamy Milk Chocolate Ganache: A Foolproof Recipe for All Ages!
Prepare to delight your taste buds with an extraordinary dessert: the Chocolate Sheet Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache Frosting. This phenomenal recipe hails from The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs, 100+ Recipes That You’ll Love to Cook And Eat, a truly inspiring new release from the culinary masters at America’s Test Kitchen. But before we dive into the delicious details of this cake, I’m thrilled to share some exciting news: America’s Test Kitchen has officially launched a fantastic new media brand tailored for younger food enthusiasts called www.ATKkids.com. This cake is just one example of the accessible, high-quality recipes they’re bringing to families.
Introducing ATK Kids: Inspiring Young Bakers and Chefs
ATK Kids is brilliantly designed to inspire and empower cooks aged 8 through 13, fostering a love for cooking and baking from an early age. While I may be a tad older than their primary target audience, I enthusiastically explored the new website and was instantly captivated! I immediately bookmarked three recipes that I knew my family would adore and that I couldn’t wait to try: Avocado Crema, DIY Hot Cocoa Mix, and Sweet and Tangy Glazed Salmon. These aren’t just ‘kid’ recipes; they are genuinely delicious, well-tested dishes that appeal to everyone. The site offers a fantastic array of easy-to-follow instructions, engaging videos, and helpful tips that make learning to cook fun and safe for children. It’s truly a testament to America’s Test Kitchen’s reputation for clear, concise, and foolproof recipes.
The companion cookbook, “The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs,” from which our featured chocolate cake recipe originates, is much more than just a collection of recipes. It’s packed with invaluable cooking tips, essential techniques, and insightful explanations that help young chefs understand the “why” behind their cooking. I was so impressed with its comprehensive approach and delightful content that I ended up ordering copies for all my young relatives. My hope is that they are all currently enjoying their culinary adventures, discovering the joy of creating delicious meals and treats just as I have with this exceptional chocolate sheet cake.
The Decadent Delight: Chocolate Sheet Cake
Now, let’s return to the star of the show: this incredible chocolate sheet cake! Imagine sinking your teeth into a slice of pure chocolate bliss. What truly sets this sheet cake apart is its intensely rich and profoundly chocolatey flavor profile. Unlike many cakes that rely solely on cocoa powder, this recipe goes above and beyond, incorporating both premium Dutch-processed cocoa and a generous 8 ounces of melted bittersweet chocolate chips. This powerful combination creates an unparalleled depth of flavor, yielding a cake that is profoundly dark, moist, and deeply satisfying, rather than light and airy. It truly lives up to its promise of being a deep, dark chocolate experience.
But the magic doesn’t stop at the ingredients. The preparation method for this cake is surprisingly simple, making it incredibly approachable for bakers of all skill levels, especially the young chefs ATK Kids aims to inspire. Forget complicated creaming methods or piles of dirty mixing bowls; the genius of this recipe lies in its “stir by hand in a large saucepan” approach. You begin by gently melting the chocolate chips, milk, and cocoa directly in the saucepan, creating a luscious, aromatic base. Then, with just a whisk and a few simple stirs, the remaining wet and dry ingredients are incorporated. While you will need a separate bowl for whisking together the dry ingredients initially, the bulk of the mixing happens in one pot, making for a wonderfully streamlined and, dare I say, relaxing process. This recipe flows beautifully from start to finish, which is undoubtedly why I’ve happily made it twice already and am already contemplating a third baking session!
Crafting the Silky Milk Chocolate Ganache Frosting
No truly great chocolate cake is complete without an equally impressive frosting, and this Milk Chocolate Ganache Frosting rises to the occasion with remarkable simplicity and luxurious texture. What makes it particularly special is its minimalist ingredient list – just three components transform into this decadent topping: milk chocolate chips, heavy cream, and softened butter. The process itself is almost magical. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the mixture of melted chocolate, warm cream, and softened butter evolve from a shiny, pourable ganache into a light, airy, and fluffy batch of frosting. This transformation is not only visually satisfying but also a testament to how simple ingredients, when combined correctly, can yield extraordinary results. It’s a ganache that’s rich without being overly sweet, providing the perfect counterpoint to the deep chocolate flavor of the cake.
Part of the fun of baking is experimenting, and this frosting offers a wonderful opportunity for just that. While the recipe is perfect as written, I found myself captivated by the subtle differences various types of milk chocolate could introduce. The versatility of this ganache base makes it a joy to customize, allowing bakers to truly make it their own.
