This Texas chocolate sheet cake recipe is made with buttermilk for a nostalgic and deliciously plush texture. Baked in a jelly roll pan and topped with a fudgy icing and toasted pecans, this cake is so easy to make and perfect for parties!
This Texas sheet cake recipe with buttermilk comes from one of our lovely reader’s grandma for a classic cake with a true taste of nostalgia. I tested this cake alongside 8 other recipes in the Texas sheet cake bake off. This in came in third place with high approval from more than 30 tasters–a true testament to how delicious this is!
With a mixture of butter and oil for a plush texture and a generous amount of buttermilk for flavor and tenderness, you will love how easy and delicious the moist chocolate cake is! The icing also contains a secret ingredient for a superior texture and flavor.
The beauty of a sheet cake? The simple batter gets poured into a sheet cake pan and baked for a single layer cake. Just pour frosting over the top, and the cake is ready to serve straight from the pan. The perfect dessert for birthday parties, family gatherings or anything else.
Why you’ll love this cake
- It comes straight from Grammy! This recipes comes from the wonderful JoAnn Westmoreland (“Grammy” to granddaughter and recipe submitter, Alissa Minshew). The straightforward deliciousness of this simple chocolate sheet cake is so comforting!
- Oil and butter: Two types of fat combine for an irresistibly soft and moist crumb.
- Buttermilk: Texas sheet cake often uses buttermilk to add a subtle tang to offset the richness of the chocolate. While I’d normally recommend bringing the buttermilk to room temperature before using, it doesn’t matter in this recipe since the wet ingredients get combined over heat.
- Lightly chocolatey: With just a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, this cake is chocolatey, but not overly decadent or rich. The lighter cake base allows the rich icing to really shine. Perfect for chocolate lovers!
- Fudgy chocolate icing with a special ingredient: Most Texas sheet cake icings cook cocoa powder with melted butter and powdered sugar for a sugary sweet frosting. Grammy adds cream cheese to create a smoother, less grainy texture. The cream cheese also helps cut the sweetness and adds a bit of flavor complexity.
If you’re looking for more chocolate cake, check out these chocolate coconut cupcakes, the chocolate cake bake off or the flourless chocolate cake bake off! For a chocolate-free option, try this White Texas Sheet Cake.
What is a Texas Sheet Cake?
Texas chocolate sheet cake can also go by many other names–funeral cake, Mexican chocolate cake, brownie sheet cake, chocolate brownie cake or buttermilk brownies to name a few. This cake is typically baked in a half sheet pan (13×18″) or jelly roll pan (10.5×15.5″) for a thin chocolate-on-chocolate cake served in small squares.
Both the cake and icing are typically made with natural cocoa powder for a lightly chocolatey cake. The characteristically fudgy icing often uses melted butter, cocoa powder and powdered sugar for a thin icing with a sugary crunch to it. Topping the cake with pecans is optional, but I think this is a non-negotiable for the best flavor and texture!
This recipe was submitted by Alissa Minshew, coming from “Grammy” JoAnn Westmoreland who got this recipe from a cookbook purchased in Huntsville. While her mother-in-law, “Momo,” used a recipe from a magazine that uses Coca-Cola and cinnamon, Grammy uses neither in her recipe. She began adding cream cheese to the frosting to make it smoother and recommends chopping the pecans before toasting them.
Alissa notes that her grandma actually makes this in a large round cake pan (12 or 14″!) instead of a sheet pan. Some like to bake Texas sheet cake in a 9×13″ pan or a 12×18″ pan. This batter will work in any of the above sizes–it’ll just be much thicker than a traditional sheet pan cake and you’ll need to adjust the bake time accordingly.
Ingredients for Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake
- All-purpose flour: No need for fancy cake or bread flour! Standard all-purpose flour adds the perfect amount of structure and body for the sheet cake.
- Granulated sugar: A 1:1 ratio of sugar to flour adds the perfect amount of sweetness and enough tenderizing properties to give this cake a moist, almost squishy texture.
- Unsalted butter: Adds fat for a tender texture along with a rich flavor.
- Oil: Adds additional fat, contributing to an even more moist and tender texture .
- Natural cocoa powder: As an acidic ingredient, the cocoa reacts with the baking soda to create lift in the cake. Texas sheet cake traditionally uses natural cocoa for a lighter chocolate flavor; I typically use Hershey’s. I wouldn’t recommend using Dutch-process cocoa in this cake due to the different flavor and leavener needs.
- Eggs: Provides additional fat from the egg yolks and moisture to help form the structure of the cake.
- Buttermilk: As an another acidic ingredient, buttermilk adds a tang for flavor while also working with the baking soda to leaven the cake. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, my best substitute is to use anywhere from 3-8 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt, regular yogurt or sour cream + enough milk of your choice to get to 1 cup. In a pinch, you can use 1 cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
How to Make Texas Sheet Cake: Step by Step
This cake is extremely easy to make, no stacking or elaborate frosting job required! Start by preheating the oven to 350.
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Step 2: In a medium saucepan, melt butter, oil, cocoa and water over medium heat. This helps bloom the cocoa and maximize the chocolate flavor in the cake.
