you're making mealtime meaningful.
The depths of sin and the highest enlightenment of anglicism meet on an earthly terrain in this Heaven and Hell Sheet Cake. A rich chocolate cake partners with a whipped marshmallow frosting for a dessert that is truly otherworldly.
The mail route in Jamaica Queens was the worst of both worlds for a postman. In the winter, the winds from the bay burned the skin, and in the summer, the pavement and wall-to-wall expanse of houses left you frying like an egg in a weather news segment. How many miles my grandfather walked every day was too long to count and was only measured by his need for sugar. After his obligatory bowl of frosted cornflakes with an additional topping of Domino sugar (no other brand!), he’d sit at the red and white formica dinette table and have a quadrant corner of Entenmann’s devil’s food iced cake.
This Heaven and Hell Sheet Cake takes all of the elements of this classic snack cake and elevates them to new heights. Chocolate has a deep and complex flavor, thanks to the addition of coffee, and the frosting is a homemade meringue brimming with a floral, sweet essence of vanilla.
This chocolate cake is super easy to make. After whisking the dry ingredients in one bowl, you bloom the chocolate and cocoa powder with hot coffee in another bowl. A combination of butter, oil, and buttermilk keeps this cake super tender and will keep it moist for days.
The frosting is similar to a classic seven-minute frosting but adds the addition of corn syrup for stabilization and an even glossier shine.
Assembling the cake is barely an assembly. Use a knife to level off the cake, apply the marshmallow frosting on top of the cake and you’re done!
It’s almost devil’s work how moist and chocolatey this cake turns out, quite different from the processed cakes or box mixes you’ll get in a store.
The frosting is light and addictively perfect. Its airy, fluffy quality is deceiving, you may end up eating more of it than you realize, it’s just that easy to eat!
Combined the cake and frosting are both compatible and contrasting, making for a delightful dessert.
Heaven and Hell Sheet Cake
Yield(s): Serves 10 to 12
37m prep time
35m cook time
45m inactive
Diet: Vegetarian
you're making mealtime meaningful.
For the Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 1/2 cups hot coffee
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
For the frosting:
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 4 egg whites
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 baking pan with baking spray, set aside.
- In a bowl whisk flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
- In another bowl combine hot coffee, cocoa powder, and chopped chocolate, whisking until chocolate is dissolved. Let the mixture cool slightly. Once slightly cooled down, whisk buttermilk with coffee-cocoa mixture. Set aside.
- In a different bowl, beat oil, butter, and brown sugar until completely combined. Add eggs one at a time beating well between each addition.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with the wet ingredients in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry-ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, ensuring proper incorporation.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Fill a small saucepan with water and set over medium-low heat, let it get to a simmer and then reduce the heat.
- In a mixing bowl combine sugar, corn syrup, and egg whites.
- Place mixing bowl over the pot of simmering water and constantly whisk for 7 minutes. The mixture will look opaque and smooth.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl, and with a whisk attachment, whip until the mixture doubles in size and has a fluffy, marshmallow consistency. Add vanilla, whipping to combine.
- Frost onto cooled cake and serve.
Recipe adapted from Cloudy Kitchen.