There is something especially comforting and wonderful about Texas Sheet Cake, am I right? A thin layer of rich, moist, chocolate cake is covered in a satiny smooth chocolate icing. It’s comfort food at it’s best. At least it qualifies as such, in my book. It comes together quite easily, using basic pantry staples and will feed a crowd.
Serve it warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream.
Make it for a pack of hungry teenagers, you will make them ever so happy.
Bring it to your next book club meeting, back yard bbq or church potluck.
It’s quite simply…
a blissful chocolate delight.
Classic Texas Sheet Cake
PRINT RECIPE
Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 20 servings
Recipe adapted from my mother in law, Jill Eskelson Lee
***NOTE: This recipe freezes well. Once the cake has cooled completely and the frosting is no longer sticky, wrap tightly in aluminum foil.
CAKE:
2 C flour
2 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 C butter
8 Tb unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C water
2 eggs
1/2 C buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
FROSTING:
3/4 C butter
4 heaping Tb cocoa powder
6 Tb milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 C powdered sugar
dash salt
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Into your stand mixer, or large mixing bowl place 2 C flour, 2 C sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt. Toss it together with a fork to combine.
3. Into a medium-sized sauce pan place 1 cup butter, 8 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 cup water.
4. Heat the mixture up over the stove top. Allow the butter to melt and the ingredients combine. Then pour it over the top of your dry ingredients.
Beat it all until nice and smooth, should only take a minute or two.
5. Into a medium-sized measuring cup pour 1/2 C buttermilk. Add 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Whisk it all together with a fork until the egg is well incorporated.
6. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the large mixing bowl. Beat it for another minute to incorporate.
7. Spray a large sheet pan (mine is 12 x 17) with cooking spray and pour the batter into it.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. While your cake is baking, make the fabulous icing! Place 3/4 cup butter into a medium-sized sauce pan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder and 6 tablespoons of milk. Heat the mixture up on the stove top. Allow the butter to melt and ingredients to combine. Should only take a couple of minutes.
10. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar and a dash of salt to the melted chocolate mixture.
11. Beat it together until smooth.
12. Pour the icing over the top of the warm cake.
Beautiful! Allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so…
Slice it and dig in, baby. It’s amazing warm from the oven.
Enjoy!
18 comments
Love Texas Sheet Cake! However, my recipe omits the cinnamon, and I substitute strong coffee for the water. I think the coffee gives the chocolate a richer flavor. It’s delicious!
That looks amazing! Can’t wait to make this and I love that you can have a yummy treat without a huge, multi-layer cake!
Cinnamon sounds like a great addition to this recipe. I usually add a little bit of almond extract to mine.
What size pan did you use? Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks
Michelle,
Thanks for your question. My pan is 12×17. Best of luck to you!
~Jamie
Can you use 2% milk instead of buttermilk? If not, were do you get buttermilk? I don’t remember seeing it in the dairy section.
Thanks
Stacy,
Buttermilk is sold at the grocery store in small cartons in the dairy section. It’s quite a lot thicker than regular milk and a little bit sour. It really makes a huge difference in this recipe. I would suggest using it instead of 2% milk. Best of luck to you!
~Jamie
I just made this last night and it turned out delish! I didn’t have buttermilk so I just used 1,and it’s yummy! I love this website, I cook something from it almost daily. Thanks Jamie
You can make buttermilk from regular milk by adding small amounts of vinegar or lemon juice until the milk thickens. I never measure. I just add a bit and stir until it’s the consistency of buttermilk.
Thanks, Jamie I will try the buttermilk.
From
Stacy with buttermilk Question.
This was a staple at birthday parties and any other special occasion at my house growing up. One year, my mother made this for the local Volunteer Fire Department’s picnic dessert table. After the first year, she was asked to bring it annually. Be sure to have lots of little bubbles in your cake batter! I omit the cinnamon and add about 1 cup of nuts (pecans or walnuts) to the icing. This tastes better the next day, once all the flavors have melded together.
My son dislikes store bought cakes so I decided to make this for his birthday cake instead. He LOVED IT! That was on 9/11/14. I had ingredients leftover so I made a smaller batch today and it came out Devine. Thank you for this recipe. I have a feeling I’ll be making this often.
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Question, at 20 minutes mine wasn’t even close to being done? And the cake ingredients say unsweetened cocoa and the frosting just say cocoa… are they the same or different?
Paula,
Thanks for your questions. You oven may cook at a slower rate and lower temperature than mine. If you use the toothpick test, that should help to know when it’s ready to come out. As for the cocoa, you use the same unsweetened version for both the cake and frosting. Hope this helps!
Best,
~Jamie
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Jamie, can I make 1 1/2 recipe for a 12’x18’ sheet pan for a thicker cake and still have it done in the center?
Hi Charlotte,
Thanks for your question. I haven’t ever tried that before. Not sure how it would work out. Let me know if you try it and how it goes.
Best of luck!
~Jamie