Rocky Road Sheet Cake is a moist homemade chocolate sheet cake topped with melty marshmallows, rich chocolate frosting, and chopped almonds!
With summer just about here, it’s time for barbecues and potlucks. Main dishes are the stars of barbecues, but you don’t want to forget the dessert!
Sheet cakes make great take-along desserts for barbecues, cookouts, and potlucks! They’re so easy to make, and there’s no fancy frosting to fuss with.
This Rocky Road Sheet Cake recipe makes a huge cake, which makes it great for big get-togethers. Plus, it only takes about 30 minutes to make and ice it. So, it’s also perfect for those times when you have to hurry and make something last-minute.
This cake is based on my grandma’s Texas sheet cake recipe. It’s my favorite chocolate sheet cake recipe, and I think it’s hard to beat. If you try this easy, delicious cake, you just might find that it becomes a family favorite at your house, too!
What is a sheet cake?
A sheet cake is a single-layer cake that’s baked in a rectangular pan. Some sheet cakes are baked in larger pans, like a jelly roll pan. Others sheet cakes are baked in a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt in the cake to 3/4 teaspoon and add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the frosting.
- Cocoa powder: I use unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch-processed cocoa powder, in this recipe.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat will work. You can make your own buttermilk substitute with this recipe.
- Greek yogurt: I use fat-free. You could also use 2% or full-fat yogurt or full-fat sour cream.
- Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sift it before you add it to the frosting. This will help the powdered sugar to better incorporate into the frosting so that you don’t end up with lumpy frosting.
- Almonds: I use unsalted roasted almonds.
How to make rocky road sheet cake
Melt butter in a large saucepan.
Once butter has melted, stir in water and cocoa powder; bring to a boil.
Once at a boil, add buttermilk, and stir to combine. Remove pan from heat.
Add the yogurt, eggs, and vanilla, and stir until well-combined. Stir in sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
While the cake is baking prepare the icing.
For the icing, combine the butter, cocoa, and buttermilk. Bring to a boil.
Remove from heat, and add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and half of marshmallows. Stir to combine.
Sprinkle remaining half marshmallows over hot cake.
Pour icing over hot cake, and spread evenly over cake.
Sprinkle with chopped almonds.
Storage
This cake is best eaten within 2-3 days after it was made. The frosting can get get soft as it sits, especially if you live in a humid area. I only cover the cut portion of the cake to help avoid that.
More sheet cake recipes!
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Rocky Road Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Rocky Road Icing
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 10 ounce package mini marshmallows
- 1 cup chopped almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a rimmed cookie sheet (I use a 15×11-inch). Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan.
- Once butter has melted, stir in water and cocoa powder; bring to a boil.
- Once at a boil, add buttermilk, and stir to combine.
- Remove pan from heat.
- Add the yogurt, eggs, and vanilla, and stir until well-combined.
- Stir in sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- While the cake is baking prepare the icing.
- For the icing, combine the butter, cocoa, and buttermilk. Bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat, and add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and half of marshmallows. Stir to combine.
- Sprinkle remaining half marshmallows over hot cake.
- Pour icing over hot cake, and spread evenly over cake.
- Sprinkle with chopped almonds.
Notes
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If using unsalted butter, increase the salt in the cake to 3/4 teaspoon and add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the frosting.
- Cocoa powder: I use unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch-processed cocoa powder, in this recipe.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat will work. You can make your own buttermilk substitute with this recipe.
- Greek yogurt: I use fat-free. You could also use 2% or full-fat yogurt or full-fat sour cream.
- Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sift it before you add it to the frosting. This will help the powdered sugar to better incorporate into the frosting so that you don’t end up with lumpy frosting.
- Almonds: I use unsalted roasted almonds.
- Nutrition facts are estimated.
Nutrition Information
Originally published
Jenny says
Delicious addition to our Memorial Day BBQ. It was the first dessert gone.
Kate says
I’m so glad that it was a hit! =)
Sarah says
So good!!
Kate says
Thank you!
Amanda @GlitterItGold says
Rocky Road is my mother’s favorite ice cream, this is perfect to make for her for Mother’s Day. Looks delicious and easy to slice up and share with a scoop of vanilla on top.
Kate says
It’s my husband’s favorite, too! It absolutely is! =)
Rachel @ My Urban Oven says
I LOVE Rocky Road, my all time favorite ice cream. This cake looks delicious!