One of my favorite desserts to make when I am cooking for a crowd is Texas Sheet Cake. I have a recipe that I have used for years that I love. Whenever I am in the mood for something good and chocolatey, this cake does the trick! It would be the perfect dessert for your upcoming Labor Day potluck BBQ too!
Jump to the Recipe to see a video on how to make this cake.
I have tried a lot of Texas Sheet Cake recipes over the years and I always come back to this one. I think the perfect recipe should be part brownie and part cake.
Sheet cake is best made in a jelly roll pan, which makes it the perfect party sized cake. I think that is where it gets its name, because everything is bigger in Texas!!
One of the tricks to a good Texas sheet cake is that you frost the cake while it is warm. You want that frosting to soak into the cake part way – yum!
Next time you can’t decide between chocolate cake or brownies, Texas Sheet Cake is the perfect solution.
Some other favorite cakes:
Some of my favorite kitchen tools for making TEXAS SHEET CAKE:
6 PIECE MEASURING CUP SET – Everyone needs at least one set of measuring cups, I have 4 sets!
MAGNETIC MEASURING SPOONS – I love these things. They are magnetic so they stay together in the drawer!
SHEET PAN – I have at least six of these in my kitchen. I use them everyday. The 13 x 18 size is perfect and I use them for everything!
For all of my other favorite kitchen products and tools visit my Amazon Store
Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
- 2 C flour
- 2 C sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/4 C cocoa
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 C buttermilk
- 1 C hot water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 6 Tbsp milk
- 1/4 C cocoa
- 3 3/4 C powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Mix together flour, sugar, salt, in a bowl and set aside
- In a sauce pan, add water, cocoa and butter. Stir until butter melts and mixture comes to a boil. Pour over dry ingredients and stir.
- Add in eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla and vinegar. Mix to combine.
- Pour into a greased 15x10x1 pan
- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes
Frosting:
- Mix butter, milk and cocoa together
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla
- Beat well and spread on hot cake as it comes from oven
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe originally posted on March 19, 2010
My 10 yr old son made this cake, with my supervision, today. We agree that this recipe is amazing!!
Ginger, I love hearing that!! Thanks so much for letting me know and I’m so glad you both enjoyed the cake!!
This recipe calls for 2 eggs in the ingredients, but I don’t see where you add them in the directions. Am I missing something here?? I made it without eggs and it was delicious!
Oops! Will get the recipe fixed. Good to know it works without the eggs though.
It doesn’t specify when to add the eggs?
This is a classic sheet cake!!! Hard to beat and so easy to make. My recipe is an old one from my mom and it adds 1 tsp. of cinnamon to the batter. TRY it sometime – makes this great cake even better!
I’ve used a similar recipe for years and it’s always a hit. Try subbing almond extract for the vanilla in both cake and frosting. If you’re an almond lover – and even if you’re not – it’ll knock your socks off.
Would this recipe work if I halved it and baked it in a 9×13 pan?
I haven’t tried it but it should work
I just made this Texas sheet cake and it is perfect.
I used regular cocoa powder & next time I will try Dutch Process.
Cocoa keeps the frosting from tasting too sweet & I like that.
Thank you for the recipe.
How much butter do you use for the frosting?
Sabrina, it’s 1/2 cup
Should the butter in the cake be MELTED or just SOFTENED?
Just softened
You are psychic! Making this today but a different version.
I made this for a co-workers birthday today and it was a hit! Will definitely be keeping this recipe to use later. Thank you for sharing.
So glad everyone loved it – definitely one of my favorites.
What kind of cocoa do you use, semi-sweet?
Natural Unsweetened Cocoa.
Texas sheet cakes are not chocolate enough for me, I always double the cocoa to 1/2 cup.at least!
Barbara – great idea! The more chocolate the better.
Leigh Anne, I LOVE this cake! Was a favorite growing up. Just came across the 3×5 recipe card written in my 5th grade handwriting. Note: the recipe called for OLEO….dating myself??? 🙂
Love that you have the recipe card in your childhood handwriting – that is a treasure!! I have a few old recipes that call for Oleo!!
