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Vanilla Sheet Cake with Salted Milk Chocolate Frosting

Source of Recipe

From "Cravings: All Together" by Chrissy Teigen


Recipe Introduction

"Glued into my memory is the kind of lazy cake that I now *completely* understand as a busy parent. If you have the time to bake several cakes, make fillings and frostings, and construct them like a house of dreams, go for it. If you don't...you throw batter in a sheet pan and boom: cake. My favorite combo was always the bright yellow 'vanilla' cake with chocolate frosting and the cheapest, most flavorless sprinkles possible. Here, I've used milk chocolate for the frosting to avoid any sort of dark bitterness (admitted non-chocoholic), and the cream cheese adds to the tang. Adeena (the most badass co-author I could ever ask for) made the comment that the cream cheese also ensures you get that neat little tooth mark in the frosting after each bite. And you know when frosting has that 'coolness' to it? Not the hip type of cool but actual cold, chocolatey chillness when it hits your tongue? It's weird, but it speaks to me. Immediately after mixing, I use a butter knife to gently swipe frosting across my entire tongue, achieving maximum icy coolness."

List of Ingredients

Cake:
â—¦ 2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the baking pan
â—¦ 2 cups flour
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
â—¦ 2 cups granulated sugar
â—¦ 3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
â—¦ ¾ cup sour cream
â—¦ 1 ½ tablespoons vanilla extract

Frosting:
â—¦ 1 ¼ cups milk chocolate chips
â—¦ ½ (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cold
â—¦ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
â—¦ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
â—¦ ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, or more if you're a salt hound
â—¦ 2 ¾ cups sifted confectioners' sugar
â—¦ Sprinkles of your choice


Recipe

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Generously butter a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Beat the 2 sticks of butter and the sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment over medium-high speed until the color lightens and the mix is fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolk and beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, until just combined. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add half the flour mixture, then half the sour cream, then the remaining flour and then the remaining sour cream. Add the vanilla at the end, mixing only until all is just combined.

Spoon batter into the prepared pan, spread into an even layer, and bake until the top is lightly browned, the cake is just completely set, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.

Make the frosting: Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high until just fully melted, stopping every 30 seconds to stir, 60 to 90 seconds total (the more you melt the chocolate, the longer you're going to have to let it cool). Let the chocolate cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes (the outside of the bowl should feel just slightly warm or not warm at all).

Scrape the melted chocolate into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, then add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt and beat at high speed until incorporated and slightly fluffy, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low, then slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Beat until it's no longer dusty and powdery. Raise the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Spread the frosting across the cooled cake, top with the sprinkles, and cut into squares to serve.

Serves 16