It was a little bit daunting to try and put my own unique spin on something as iconic as the Texas Sheet Cake. After all, we live here. My husband and I were born here. In fact, my husband is a 4th generation Texan. There’s a whole lot of pride that goes into everything that has the Texas label on it.
What is Texas Sheet Cake?
Well, it’s a big, big chocolate sheet cake. Big like Texas. Some people say the frosting has to have pecans in it, because, Texas. But not everyone is a fan of nuts in the frosting, so I say it’s optional, even if it sounds a bit sacrilegious. But here is what this iconic chocolate cake always, always has: a chocolate stovetop frosting that is poured directly on to the hot cake the moment you pull it from the oven.
After you pour that hot, soft, rich icing on the cake, you have to wait for the whole thing to cool down, so this is best made the day before you need it.
Here’s where the magic happens: when the hot frosting goes onto the hot cake, the cake will absorb a little bit of the frosting. This creates a third, darker layer between cake and frosting, where cake becomes frosting and frosting becomes cake. They become one. And that’s how you know you did it right.
The icing will form a soft crust on top and set slightly, but it will always be an ooey, gooey affair.
What’s different about it?
What I like about this cake is that the sponge is moist and springy, without being greasy. After all, we want this cake to be as big as Texas, but not as oily. I use unsweetened chocolate squares versus dry cocoa powder because it eliminates the need to sift the cocoa powder or chase around the little lumps if you are a shortcutter like me and don’t like to sift. It’s also a deeper, richer chocolate taste, I think. I like that this recipe uses 2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate in the cake and another 2 oz in the frosting, so you can buy a 4 oz bar of your preferred baking chocolate (I like Ghirdadelli), and not have any random leftover squares of chocolate.
Confession time: I developed this recipe with the assistance of an old church cookbook recipe labeled “Elberton Chocolate Cake”. Aren’t old church cookbooks the best? And this recipe even has a notation that it is an “old recipe.” I’ve never even heard of a place called Elberton, but Google tells me it’s in Georgia? Texas sheet cake by way of Georgia? Why not? Georgia cuisine is nothing to sneeze at, come to think of it. This Elberton Chocolate Cake recipe is what gave me the idea to use brown sugar instead of white. It is a little moister, a little more flavorful.
I know 10×15 is not a common pan size a lot of people have around. Don’t go smaller (for example, 9×13) — it would just be way too thick. You can bake it on a 12×18 half-sheet pan — just adjust your cooking time down and keep an eye on it – it will be done sooner because it’s thinner.
It’s the perfect dish for a church potluck or large family gathering. If you use the suggested 10×15 pan, you get 35 2×2 (approx) squares, and even though that sounds small, it’s really just about right because this cake is so. rich. and so. sweet. A little goes a long way.
Texas Sheet Cake by CakeBoss
Ingredients
- 2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ cup butter lightly salted
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Frosting
- ½ cup butter lightly salted
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk
- 2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup toasted pecan pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Line a 10x15 baking sheet with parchment paper, or prepare with grease and flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine buttermilk and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, bring to a simmer the water, butter, and baking chocolate, until mixture is very hot and butter and chocolate are completely melted.
- To the mix of flour and sugar, add the chocolate mixture from the saucepan and the buttermilk/baking soda mixture. Give the mixture a light stir.
- Add eggs and vanilla to your mix, stirring until all is incorporated and the mixture is of even consistency with no specks of dry flour.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges begin to pull away from the pan, the top bounces back when pressed, or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
- Immediately upon removal from oven, pour icing (below) over the top. Let set and cool a few hours or overnight.
Frosting
- In a saucepan, melt together butter, unsweetened baking chocolate, and buttermilk. Bring just to a boil, whisking to make sure everything is combined. Then remove from heat and immediately whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar. Either use an electric mixer to mix in the powdered sugar or be prepared to give your arm a workout with a wire whisk, to remove all the tiny powdered sugar lumps.
- When mixture is smooth, stir in pecans, if using. Immediately pour over hot cake.
Nutrition
Cost Breakdown
Using my CakeBoss Software to calculate the price, I came up with $11.34 for this whole big pan of frosted cake that serves up to 35. This means a per serving cost of only about $0.33 per square. The big ticket items are, as usual, the pecans, butter, and chocolate. If you buy your ingredients in bulk at a wholesaler, or you stock up during sales, you can lower your cost even further. And if you’re in Texas, maybe you have a pecan tree or a friend with a pecan tree. My neighbor has a family ranch with pecan trees and brings me some beautiful pecans every Christmas. Did you know pecans will last up to 5 years when properly stored in the freezer?
