Texas Sheet Cake
Texas Sheet Cake is a Southern staple! Moist and dense chocolate cake is topped with a pourable fudge icing that melts into the cake as it cools and finished with crunchy pecans.
Classic Texas Sheet Cake
I did everything backwards!
A while back I shared a fun recipe for Texas Sheet Cake Cookies – chocolate cake mix cookies with a from-scratch cooked chocolate glaze.
I’m a chocolate fan, so I was pretty excited about our cookies, but it was still a surprise just how much everyone else liked them too! The recipe went MEGA viral and it was a lot of fun to watch readers try the recipe too!
So now I figured I really should get cracking on an actual Texas sheet cake recipe!
Related: Love pecans? Try our easy pecan praline recipe too!
What Is Texas Sheet Cake?
Texas Sheet Cake is a classic dessert originating from Texas, known for its decadent combination of rich chocolate cake, fudgy frosting, and crunchy pecans.
Unlike your typical layer cake,ย Texas sheet cake is aย flat, dense, and moistย chocolate cake baked in a jelly roll pan or a large cake pan. Warm chocolate icing is poured on top of the cake, so that it melts into the cake as it cools. The result is an incredibly rich and chocolatey cake that almost has the consistency of fudge.
There is SO much chocolate flavor in this recipe! It is truly a chocolate lover’s dream come true!
While working on our Texas Sheet Cake Cookies, I learned a bit about the history of the traditional Texas favorite and the must-haves for a “proper” version of the recipe.
While true Texans all seem to have their own special way to make it, every Texas Sheet Cake shares these three characteristics:
- Large flat chocolate cake (a sheet cake, as the name implies)
- Rich chocolate icing (the richer the better!)
- Pecans (we love pecans in Texas!)
Sounds delicious right?ย No wonder Texas sheet cake is such a beloved dessert!
Ingredients
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Cake Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon sized cubes
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder (this is our favorite kindโฆSO rich and chocolate-y)
- 1 cup brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder (this is our favorite kindโฆSO rich and chocolate-y)
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Kitchen Supplies Used:
- Sifter (this one is turquoise – so pretty!)
- 9 x 13″ cake pan
- Non-slip mixing bowls
- Stand mixer (we bought ours refurbished and saved a ton of money!)
- Medium Saucepan
Instructions
A free printable copy of this recipe is available at the bottom of the post.
Cake Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF and prepare a 13×9 baking dish with non-stick spray. Line baking pan with parchment paper.
- Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Combine the butter, cocoa and coffee in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a low boil, whisking until well combined and smooth.
- Remove pan from heat and allow to cool slightly. Slowly pour liquid mixture over the dry ingredients, mixing using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
- Beat in the eggs, buttermilk and vanillaย until everything is well incorporated.
- Pour batter into your prepared baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Place the cake pan on a wire rack while you prepare the frosting. Leave the cake in the pan.
Icing Instructions:
- Combine the butter, cocoa, milk, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir together until butter melts completely and everything is incorporated.
- Once butter has melted, gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until icing is smooth. Remove from heat.
- While the cake is still warm (but not hot), pour the icing on the cake, spreading if needed to evenly distribute. If the cake is too hot, it will mess with the consistency of the icing. If the cake is completely cool, the frosting won’t glaze just right.
- It sounds tricky, but it’s really not! If the cake is warm to the touch, it’s perfect to frost!
- If adding pecans, place them on top of the cake while the frosting is still wet.
Prep Tips
- Cake Pan – A lot of recipes call for a jelly roll pan, but we use a standard 9×13″ cake pan for this recipe. Our cake is about an inch thick, so it is just the right thickness of a Texas sheet cake and I recommend you use this size cake pan for best results.
- Pecans – You can use either chopped pecans or pecan halves for this recipe. We’ve tried it with both! If you really don’t care for nuts, you can omit them for a fantastic nut-free chocolate sheet cake. Or you could top with chocolate chips instead!
Note: This recipe wasย originally published in July 2019 and updated on Jan. 1, 2024 with new photos and prep tips.
More Texas Sheet Cake Recipes To Try
- Chocolate and Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake
- Mint Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake
- Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake
Texas Sheet Cake Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Texas Sheet Cake
Equipment
- Sifter
- Mixing bowls
- 9x13" pan
- Electric mixer
- Medium Saucepan
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted sweet cream butter cut into tablespoon sized cubes
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup brewed coffee cooled to room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup unsalted sweet cream butter
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake Directions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF and prepare a 13x9 baking dish with non-stick spray. Line baking pan with parchment paper.
- Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Using a medium pot over medium heat, combine the butter, cocoa and coffee, bringing it to a low boil. Whisk until well combined and smooth, then remove from heat.
- Slowly pour liquid mixture over the flour ingredients, mixing using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
- Beat in the eggs, buttermilk and vanillaย until everything is well incorporated.
- Pour batter into your prepared baking dish and bake for 23-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Icing Directions
- Combine the butter, cocoa, milk, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir together until butter melts completely.
- Once butter has melted, gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth. Remove from heat.
- Pour the icing on the cake, spreading if needed to evenly distribute.
- Sprinkle pecans onto the top of the cake and allow the icing to set.
Notes
Nutrition
Be sure to pin our Texas Sheet Cake recipe on Pinterest:
More of our favorite chocolate cake recipes:
- Homemade Cosmic Brownies - January 15, 2025
- Heart Shaped Cookie Cake - January 10, 2025
- Mini Heart-Shaped Pizzas - January 9, 2025
You say to use cocoa powder. Are you talking the powdered chocolate found on baking aisles in the grocery stores or hot chocolate mixes?
Cocoa powder in this recipe refers to the baking chocolate powder, as opposed to the drink mix.
When i first got the texas sheet cake i was told to use a jelly roll pan and i did, it was almost like eating a piece of fudge. I don’t know how many i have made but everyone loves it and it goes a long way. Also, the peanut butter one, using peanut butter instead of cocoa. Delicious
Thanks so much for sharing, i look forward for receiving more delicious recipes from
you.
Is there a substitute that I could use for the coffee?
You could probably just omit it — it is a small amount and the coffee is simply to amp up the chocolate flavor a bit. It will still taste delicious!