The Best Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake
The Best Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe you will ever taste! Classic chocolate sheet cake, ultra moist, with rich chocolate pecan glaze over the top!
The Chocolate Sheet Cake
A chocolate sheet cake is one of the simplest and most satisfying cakes you can make.
It’s soft, moist, dark, and decadent. Yet it’s also quick to prepare and pop in the oven… Then even easier to cut and serve!
A good sheet cake recipe is meant to be a no-fuss dessert.
It should be left in the pan so it’s easy to transport to parties.
It should be large enough to serve to a crowd.
And most of all, it should be ultra-tender, with a creamy frosting (or glaze) shmeared over the top.
Original Texas Sheet Cake
One of the most iconic sheet cake recipes in the United States is, of course, the Texas Sheet Cake.
The original Texas Sheet Cake is thought to have come into being when Texan settlers attempted to make a quick simplified version of German Chocolate Cake.
German Chocolate Cake, incidentally, was invented by someone in the US named Samuel German. It did not originate in Germany. However, it was a very popular cake in the United States in the 1800s.
With a little Texas ingenuity, these settlers used the ingredients and cookware available to them to make a thin chocolate buttermilk cake with a devilish chocolate pecan glaze.
Hence, the Original Texas Sheet Cake was born!
What Is Texas Sheet Cake?
Nowadays, there are many forms of Texas Sheet Cake, from white Texas sheet cake, to fruit-flavored sheet cake recipes.
Yet as mentioned above, the first and most popular version, is a nod to the German Chocolate Cake flavors of chocolate, pecan, and buttermilk.
A classic Texas Sheet Cake consists of a large thin chocolate cake, covered in a thin layer of fudgy pecan glaze. The glaze sets and becomes somewhat crusty on top. Yet just under the dry top layer, is a soft gooey fudge filling.
It should look like a pan of brownies, yet with a delicate cake texture. Let’s be clear… A Texas Sheet Cake is not a pan of brownies.
It is its own unique thing.
Best Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
So what makes our Sheet Cake Recipe the best?
This sheet cake recipe checks off all the boxes, to make it a quintessential Texas Sheet Cake. However, it’s above and beyond the standard version.
In order to make this the best chocolate sheet cake we’ve ever made or tasted, we focused on these key elements…
- Coffee – Adding a cup of coffee, or instant coffee granules, to cake batter gives every chocolate cake a better robust chocolate flavor. In essence, the coffee makes the chocolate shine!
- Dark Chocolate – You can use regular cocoa powder in the recipe. Yet to get the best possible flavor, buy extra dark chocolate cocoa powder.
- Toasted Pecans – Toasting pecans brings their nutty taste to the forefront, so they taste even nuttier than ever.
- Texture – The recipe proportions have been tested (and tested) to ensure a perfect delicate moist cake texture.
Texas Sheet Cake Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – Stirred, scooped and leveled. P.S. We’ve actually made this cake with Gluten-Free Baking Flour as well, and it turns out fabulous!
- Sugar – For sweetness, of course!
- Baking soda – For its lifting properties.
- Salt – Just a little, to enhance the flavors.
- Coffee – To intensify the chocolate taste.
- Butter – For richness in the cake, and as the base of the glaze.
- Dark cocoa powder – Dutch Process is a good option.
- Buttermilk – Buy the “whole milk” or full-fat buttermilk. Learn how to make buttermilk here!
- Eggs – For binding and lift.
- Vanilla extract – To add depth.
- Chopped pecans – Fresh or frozen.
- Powdered sugar – To sweeten and thicken the glaze!
How To Make Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together.
- Simmer the Cocoa and Coffee: Set a small saucepot on the stovetop. Add the coffee, butter, and cocoa powder. Whisk well and simmer for about a minute.
- Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients: Pour the cocoa mixture into the flour mixture. Whisk well. Then mix in the buttermilk, eggs, and
vanilla. - Bake: Pour the batter into a large sheet pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center is puffed and set.
- Toast the Pecans: While the cake is baking, toast the pecans, tossing them every few minutes, until they smell toasty.
- Simmer the Glaze: Add the butter, buttermilk, and cocoa powder. Whisk well and melt. Add the vanilla, and whisk in the powdered sugar, a little at a time.
- Pour and Spread: Once the cake comes out of the oven, pour the hot icing over the cake, and quickly smooth it over the surface of the cake.
