I’ve had my share of chocolate cakes and this one is truly a keeper! My boy can eat half the sheet if I allow him to! This ultimate Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake is so delicious, super moist, and with a tender light crumb. Simply perfection!
In our church, on Sundays, we have a morning coffee break right after Sunday school and before the main service. When I can, I (or nowadays, my little 10-year-old baker, Sophie) try to make something sweet to go with the coffee.
Sometimes they’re just cookies or brownies but when there’s enough time on Saturdays, we make a cake!
As you can imagine, I am always on the lookout for a cake recipe that can feed a crowd. Definitely, this Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake is perfect for our coffee break as it is definitely crowd-friendly!
Sometimes I make it plain without nuts or make it loaded with crunchy pecans or walnuts! That’s how I like it. My kids prefer it plain though. But, it’s delicious either way!
Having a big enough cake is not the only main criteria when it comes to our Sunday morning coffee breaks!
It has to be something easy to make (Saturdays are crazy busy and there’s no time for fancy cakes!) and definitely super yummy.
Thankfully, this sheet cake is exactly that!
Just take a look at the photos and you can already see how deliciously chocolaty it is, totally moist and with a tender and light crumb – exactly, how I define the perfect chocolate cake. Seriously, this is it!
Now, I know there are a gazillion recipes online for the classic Texas sheet cake and, honestly, this did not depart from those in a major way.
I did adjust some techniques and the measurement of some ingredients to tailor it to my family’s taste.
I lessened the sugar to about 1 1/2 cups as 2 cups, in my opinion (and tastebuds, too!) is sickly sweet.
I want my chocolate cake to be really chocolaty and sweet, too – but I aim for a good balance of both and not one overpowering the other.
I used hot brewed coffee instead of boiled water because I wanted to highlight the chocolate flavor and a little bit of coffee added does just that!
Sometimes, I add some nuts to the frosting but when I serve this to just my family, I omit nuts as my kids are not fans of anything with nuts! Shame on them!!! 😂
Also, I simply microwave the butter and cocoa together to make the frosting for a shortcut especially when I am in a hurry. But you can certainly, boil both first as it’s traditionally done.
Again, I lessened the icing sugar from 4 cups to 3 as it doesn’t need more than 3, otherwise, it’s way too sweet (again based on my family’s tastebuds!).
Trust me, despite these very minor adjustments what you’d get is an amazingly tasty and tender cake. It’s really crazy good and the chocolate flavor really shines!
So, make this soon and let me know what you think!
Ultimate Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 oz) butter
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 cup hot strong coffee
For the Frosting
- 4 tbsp milk
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
- 5 tbsp butter
- 3 cups confectioners or icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- Mix together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt the 2 sticks of butter on low. Add 4 tablespoons cocoa powder and pour in the hot coffee and stir until blended. Turn off the heat. Stir the cocoa mixture into the flour mixture and mix until well-blended.
- Pour in the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir gently but thoroughly avoiding over mixing the batter. Pour the batter into a greased 13×18 sheet pan.
- Bake the cake for about 20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out with only a few crumbs. Transfer to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, bring the milk, remaining 4 tablespoons cocoa powder, and remaining butter to a boil. Immediately remove from heat. Alternatively and as a shortcut, simply microwave the butter with the cocoa in a glass bowl until the butter is melted. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and icing sugar and beat until smooth. Adjust the thickness or consistency of the frosting by adding or lessening the amount of milk and sugar. Add the pecans or walnuts, if using. Spread the frosting over the warm cake on the baking sheet. Cool or serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!!! This can be made ahead and tastes even better the next day.
Nutrition
Last updated on January 9th, 2024 at 09:16 am
What size pan should I use?
Author
Sorry, I was out of the country. The recipe can be made in a 13×18 sheet pan or 9×13 though if you are using the latter – adjust the baking time to 35 minutes more or less. Thanks and hope you enjoy the cake.
I’ve had so many different types of chocolate cake before but I’ve never tried Texas Sheet Cake! I think I need to try this!
This was a huge hit at my house! So yummy!
This chocolate sheet cake was light and moist! Very delicious and great flavor!
This cake looks fantastic. Love the texture too. I will soon try this for my lil one.
OMG this looks AMAZING, I can’t wait to try them.
One of the favorites in our house. I have adapted it to be GF for my husband (celiac). Another variation for this cake is to add some chunky peanut butter to the batter and chop up some Reese’s peanut butter cups on top. The kids in our “college” Bible study group loved this version.
Author
That sounds absolutely yummy! I will try the peanut butter version! Thank you for the great idea!