If you love chocolate, you'll definitely love Texas Sheet Cake - a thin chocolate cake covered with a crackly chocolate frosting.
Update: This recipe was originally posted in June 2016 and has been updated with new photos in June 2022.
My aunt has always made Texas Sheet Cake, but I never tried it until she made it for my cousin's baby shower. The best way to describe it would be if a brownie and a cake had a baby.
What is Texas Sheet Cake?
While the origins of this cake are debated, some say it's called a Texas Sheet Cake because it's baked in a large 15x10x1 jelly roll pan instead of in a 9x13 pan like most cakes, making it as a big as Texas.
Regardless of where the name comes from, it is an ultra-rich, thin layer of chocolate cake that's topped with a creamy chocolate buttercream frosting. The cake is perfect for a crowd as it makes so much!
Ingredients
- all purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- salt
- baking soda
- cocoa powder
- butter
- eggs
- buttermilk
- vanilla extract
- vinegar
- powdered sugar
- milk
Instructions
First, preheat your oven. Preheat to 350 degrees and spray a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan with baking spray. (I also line it with parchment paper.)
Then, mix up your dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
Next, bring your wet ingredients to a boil. Add the butter, cocoa powder and a cup of water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, transfer to a very large bowl and whisk in the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and vinegar. When that is smooth, whisk in the flour to form a batter.
After that, bake the cake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare your frosting. In a stand mixer beat butter until smooth, then add in cocoa powder, vanilla and milk. Slowly add in powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until fully incorporated.
Finally, frost the cake. Spread the frosting onto the still warm cake, smoothing frosting to the edges. It will melt into the cake a little bit. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes until the frosting hardens, then slice into squares.
Substitutions for Texas Sheet Cake
- Buttermilk: add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup milk and let sit 5 minutes
- Milk: swap out milk in the frosting for heavy cream or half-and-half
- Additions: sprinkle baking chips, chopped nuts, chopped candy bars, etc on top of the cake.
FAQ's
Sheet cake is made on a sheet pan, such as the 15x10x1 pan for this cake. A regular cake would be made in a 9x13 rectangle dish or a 8-9" round pan.
Yes, once the cake is frosted and completely cooled, cover it in a layer of plastic wrap, then foil and freeze for 1 month. (I also add it to an aitr-tight container)
It depends on how many bars you cut the cake into, but you can easily get 25-30 decent sized squares of cake from this recipe.
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Recipe
Texas Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 1 15x10x1 jelly roll pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup water
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk see FAQ for substitutions
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
Frosting
- 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup milk
- 3.5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan and/or line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda.2 cups all purpose flour, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- In a saucepan, add butter, cocoa powder and water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and transfer to a very large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer.2 sticks unsalted butter, ¼ cup cocoa powder, 1 cup water
- Whisk in buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and vinegar until smooth.2 large eggs, ½ cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- Whisk flour mixture into wet mixture until a thin batter forms.
- Pour into the prepared jelly roll pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes.
- Prepare the frosting by beating butter in a stand mixer until smooth. Then add cocoa powder, milk and vanilla.1 stick unsalted butter, ¼ cup cocoa powder, ⅓ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Slowly add in powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time until fully incorporated.3.5 cups powdered sugar
- Spread frosting over still warm cake and let sit 10 minutes until frosting has lightly set.
- Slice into squares.
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