Get The Full (Printable) Sheet Cake Recipe Below
Recipe FAQ
Yes! Simply substitute gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour mix for the all-purpose wheat flour.
Yes, you can! Substitute almond or cashew milk mixed with 1-2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, for the buttermilk. Then use vegan butter instead of regular butter.
Absolutely! Just omit the nuts. The glaze will still taste wonderful.
Yes, amazingly well! Be sure to thaw it at room temperature before cutting and serving.
It will last up to four days sitting out at room temperature. Covered, of course. Or it will last up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
More Easy Chocolate Cake Recipes
- Quintessential Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Banana Coconut Cake
- Mini Chocolate Blackout Cakes
- Chocolate Caramel Ice Cream Cake
- Brownie Cake with Mint Chip Frosting
More Sheet Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Mint Cake
- Samoas Texas Sheet Cake
- Spiced Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Apple Sheet Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour (+ 2 tablespoons)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup coffee (or water + 1 TB instant coffee powder)
- 1 cup butter
- 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder, or regular
- 2/3 cup wholemilk buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing Ingredients:
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 14 tablespoons butter
- 8 tablespoons buttermilk
- 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, packed (not sifted)
Instructions
- For the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 X 18 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together.
- Set a small saucepot over medium heat. Add the coffee, butter, and cocoa powder. Whisk well and bring to a boil. Once boiling, whisk and boil for 30-60 seconds. Then remove from heat.
- Pour the cocoa mixture into the flour mixture. Whisk well. Then whisk in the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla, until very smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center is puffed and set.
- For the Icing: While the cake is baking, place the chopped pecans in a medium saucepot. Set over medium heat. Toast the pecans, tossing every few minutes, until you can smell the pecans toasting.
- Then add the butter, buttermilk, and cocoa powder. Whisk well and melt. Once the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla, and whisk in the powdered sugar, a little at a time. Make sure the only clumps left are the pecans. Keep warm.
- Once the cake comes out of the oven, pour the hot icing over the cake, and quickly smooth it over the entire surface of the cake. (It’s ok if the cake is very warm.)
- Let the cake cool and the icing set, 30+ minutes. Then cut and serve. (35 small pieces or 24 large pieces)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Making this recipe? Follow us on Instagram and tag @ASpicyPerspective so we can share what you’re cooking!
Amazing this cake came out already! My son said that it was the most delicious ever!
What a great piece of article i found today its about my favourite sweet dish.. I love all kinds of chocolate cakes.. It is very tasty and yummy recipe and its very helpful to me..
Thanks for sharing this article to us
This Texas Sheet Cake is mouthwatering! DELECTABLE! And yes, it is the best. So moist. So much flavor all throughout. Yum, Chocolate! I followed the instructions exactly, and it was everythingthat you said that it would be and more. It was easy to make and it is just one of the best tasting, toasted pecans and chocolaty cake that I have had. When I read over the recipe and instructions, I knew that this was going to be extremely good. Excellent recipe. Thanks so much, and God bless you and your loved ones. Take care.
I love how simple and easy this is to make! So moist and flavorful!
This was a huge hit at my house!1 Everyone loved it!
I have been making sheet cakes for years. My mom got the recipe in Fort Worth sometime in the late 1950s. It has been a family favorite ever since.
COULD U PLEASE PUT THE COST TO MAKE THE CAKE. SO I CAN SHARE WITH MY TWITTER FANS. IN TODAY’S WORLD U HAVE 2 SAVE MONEY. I WOULD LIKE 2 KNOW HOW MUCH.
THANK U
Though this cake is good, this recipe is different than the more famous Texas Sheath Cake (not sheet cake), which uses cinnamon rather than coffee. I’m an old native Texan who’s been making the sheath cake for almost 60 years so i felt it important to make this distinction. Love the Spicy Perspective!
We always made this simple cake that was so darn good! The shelters and hay crews loved it and just like you we always had cinnamon in it that was the flavor nobody could figure out. Wish those old days were back! Judy from the cornfields and bean fields of Iowa
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I love this recipe! Texas sheetcake is one of my favorites when I want something relatively simple, but always a winner! The tender cake and the sweet topping- so good!!!
looks very good
Great recipe. I found a similar one on AllSocial!
This quickly became a favorite for my kids!! So good!
This cake was such a hit! So delicious and easy to whip up!
Amazing flavors going on in this cake! Everyone raved over how delicious it was!
This is the best cake EVER! I am such a chocolate lover. How could you go wrong with this?!