Chocolate-stout sheet cake with salted pretzel crunch

Covered at room temperature two days, or four days cold. Bring chilled pieces back to room temperature. Store extra crunch separately.

• All-purpose flour2 cups
• Stout1 cup
• Unsalted butter1 cup
• Dutch-process cocoa0.75 cups
• Mini pretzels2 cups
• Sour cream0.75 cups
• Eggs2 ea
• Vanilla extract0.7 tbsp
• Granulated sugar2 cups
• Baking soda0.5 tbsp

Multiplying the ingredients is the easy half. These are the parts of the recipe that the batch count does not move.

Cooking time

38 minutes in the oven, whatever fraction of the tray is filled. A half-full tray browns faster, so look at it sooner rather than trusting the clock.

Seasoning

Seasoning figures are a starting point at any batch size. Taste before it reaches the table — the multiple is arithmetic, and salt is not.

Raising

A raising agent scales with the batter and with nothing else. Proving and baking times belong to the size of the piece, not to the size of the mix, so a bigger batch takes longer in the oven and not more baking powder.

1. Read the whole method before you shop. This is a planning recipe for chocolate-stout sheet cake with salted pretzel crunch, not a certified kitchen test.
2. Amounts below are one batch: 15 portions. Build a plan and this card scales itself to it.
3. This dish can be completed up to 1 day ahead. Cold storage is the real limit — do not make it ahead if the fridge is already tight.
4. Oven occupancy is 38 minutes per tray. Do not start this tray if the day-of oven window is already full.
5. Season, tray up, roast, rest. Hold only as long as the fixture hold time.
6. Holds about 240 minutes once finished. After that, quality drops — do not invent extra time.
7. Leftover route: Covered at room temperature two days, or four days cold. Bring chilled pieces back to room temperature. Store extra crunch separately.
8. Confirm every ingredient and every allergen yourself. Dietary tags are planning filters, not safety guarantees.