Texas Sheet Cake
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Texas Sheet Cake is a rich chocolate sheet cake spread with a delicious chocolate and pecan icing.
Texas, y’all! Cattle…Cowboys…Cheerleaders…Sheet cake! Sheet cake? Yep, sheet cake!
This is one of those oldie-but-goodie recipes. You know, the ones that everyone loves and no one knows the origin of? (And, yes, I do realize that I just ended that sentence in a preposition. Thank you.)
This Texas Sheet Cake was adapted from the recipe in Southern Living Magazine back in 2003, but it goes way farther back than that. I have nearly the same recipe in an old church cookbook from my hometown and I’ve even seen it made on the Food Network with no credit given to anyone for the recipe. Other than, of course, the person making it on that show.
Now I have no idea why it’s called a “Texas” sheet cake. I just know that it’s dadgum good wherever it came from. It’s also really easy.
The cake layer is rich and chocolatey and the buttermilk in the batter gives it a lovely little tang. If that’s not enough, the warm cake right out of the oven is spread with a rich chocolately icing full of wonderful southern pecans.
Golly, what more could you ask for? Maybe a glass of milk? Grab your can of cocoa and make yourself a little slice of heaven with this recipe!
How to Make Texas Sheet Cake
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease and lightly flour a 15×10 inch jellyroll pan. Set aside.
Sift together sugar and flour in a large bowl; set aside.
Combine butter, shortening, cocoa, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until butter and shortening melt.
Remove from heat and pour over sugar mixture, stirring until dissolved. Cool slightly.
Combine eggs, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla.
Stir into the sugar and chocolate mixture.
Pour into prepared jellyroll pan. There’s BeeBop being my trusty pair of helping hands. It’s hard enough to cook with one hand and take photos with the other, but there’s just some things you can’t manage without an able assistant!
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Start making the icing when the cake has about 10 minutes left to cook.
Spread warm cake with Chocolate Icing. And don’t worry about those dips and cracks. They all even out with the icing and no one will ever know they were there!
Make the Icing
Combine butter, cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat 5 minutes or until margarine melts. Then turn the heat up to medium and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth and the sugar dissolves. Stir in pecans. Mix well.
Pour and spread icing over the top of the sheet cake.
My sister, Miss P, makes this recipe and she cuts it into tiny little squares about 1 1/2 x 1/2 inches. Me, I make big old brownie size squares. About, oh, 4×4. Of course, I’ve never been known for restraint in the kitchen :-)
However, you slice it up, it serves a huge crowd of people. I made one for a neighborhood party last weekend and the large slices filled two plates with slices stacked three deep.
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Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup butter or margarine
- ½ cup shortening
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Icing
- ½ cup butter or margarine
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
- ⅓ cup milk
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Grease and lightly flour a 15×10 inch jellyroll pan. Set aside.
- Sift together sugar and flour in a large bowl; set aside.
- Combine butter and next 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until butter and shortening melt.
- Remove from heat and pour over sugar mixture, stirring until dissolved. Cool slightly.
- Stir in buttermilk and next 3 ingredients. Pour into prepared jellyroll pan.
- Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Spread warm cake with Chocolate Icing.
For the Icing:
- Combine butter, cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan.
- Cook over low heat 5 minutes or until margarine melts.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla.
- Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth and sugar dissolves.
- Stir in pecans.
- Spread over still warm cake.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
My mother used to call it “sheath cake.” I looked it up and that was totally a thing in the 50s -60s. I like a little cinnamon the cake batter. It gives a special flavor but you don’t think cinnamon. Some recipes do call for it.
I think some cinnamon in this recipe would be delicious!
Love good southern or down to earth everyday recipes.
Truly, named for Texas, because everything is’ Big in Texas’. I am a southerner with deep roots. We also, call recipe ‘Funeral Cake’ due to the fact, when providing meals for funeral gatherings it serves a large crowd. Call it what you like…it is most delish.
I was just trying to decide what kind of cake to make for a get
together this weekend. I love this cake though I haven’t made it in some time. I will make on Saturday!
I’ve made this often. Everyone loves this. My recipe calls for buttermilk in the frosting too. My recipe is called Buttermilk Brownies. But no matter what you call it , it is delicious !!!!!
Please someone tell me how to adjust this recipe for high altitude. Used to make this when I lived in Oklahoma. Love it, but it exploded in my oven when I made it here in Colorado (7600′).
I lost my recipe for this cake so thanks for sharing. It brings back memories. Made this cake todayand it was delicious. I made it in a 9 x 13 glass cake pan, baked it at 350° for 20 minutes and it turned out just fine.
Like so many others, my Mother made this for years and passed recipe on to me (I’m now 81 y/o) and her recipe called for the cinnamon also – made on 9×13 sheet pan….always was my birthday cake – recently, a lady in my Sunday School class had this recipe also and made it for my birthday…slurp – slurp – oh yes, born and raised in Texas….
I too have made this cake forever. I use a straw, poke holes in the cake and pour the warm icing over the hot cake and let the icing ooze into the holes. YUMMMM!