I love recreating my favorite childhood lunchbox snacks for my family as delicious, homemade desserts. Next, try my Oatmeal Cream Pies and these Tagalong Bars inspired by the Girl Scouts’ cookies!
Make the cake batter. Mix the dry ingredients, then slowly add the wet ingredients to the same bowl, beating until a smooth batter comes together. It’ll be quite thin, and that’s OK. Bake. Transfer the chocolate cake batter to a lined 9×13” baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for 40-45 minutes, until the cake passes the toothpick test. Leave the cake to cool completely in the pan.
Make the frosting. Meanwhile, combine your frosting ingredients in a bowl. Start mixing slowly, and gradually bring up the speed. Beat for a couple of minutes so that the frosting gets whipped and fluffy.
Assembling and Frosting the Cake
You’ll use the same batch of chocolate frosting to fill, frost, and decorate your fudge cake. So, before you start, you’ll need to divide it. The frosting will be thick and creamy straight from the mixing bowl, perfect for filling the cake.
Why I Love This Chocolate Fudge Cake RecipeIngredients You’ll NeedHow to Make a Frosted Chocolate Fudge CakeTips and VariationsHow to StoreMore Chocolate Cake RecipesGet the Recipe
Like Little Debbie’s, but bigger (and better). I grew up snacking on the Frosted Fudge Cakes from Little Debbie. They’re such a classic lunchbox treat. As an adult, I’m living the dream with this jumbo sheet cake version! Irresistible texture. This fudge cake is super fudgy, yet light and fluffy at the same time. It comes down to some key ingredients in the batter, like oil and cornstarch. Combined with plenty of testing to get the right ratios of ingredients, I can say, officially, that this is the BEST chocolate cake! Made with two bowls. You need one for the cake batter and one for the frosting. That’s it! Clean-up is a breeze. Easy to make. I bake this cake in a 9×13” pan, so even though the finished cake has two layers, there’s only one cake to bake. Cutting the cake in half is easy, and the frosting is quick to make. This recipe is perfect for beginner bakers!
Sugar and Leavening – You’ll need your usual baking basics like sugar and salt, plus baking soda and baking powder for leavening. Make sure to check the dates on your baking soda and baking powder, to make sure they’re not expired. Flour and Cornstarch – Cornstarch works with all-purpose flour to behave more like cake flour, reducing the gluten for a softer cake. Cocoa Powder – I recommend natural, unsweetened cocoa powder, but Dutch-processed cocoa powder works, too. The cake just turns out darker. Eggs – At room temperature for best results. Oil – This can be any vegetable oil, like canola or avocado oil. Unlike butter, oil stays liquid at room temperature. Chocolate cakes and cupcakes made with oil stay soft and tender for longer. Vanilla – Make sure it’s real vanilla extract! You can also use equal parts vanilla paste. Chocolate Frosting – I include the recipe for a fudgier version of my creamy chocolate buttercream frosting. Of course, feel free to use your favorite store-bought or homemade frosting if you’d prefer.
Meanwhile, set aside about 2 ½ cups of frosting (you’ll use this to cover and decorate the outside of the cake), and follow these steps:
Prepare the layers. Pop the cooled cake out of the pan. Then, slice the cake horizontally into 2 even layers. Place the top half onto a platter. Assemble. Spread a generous amount of frosting over the first cake layer. Afterward, place the second cake layer carefully over top.
Frost the cake. I like to thin out about 2 cups of the reserved frosting with milk and use this to frost the top and sides of the cake. The smoother frosting mimics the look of the Little Debbie Cakes. Add swirls. No Little Debbie copycat is complete without some fudgy decorative swirls! Add the last ½ cup of frosting to a Ziploc baggie with the corner snipped off. Use this to pipe swirls all over the frosted cake (there’s no rhyme or reason here, just let your inner artiste go).
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2 cups granulated sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons cornstarch 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt 4 large eggs 3/4 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups water
For the Frosting
1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder 2 teaspoons vanilla 8 cups powdered sugar 1 cup whole milk, divided
