Texas Sheet Cake is a classic Southern dessert that’s easy to make and feeds a crowd. After the cake bakes in the oven, it’s topped with a fudgy layer of warm chocolate frosting and sprinkled with pecans. Learn how to make this nostalgic Southern dessert for your next backyard BBQ, potluck, party, or whenever those chocolate cravings strike.
Ultra Moist Texas Sheet Cake
Texas Sheet Cake is basically a chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting and pecans. Although it’s super simple to make, it’s incredibly delicious.
The cake itself is moist from both butter and boiling water, creating a tender crumb. As the cake cools, you’ll make the frosting and pour it over the cake while the frosting is still warm. I used dark chocolate for the frosting, but you can use milk or semi-sweet chocolate if you want a sweeter frosting.
Boiling water is added to chocolate cakes to intensify the chocolate flavor and also to keep it moist, it doesn’t have to be boiling, but needs to be very hot.
You’ll find the cake to be very chocolatey, so the pecans are needed to break up the flavor and give it some texture. Without the pecans, it’s just a moist chocolate sheet cake. The frosting will set up after about 30 minutes and is fudgy and rich.
This Texas Sheet Cake recipe is great for when you don’t want an entire chocolate layer cake. This recipe makes 12 squares that aren’t as large as a slice of layer cake. It’s made in a small 13 x 9 rimmed baking sheet, also called a jelly roll pan or half sheet pan, or you could use a 13 x 9 baking pan, but it will be harder to remove, so if using a deeper pan, use parchment paper so that you can remove the entire cake before frosting. Otherwise, you can frost it right in the pan.
Once your cake is complete, top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to help cut through that chocolatey goodness, or eat it as is if you aren’t scared of a little chocolate.
If you’re having a gathering and you need more than one dessert, try serving a banana pudding cake next to this. They are a nice contrast in flavors.
Why This Southern Cake Will Become A Favorite
- Easy: There are no layers or complicated frostings to make for this recipe. It’s easy-peasy and will quickly become your new go-to recipe when you need a show-stopping dessert in a pinch.
- Loaded with chocolate flavor: If you aren’t a fan of chocolate, this is not the cake for you. Chocolate cake is topped with a rich chocolate icing for a decadent dessert that will knock your socks off.
- Feeds a crowd: This cake makes 12 squares, so it’s perfect for serving at larger gatherings.
What Does A Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake Call For?
- Pantry staples: You’ll need unsalted butter, granulated sugar, large eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Use natural cocoa powder for this recipe, not Dutch-process cocoa, as it is alkaline and will not react with baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Heavy cream: Adds richness and creaminess to the frosting.
- Bittersweet chocolate: Adds a rich chocolate flavor to the frosting, you can also use semi-sweet or milk chocolate.
- Pecans: These are sprinkled on top of the cake for a crunchy finish. You can buy pecan halves and chop them or buy chopped pecans.
Making a Chocolate Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Step One: Make the Cake Batter
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then mix in the eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, alternating with hot water, until smooth.
Step Two: Bake the Cake
Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely in the pan.
Step Three: Make the Frosting and Pour It Over the Cake
Heat cream and sugar in a saucepan, then stir in chocolate and butter until smooth. Then, drizzle some of the warm frosting over the cooled cake, sprinkle with pecans, and add the rest of the frosting on top.
Tips and Fun Swaps
- Toast: Toast the pecans before adding them to the top of the cake for a toasty flavor.
- Doneness: Check the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. It should come out clean with one or two crumbs when it’s done.
- Frosting: Don’t want to make this frosting? Use chocolate cream cheese frosting, white chocolate cream cheese frosting, or plain old cream cheese frosting on top. It technically won’t be a Texas Sheet Cake anymore, but it’s still just as delicious!
- Pour: Pour the frosting on while it’s still warm so it glides over the cake and sets beautifully. The frosting will set after about 30 minutes, and then you can dig in!
Storing The Cake
The cake will last at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the fridge for up to one week.
If you can’t eat it all, slice the cake into individual slices and freeze them in an airtight container for up to one month. Let the cake come to room temperature before eating.
Don’t Forget!
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Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks) room temp
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ⅔ cups flour
- ⅔ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup hot water
Frosting
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¾ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Butter and flour a 13 x 9 rimmed baking sheet.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. Heat 1 cup of water in the microwave until hot, about 2 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternating with the water, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until incorporated, don’t over mix.
- Add to the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack in the pan.
Frosting
- Add cream and sugar to a saucepan and heat over medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from the heat and add chopped chocolate. Let it sit for about 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in butter.
- While the frosting is still warm, drizzle half of the frosting over the cooled cake. Cover with pecans and drizzle the remaining chocolate over the pecans. Let sit for 30 minutes until the frosting has set.
Notes
- The water does not need to be boiling, but it needs to be very hot.
- Let the frosting set before cutting, it should take about 30 minutes.
- This is great served with vanilla ice cream.
Can this be made in a sheet pan?
This needs a 13 x 9 inch sheet pan.