This classic Texas sheet cake recipe has been a family favorite dessert for years and years. It's easy to make and serves a crowd. Spread the homemade frosting over the warm cake, and sprinkle with pecans or walnuts.
If you'd like an amazing twist on this classic recipe, try our Buckeye chocolate peanut butter sheet cake or Texas sheet cake bites!
I have quite a few versions of Texas sheet cake on my site, but this is the original. It's simple, classic, and always a crowd favorite. This cake is SO easy to make, uses basic ingredients, and absolutely melts in your mouth.
Why I Like This Recipe
- Perfect dessert for any occasion. Sheet cake is ideal for birthday parties or any gathering, as it's delicious and feeds a crowd!
- Easy to customize. Traditional Texas sheet cake is made with pecans, but we’re walnut fans over here, so that's what I used. You can also make Rocky Road Texas sheet cake, which is just about the most decadent dessert you'll ever eat. I've made it a few times for gatherings where I needed to omit nuts due to allergies, and mini chocolate chips were a great substitute to sprinkle over the frosting. Some recipes call for mixing the nuts into the frosting and then spreading it over the cake. That would be delicious too!
- Simple ingredients. I like this recipe because I always have the ingredients on hand. Some sheet cake recipes call for buttermilk. I don't often have that on hand, so I use milk. Since the recipe already calls for a tablespoon of vinegar, it reacts with the milk to create the perfect buttermilk substitute. Cinnamon is a common ingredient in Texas sheet cake, but it is simply a matter of preference on whether you add it to the batter or not. I have nothing against chocolate and cinnamon. In fact, I like adding cinnamon to my double chocolate pumpkin cookies, but for this recipe, I omit it.
What Others Are Saying
Five stars! Only change I make is to put the nuts on the cake before the hot frosting so they too get covered in chocolate.---Donna
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Tips and Tricks
- Thin batter. Don't worry if the cake batter seems thin, that's the way it is supposed to be! It's thinner than traditional cake batter, but it will be perfect. I promise.
- Spread the frosting while the cake is hot. One of the trademarks of Texas sheet cake is the silky smooth chocolate frosting. No need to let the cake cool, the frosting is spread over the HOT cake and spreads like a dream. It sets up as it cools and is light and delicious.
- Allow cake to cool completely. We all like fresh-from-the-oven desserts, but this is one where your patience will pay off. Let the cake cool completely before slicing. It's easier to cut and allows the flavors to meld as the frosting settles on top of the cake.
- Use a half sheet pan. Sheet pans come in a variety of sizes. If you use a whole sheet pan, it will be too big for this recipe. A half sheet pan (13" x 18" x 1") is a standard size that I use for almost all of my recipes: classic chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bars, honey bun sheet cake, etc.
Ingredients
Cake
- All purpose flour
- Sugar: 2 cups seems like a lot of sugar, and it is, but don't make any changes if you want the full flavor and texture of classic sheet cake. This is not a healthy recipe, so don't even try making it as such.
- Salt
- Water
- Baking cocoa: My favorite baking cocoa is a 50/50 blend of regular baking cocoa and Hershey's special dark baking cocoa.
- Butter: I bake exclusively with salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you'd like.
- Vanilla extract: Measure with your heart.
- Eggs: For richness and texture.
- Milk: Again, you can use buttermilk if you'd like, but it is not necessary.
- Vinegar: White distilled vinegar works well.
- Baking soda: The baking soda and vinegar work together to produce bubbles in the batter, which expand as the cake bakes, creating a light cake. There is nothing dense about Texas sheet cake.
Chocolate Frosting
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Cocoa Powder
- Milk
- Vanilla
Toppings
- Nuts: any kind you'd like. Mini chocolate chips or sprinkles are also wonderful toppings.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Texas Sheet Cake
Step 1: Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Step 2: Heat butter, water, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir as the butter melts. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
Step 3: Slowly pour the butter/chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir.
Step 4: Mix eggs, milk, vinegar, baking soda, and vanilla together in a small bowl.
Step 5: Add to the large bowl and mix until combined.
Step 6: Pour batter into a greased 12" x 17" baking half-sheet pan (jelly roll pan). Bake for 25 minutes.
Step 7: Cream butter in a mixing bowl. Add baking cocoa, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Beat on high until fluffy.
Step 8: Spread over the hot cake. Chop nuts and sprinkle over the finished cake.
Top Tip
If you're wondering about the whisk used in my video, it's a Danish dough whisk, and I use it for so many recipes! I rarely pull out my kitchen mixer for bread or batters.
Texas Sheet Cake FAQs
Some say the recipe originated in a newspaper in Texas; others say it's because it's the size of Texas. Regardless, the chocolate cake we all know and love as Texas Sheet Cake is a large sheet cake pan cake that is soft and smothered in chocolate frosting as soon as it comes out of the oven. This creates a rich and smooth texture.
Texas sheet cake is made in a sheet pan that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray. You can use a 9×13 pan, but would need to adjust the baking time to 35-40 minutes. If made in a 12″ x 17″ sheet pan, this cake will bake up in 25 minutes (preferred method). Use the toothpick method to test the cake for doneness.
My favorite way to store a sheet cake is to snap a sheet pan lid over the top. You can also cover the cake in plastic wrap to keep it fresh for up to 3 days. Sheet cake can also be stored in the refrigerator.
You can freeze sheet cake. It would be easiest to bake and freeze it in a disposable pan, but I'm not sure I've seen aluminum pans that big. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw in the refrigerator.
More Sheet Pan Desserts To Make
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Classic Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder (baking cocoa)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting
- ½ cup butter softened
- 3 ¾ cup powdered sugar sifted
- ⅓ cup baking cocoa
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Toppings
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts chopped
Instructions
Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Heat butter, water, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir as butter melts. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.
- Slowly pour the butter/chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir.
- Mix eggs, milk, vinegar, baking soda and vanilla together in a small bowl. Add to the large bowl and mix until combined.
- Pour batter into a greased 12" x 17" baking half-sheet pan (jelly roll pan).
- Bake for 25 minutes.
Frosting Instructions
- Cream butter in a mixing bowl. Add baking cocoa, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Beat on high until fluffy.
- Spread over hot cake. Chop pecans and sprinkle over finish cake.
Donna says
Only change I make is to put the nuts on the cake before the hot frosting so they too get covered in chocolate
Brandy says
Great idea!
Mame says
In the frosting recipe, it says peanut butter frosting but it contains no peanut butter. Please advise.
Brandy says
Hi Mame! Thanks for catching that! The cake recipe is the same as my chocolate peanut butter version. Went I copied and pasted the recipe over (and swapped the peanut butter frosting for chocolate), I forgot to update that part! It's fixed now. It's a chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting.