Moist Texas Sheet Cake with Pecans
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.
Servings 12
Calories 478kcal
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.
