The Best Texas Sheet Cake

I always like to say my first love was baking, and really it still is a huge joy of mine…. maybe that is because I like sweets or maybe it’s because I like getting lost in the mess of my kitchen and flour, and all the goodness of fresh baked goods. I’ve always been a big fan of a good bundt cake, but recently I decided to switch it up and try a Texas Sheet Cake.

The first time I had a Texas Sheet Cake was at my brother’s house. My brother’s wife Wynter is always cooking and baking something incredible so I take a lot of inspo from her, or I am introduced to a lot of food at their house. A couple weeks ago, I made a Texas Sheet Cake for the first time and it was hands down one of the top 5 best baked goods I’ve ever made. Plus, it was super easy to make sure the cake didn’t fall which sometimes happens to me…..more than I’d like to admit.

Before jumping into making this, it is important to know the difference in a sheet cake and just a a standard cake. The difference here is the pan.

For The Texas Sheet Cake, you want to use a sheet pan, obviously. Below is the exact sheet pan I have, and it worked perfectly for this recipe. (A standard cake pan would be a 13x9 or rounds to make a layer cake. ) If you already have a sheet pan, make sure that it has sides like the one I have in this post. Sometimes a cookie sheet can be mistaken for a sheet pan which would cause you to have a huge mess.

Now, that we have our bases covered let’s get to baking.

Cake Ingredients

1 cup butter (I used KerryGold)

1 cup water

3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups of flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Frost ingredients

3 3/4 cups powder sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 tbs cocoa unsweetened powder

6 tbs whole milk (you can use 2%, but don’t use any milk alternatives)

hint of cinnamon

Cake Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. ( Protip: Have all of your ingredients out and ready before you start baking.) Spray non-stick spray on your sheet pan.

2. While the oven preheats, in a sauce pan, combine butter, water, cocoa powder, over medium heat. Make sure to stir this fairly often and bring it to a boil.

3. While your chocolate is coming to a boil, in a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

4. In a different bowl, (I would use a mixer. I used my Kitchenaid) combine eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Once the eggs, sour cream and vanilla are mixed together, slowly add in the flour ingredients.

5. Once your chocolate mixture is boiling and all other ingredients are mixed together, it is time to combine the two. Once again, here I use my mixer. Make sure to mix everything together until it is smooth. Pour your cake batter into the sheet pan and set a timer for 15 minutes. You will know your cake is cooked when you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Frosting Instructions

1. While your cake cooks, it is time to make the frosting. Your frosting needs to be ready right when your hot cake comes out of the oven.

2. In a saucepan add milk, cocoa, and butter. Do not burn this or you will have to start the frosting over. Continue to stir until boiling.

3. Once your chocolate is boiling, combine with your powdered sugar and hint of cinnamon. You want to use a mixer for this, too.

4. When there are absolutely no bumps left your frosting, it is ready. Pour the hot frosting over your hot cake, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes to cool.

Tips

This recipe is really all about timing which means you need to have everything very organized and ingredients prepped before starting. The timing of the cake being cooked and the frosting finishing is crucial. You have a 2-3 minute window for the timing, otherwise your frosting will not spread easy and tear up your cake.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Make sure to tag me social media if you make this!

Happy Baking!

XO,

Madison