The Best Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
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This is the BEST Texas Sheet Cake Recipe you’ll come across! The cake is fluffy and moist and the frosting is super chocolatey with a smooth and luscious texture. Take a bite out of this and you’ll experience the amazing melt-in-your-mouth sensation that can only be achieved with my recipe! This Texas chocolate sheet cake is easy to make and I can bet you have all of the ingredients in your fridge/pantry already.
I have to be honest with you, I really really love a good (yet simple) chocolate dessert. I crave this cake more than a normal person should. I just love the sweetness level in this recipe, the cake to frosting ratios, and the chocolate flavor. Ohhh the flavor!
It just works!!
And the frosting. YUM!! You know how much I love a great chocolate frosting recipe, and this one is good! It’s super silky and sets beautifully, just like a Texas sheet cake frosting should.
This is a really easy Texas sheet cake recipe; the only thing you need to note before you begin is that you’ll need to practice some time management. First you bake the cake (which is super easy and straight forward), then make the frosting. But the key is to begin making the frosting a few minutes before the cake needs to be pulled out of the oven.
So get in touch with your baking intuition and lets get started!
How to make Texas Sheet Cake
To begin, add butter, water, and cocoa powder to a saucepan. Heat this over medium heat until the butter has melted and it begins to boil.
Once boiling, remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl and whisk until partially combined, you’ll still see lots of flour.
Next, add the lightly whisked eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir the batter until fully combined.
Baking Texas Sheet Cake
Pour into a lightly greased 18″x13″ baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.
Bakers Tip: Technically you don’t have to grease the baking sheet. I’ve made this in a greased pan and an ungreased pan and the cake turned out great each time. The pan that was lightly greased may have had a few less crumbs stick to the bottom but that was it. This is all to say, if you forget to grease the baking sheet, you’ll be fine!
Pro tip: all ovens are different so keep an eye on the cake. My Texas sheet cake was finished baking at 15 minutes, but for others it might take the full 20 minutes. Do your best not to over bake the cake. You’ll know the cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Texas Sheet Cake Frosting
At this point the cake is in the oven; you should start making the frosting when the cake is halfway done baking. I start when the cake has baked for about 10 minutes. However, if your cake will need the full 20 minutes bake time, you can put off making the frosting for a few more minutes.
To make the frosting add butter to a saucepan and heat over medium-low to medium heat until fully melted. Once melted, stir in the cocoa powder and mix until there are no longer any lumps.
Remove from heat and add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir until the frosting is combined and smooth.
Pro tip: sifting the powdered sugar will create a very smooth and even frosting consistency and appearance. You can opt for not sifting the powdered sugar but just know you’re more likely to have small lumps in the frosting from not doing so.
Remember, this frosting sets as it cools. So, if the cake still has 5 minutes to bake, DON’T add the powdered sugar to the frosting just yet. Wait until the cake has been pulled from the oven before continuing with the making of the frosting.
When to frost the Texas sheet cake
When the cake has finished baking remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for about 3-5 minutes.
Then, immediately after you’ve make the Texas sheet cake frosting, you should pour it over the barely cooled cake.
Do your best to pour it evenly. Once poured over the cake quickly use a spatula to even out the frosting before it sets.
Let the frosting set, slice, and serve!
I enjoy having a slice of this cake when the frosting is only partially set, it has a melt-in-your-mouth sensation. There’s really nothing quite like it.
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Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Frosting
- 12 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1 lb (16 oz) powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray an 18” x 13” pan with cooking spray.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, water, and cocoa powder. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the chocolate mixture. Mix well. Add eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk. Mix until combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (All ovens vary, mine finishes baking by 15 minutes, but yours might need the full 20 minutes, so keep an eye on it).
- Cool the cake for about 3 minutes before pouring the frosting over it.
Frosting
- Once the cake is halfway done baking begin making the frosting. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and heat until melted. Once fully melted add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth.
- Remove from heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir until combined and smooth. Pour the frosting over the cake and spread quickly before it sets.
RECIPE NOTES
Suggested Equipment
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YUM! This is just the kind of cakes I LOVE!!! Easy and delicious ♥
Do boiled ingredients in cake and frosting need to be cooled before adding. ??
no. With the cake ingredients, you’ll boil the butter, water, and cocoa and set that aside. So I guess in a way, this is slightly cooling. But you don’t deliberately wait to cool down the ingredients. When you’re doing the frosting, no you don’t want to cool the frosting, or it will set in the bowl. So I’d make the frosting and then immediately frost the cake… or at least frost it within 3-5 minutes of making the frosting. Was this helpful? My thoughts seem to be all over the place. Let me know if you need more clarification!
Melt in your mouth deliciousness! Thanks!
I made this Texas Sheet Cake as a thank you for my boyfriend and we both really enjoyed it! It’s definitely the best sheet cake I’ve had. I didn’t add the full amount of powdered sugar because I just eyeballed it, and it still tastes amazing! Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you liked it!
I made this for a group of BYUIDAHO college students and they devoured it! It was melt in your mouth delicious. I will be for sure making it again.
It’s so good, huh! Glad everyone loved it!