Living in Dallas has got me getting into all the Texas foods. From a bowl of Texas chili (no beans y’all) to a chicken fried steak or a rack of home-smoked ribs , I’m getting down on it all and perfecting all my recipes! Now my latest Texas-sized obsession is Texas sheet cake! I see why the South loves it so much. The texture is fudgy and moist and that glazes soaks right into it. This ain’t your average chocolate cake boos. This one has got something special. something that’s hard to describe. The recipe comes from Courtney Whitmore, the founder and editor of Pizzazzerie and its so good y’all.
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How to Make Texas Sheet Cake
Step 1: Make the cake batter
- Start by preheating the oven to 350 F. Prep a jelly roll or half-sheet pan (13×18 inch) with nonstick baking spray.
- In a large saucepan, add butter, water and cocoa powder and heat over medium high. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat.
- Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla then add in the dry ingredients of flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir it to combine in the saucepan.
- Next mix in the sour cream and eggs and continue to stir until it’s all combined with no lumps.
Step 2: Bake the Cake
- Pour that silky batter into the prepared pan. Grab a spatula and spread the batter to the ends and fill in the corners.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes max and let it cool.
Step 3: Make the Chocolate Glaze
- Add butter, cocoa powder and milk to a saucepan and let it come to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and add in that good vanilla.
- Next whisk in the powdered sugar until the frosting becomes super smooth. While its super hot, spread the glaze over the cake quickly with a spatula before it sets. And pick up the speed because it sets up super fast.
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Step 4: Garnish it up!
- Top with pecans, allow those to set up then cut up in squares and serve it up.
Texas Sheet Cake
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs beaten
For the Chocolate Glaze
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup pecans coarsely chopped
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a jelly roll or half-sheet (13×18 inch) pan with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- In a large saucepan, combine butter, water, and cocoa powder over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add flour mixture to saucepan and stir to combine.
- Add in sour cream and eggs, stirring until well combined and no lumps remain.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly to sides and corners. Bake 15-20 minutes or until set. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes while you make the glaze.
For the Chocolate Glaze
- Add butter, cocoa powder, and milk to a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Next whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Working quickly, spread glaze over the slightly warm cake using a rubber spatula.
- Top with pecans. Allow to set and cut into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Cool the Cake Down: Make sure the cake cools down to just being warm so the glaze won’t melt off. It should also stay warm enough to keep the glaze from setting up too fast so it soaks into the cake more. About 15-20 minutes of cooling is all good.
- Spread the Glaze While Warm: This glaze sets up fast y’all so you gotta work fast. Spread as soon as you finish cooking.
- Perfect Slices: Use a sharp knife that’s been run under hot water and dried to make clean slices.
- Toast the Pecans: Totally optional but it gives the flavor and texture a lil somethin somethin.
Ingredient Notes
- Cocoa Powder: If you want deeper chocolate vibes, dutch-processed cocoa powder is the move.
- Brown Sugar: You can sub in equal amounts of granulated sugar or a dark brown sugar.
- Sour Cream: Buttermilk is a great sub and so is plain greek yogurt.
- Powdered Sugar: If you run out, you can make your own powdered sugar by grinding granulated sugar up.
Recipe Help
A half-sheet pan is perfect for this cake. It will make sure the cake stays thin and bakes up evenly.
For sure boos! Bake up the day before and make the glaze just before you want to serve it up. It only takes a few minutes to throw together and tastes better fresh if you can swing it.
You can add in a bit of milk until it loosens and thins a bit. Don’t try to spread if it’s too thick. It will be too difficult y’all. It should be pourable.
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This recipe is a keeper . 15 min in the oven and it was done. DELICIOUS, fudgey, so easy to make and looks pretty. Serves a crowd because each small piece is rich.
Thank you so much, Babs!
I remember my mom making this when I was growing up in Oklahoma. I might have to make it for the next family gathering!
I made this today for the first time. I halved the recipe and used a 9×13 inch sheet pan. It was perfect. Halving the frosting was tricky though. The milk, butter and sugar quantities were so small that it got burnt. So I only brough butter and milk to a boil and sifted the cocoa with the sugar. It was yummm.
Sorry I meant boiling milk, butter and cocoa. Not sugar.