I have been making Texas Sheet Cake for many years , the one thing I do different is to put lots of pecans in the frosting ,try it this way and you will be amazed at how much better it is .
Buffy, I am one of those people that doesn’t like nuts in their baked goods! Can you believe it!!
Just made this today with the “help” of my 3 year old. It was DELICIOUS! And I only had 1/4 stick of butter for the frosting so I just adjusted and made less, and it was still sooo good! Thank you!
Christy, So glad you had fun making it with your 3 year old and you loved it too! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know.
This recipe looks totally amazing. I woudl love to have the fudge kind of cake so it feels like you are eating candy when you eat the cake – hit that sugar spot!
Hey! I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been making your sheet cake for a couple of years now and it is always a HUGE hit! Out of curiosity I tried the Pioneer Woman’s last month and didn’t care for it. I’m not sure exactly, but I think it was the texture. So tonight I have to bring a dessert and am bringing your Texas Sheet Cake once again! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for letting me know and that you agree with me!! Mine is better!
This recipe cracks me up. An entire pound of butter!!! I’ve made it a couple of times, though mine didn’t look nearly as dense as yours. Interesting.
For some reason, my mom has always called her Texas Sheet Cake recipe hot fudge squares. It’s similar to both you and PW’s recipes. The only time I’ve used vinegar though is when I haven’t had buttermilk, and someone told me once that adding vinegar to milk in a recipe is a substitute for buttermilk. I don’t know, but it works. My mom’s also has cinnamon in the cake part and marshmallows melted into the frosting part.
I have made PW’s Chocolate Sheet cake twice now & loved it, but I can’t wait to try your version since I have loved every recipe of yours I have made also!!
Yum! Yum! Yum! Why am I always on a diet?????
I have a favorite Texas Sheet Cake recipe similar to Rebecca Luke’s recipe, but I’m always ready to try something new so…I made your recipe of cake and since my own recipe has a cooked frosting recipe, I used PW’s frosting recipe. Anxious to see how it turns out! I’m also making chicken pesto for lunch tomorrow! My guests are going to be guinea pigs!
My recipe is like your’s and one of my favorite
cakes however I’ve started adding cinnamon to
my cake AND frosting-it is delicious
I gott be honest, my family’s Texas Cake recipe has been a favorite of EVERY function we’ve brought it to. But it’s quite a bit different than these two because it’s made with sour cream and cinnamon in the cake. It’s to die for!
Sour cream and cinnamon make for the absolute best Texas Sheet Cake!
I’ve made PW’s sheet cake before and loved it. Mine turned out cake like. I didn’t have the big pan so I did some as cupcakes, and preferred them to the sheet cake slice. (blogged here http://ldylvbgr.blogspot.com/2008/02/best-chocolate-sheet-cake.html ) I wonder what happened to yours?
I am a big fan of PW Texas sheet cake. I’ll try your recipe with the vinegar
too. I’m always looking for the best recipes. 🙂 Thanks for the comparison.
I like a good food challenge like this… just need to find some people who aren’t being “healthy” to test it on. I will let you know if/when I do and the results.
mmmm! we just made pioneer woman’s sheet cake a couple of weeks ago and it was delicious! but i have to say, ours was very cake like, i wouldn’t have called it fudgey… i’ll have to try your recipe and let you know how they compare 🙂
It’s the baking soda in combination with the vinegar that makes your Texas sheet cake more cake like. Try mixing vinegar and baking soda in a bowl together and watch the way they bubble and foam when you add them together. My cinnamon roll recipe calls for baking soda and vinegar in addition to the yeast and they turn out so nice and light!
YUM. I need to try this recipe, but I think I will use yours. I’d prefer my cake to be…cake!
I keep hearing how fantastic this cake is, but I’m afraid to try it because I’m pretty sure it uses more butter than even Paula Dean has ever used haha!