Texas Sheet Cake and Icing

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Total: 35 mins

Servings: 12 servings

Texas sheet cake may be so named because of its size, but ask any proper Texan and they can likely recite a family secret for making "the best." Featuring a signature Texas ingredient, pecans, the moist chocolaty cake looks unpretentious, like brownies, but it makes an undeniably rich statement on the dessert table. Take one to a backyard barbecue or anywhere you want to feed a crowd.

The classic recipe generally calls for buttermilk, but this updated version substitutes sour cream for a pleasantly acidic flavor and a particularly moist and tender texture.

Ingredients

For Cake:

• 1 cup butter

• 1 cup water

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 large eggs, beaten

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Icing:

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Steps to Make It

Make the Cake

1. Gather the cake ingredients.

   

2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine butter, water, and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat; stir constantly until butter melts. Let cool before adding in next ingredients but not enough for it to solidify again.

   

3. Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, sour cream, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla; mix well.

   

4. Pour batter into a 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly roll pan or sheet cake pan.

   

5. Bake cake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cake should pull away from sides of the pan and spring back when you touch it. Ice hot cake immediately, following instructions below.

   

Prepare the Icing

1. Gather the icing ingredients.

   

2. With about 10 minutes left on timer, prepare icing. Combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil, then pull off heat.

   

3. Add confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla; blend icing with an electric hand mixer until sugar is fully incorporated. Stir in pecans.

   

4. Pour icing over hot cake. With a spatula or knife, spread icing to edges.

   

5. Let cake cool, then cut into squares to serve. 

   

Variations

• Replace the water in the batter with brewed black coffee, cooled to room temperature, for a mocha flavored cake.
• Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the batter to make a Mexican chocolate cake.
• Substitute chopped walnuts, almonds, or peanuts for the pecans. Or omit them altogether for a nut-free version.
• Leave out the cocoa powder when you make the batter and the icing for a white Texas sheet cake version.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	634
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 29g	38%
Saturated Fat 16g	81%
Cholesterol 98mg	33%
Sodium 319mg	14%
Total Carbohydrate 90g	33%
Dietary Fiber 2g	6%
Total Sugars 71g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg	1%
Calcium 35mg	3%
Iron 2mg	14%
Potassium 80mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.