Milk Chocolate Chips vs. Premium Milk Chocolate in Frosting: An Experiment
In my pursuit of the perfect frosting, I embarked on a small, delightful experiment. The frosting showcased in the first cake photo was made strictly according to the cookbook’s recommendation, using melted milk chocolate chips. For a comparative test, I made a second batch, this time using high-quality Lindt milk chocolate, which resulted in the slightly lighter-colored frosting seen in the subsequent photo. It was a fascinating comparison!
Interestingly, the version made with the milk chocolate chips, as specified by America’s Test Kitchen, actually yielded a slightly superior result in my opinion. It had a wonderful balance of sweetness and chocolate flavor, and a perfectly creamy texture. This experience reinforced a crucial lesson I’ve learned time and again: America’s Test Kitchen always has a meticulously researched reason for the specific ingredients and methods they recommend. Their recipes are thoroughly tested and optimized for the best possible outcome. While it was incredibly fun to experiment with a different type of chocolate, proving that there’s always room for personal exploration in the kitchen, ATK’s original choice consistently delivers. It’s a testament to their dedication to providing foolproof and utterly delicious recipes. Both versions were delightful, but the specified chocolate chips just edged out the premium bar in terms of overall frosting perfection.
Having now baked this incredible chocolate sheet cake twice, it has firmly cemented its place as a go-to recipe in my kitchen. I’m already actively seeking a third compelling reason or occasion to make it again! Perhaps a test run in a glass baking pan to observe any differences in baking time or crust formation? The possibilities for enjoying this cake are endless, and I encourage everyone, especially aspiring young chefs, to give this recipe a try. It’s a truly rewarding baking experience that promises a wonderfully decadent treat.
Related Recipes for Your Baking Adventures
- Kid Size Ice Cream Cones
- Kid Chef Bakes Soft Pretzel Sticks
- Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies
- Chocolate Honey Cake with Ganache
- Mini Chocolate Loaf Cakes
Recipe: Milk Chocolate Sheet Cake
Milk Chocolate Sheet Cake
Anna
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil spray
- 1 ½ cups sugar (290 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (175 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ cups bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk Chocolate Frosting
- 1 ⅓ cups milk chocolate chips or 8 oz chopped milk chocolate
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into eight pieces and softened
Instructions
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To make cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Lightly spray a 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan with vegetable oil spray.
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In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the sugar, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
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In a large saucepan, combine the bittersweet chocolate chips, whole milk, and Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Place the saucepan over low heat and cook, whisking frequently, until the chocolate chips are completely melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. This usually takes about 5 minutes.
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Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the chocolate mixture to cool slightly for about 5 minutes. This step is important to prevent the eggs from cooking prematurely.
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To the slightly cooled chocolate mixture in the saucepan, add the vegetable oil, large eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is completely smooth and well-incorporated, about 30 seconds.
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Gradually add the whisked flour mixture to the chocolate mixture in the saucepan. Continue to whisk until the batter is smooth and no dry streaks of flour remain. Make sure to scrape the corners and bottom of the saucepan with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is fully mixed.
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Use a rubber spatula to carefully scrape all the cake batter into the prepared (greased) 13×9-inch baking pan. Gently smooth the top of the batter with the spatula for an even bake.
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Place the baking pan into the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, indicating it’s perfectly baked.
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Remove the baking pan from the oven and immediately place it on a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan, which will take approximately 2 hours. Do not attempt to frost a warm cake!
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To make the frosting: In a large, microwave-safe bowl (a Pampered Chef batter bowl works wonderfully for this), combine the milk chocolate chips (or chopped milk chocolate) and heavy cream. Heat in the microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Remove and stir well with a rubber spatula. Continue to heat in the microwave at 50 percent power in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth, typically 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove the bowl from the microwave.
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Add the softened, cubed unsalted butter to the warm chocolate mixture. Use a whisk to stir and break up any large pieces of butter. Let the mixture sit undisturbed for about 5 minutes, allowing the residual heat to fully melt the butter. After 5 minutes, whisk until the mixture is completely smooth, glossy, and emulsified.
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Refrigerate the ganache frosting until it has cooled and significantly thickened. This process will take approximately 1 hour, making it ready for whipping.
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Once chilled and thickened, use an electric mixer to beat the frosting on medium-high speed. Continue beating for about 30 seconds until the frosting becomes notably lighter in color, light, and wonderfully fluffy in texture. Be careful not to overbeat.
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Using an icing spatula, spread the airy ganache frosting evenly over the completely cooled chocolate sheet cake. Once frosted, cut the cake into individual pieces and serve this delightful dessert. Enjoy!
Notes