Step 3: Once melted, whisk the cocoa mixture into the flour mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Gradually whisk the egg mixture into the warm chocolate mixture.
Step 4: Pour the cake batter into a greased and floured sheet pan and bake for 26-32 minutes until the cake springs back when you poke the center.
Step 5: While the cake is baking, toast the pecans. Make the icing by melting the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and cocoa in the same saucepan. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.
Step 6: Once the cake has cooled for 5-10 minutes, pour the warm frosting over the warm cake and sprinkle with pecans. It’s best to wait for the cake to cool just slightly as a piping hot cake will absorb more of the icing.
Tips for Making the Best Texas Sheet Cake:
- Don’t overmix the batter: Like most cake batters, overmixing the batter will lead to excessive gluten development, which means a tough cake. Mix the batter together until there are no more dry streaks, but not further.
- Toast your nuts: Toasting your nuts will always give you a superior flavor than untoasted nuts.
- Frost cake while warm: Pouring on the icing while the cake is still warm lets it gracefully coat the top of the cake–but avoid icing the cake when it’s hot out of the oven which can cause the cake to absorb the frosting
Storage and serving
The beauty of this cake is that it can (and should) be served directly from the pan in thin slices. To prevent leftover cake from drying out, I like to slice any leftovers and transfer them to a container. Leftover slices will last at room temperature for at least 2 days or for at least a week in a refrigerator.
This cake does keep fairly well; you can bake this cake the day before and store it in the fridge, wrapped well.
Thank you JoAnn, Alissa and family for this fabulous recipe! For more classic Texas sheet cake recipes, check out the Texas sheet cake bake off.
If you give this cake a try, please leave a star rating and review to help others find this recipe!
Tools for this recipe
This section contains affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission when you click on the links and make a purchase. I only recommend products I know and love!
- Half sheet pan – one of my favorite brands!
- Offset spatula – I love using offsets to spread frosting
- Saucepan
- Spatula – my favorite brand!
Grammy’s Texas Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 1 half sheet pan (13×18") Other options: jelly roll pan, 9×13 pan. See notes for more details.
- 1 saucepan
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 260g
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter 113g
- 1/3 cup neutral oil 66g (vegetable, canola, grapeseed, etc all work)
- 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder such as Hershey's 21g
- 1 cup water 227g
- 2 large eggs 100g
- 1 cup buttermilk 227g
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
For the toasted pecans
- 2 cups pecans, chopped 228g
For the icing
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter 113g
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3.5-4 cups powdered sugar* 395-454g
- 3 tbsp natural cocoa powder 16g
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a half sheet pan (13×18"). See notes for additional size options.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour , 2 cups granulated sugar , 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 8 tbsp unsalted butter , 1/3 cup neutral oil , 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder such as Hershey's and 1 cup water and heat until melted. Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- In a separate bowl (or the saucepan that you just emptied), whisk together 2 large eggs, 1 cup buttermilk and 1 tbsp vanilla extract. Gradually add to the butter mixture and stir until fully incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 26-32 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. When the center is puffed and matte and the cake springs back when you press it, it's done! Let cool 5-10 minutes before adding the icing.
For the toasted pecans
- While cake is baking, add 2 cups pecans, chopped to a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Toast, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, about 4-6 minutes. Remove from saucepan and let cool slightly.
For the icing
- A few minutes before the cake is done, use the same saucepan as before (no need to wash) and combine 8 tbsp unsalted butter , 4 oz cream cheese, 3.5-4 cups powdered sugar*, and 3 tbsp natural cocoa powder . Melt over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. The icing might look too thick at first, but it should loosen up once everything is melted. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tbsp vanilla extract At this point, you can either 1) stir in the toasted pecans or 2) pour the icing over the warm (but not hot) cake and sprinkle the pecans over after. This is mostly an aesthetic decision–your choice! Let icing set for at least 20 minutes, then serve.
Donna
I’ve made this cake for 50 yrs. I’m Granny to my family and friends.
Tara
The best cake EVER!!!! Could I make it in rounds or (2) 8×10?
erika
Yes, either should work!
Charlotte Hughes
Same recipe I’ve used for years…My MIL gave me her recipe back in 1969…I have started using 1 c coffee instead of plain water…enhances flavor.
Cheryl
That sounds really like a great addition!
Charlie
Hi, this recipe is fantastic! If I want to bake it next time in a 9×13 pan, should I double the recipe to make sure I get a cake that is higher in height?
erika
A 9×13 should be half the size of the pan size called for (13×18), so if you keep the recipe the same, the cake will bake up thicker!
Lily
Loved this recipe because it tasted like a slice of growing up in Texas! I added a dash of cinnamon & put pecans on half of it for those who like them and left half plain for those who don’t.
Like others said, I added a tbsp of milk at a time to make the frosting creamier and it set up more like the type I had growing up! As I took a bite, it transported me back to being in my Grandma Red’s kitchen! Mmmm…nostalgia is soooo sweet!
Thank you for sharing this delightful recipe! My tastebuds appreciate it!
erika
So happy you enjoyed!!
Leissa
Very nice cake, although I needed to add cream to icing for it to come together. Also, added cinnamon to cake, and would’ve added espresso but people I was serving don’t drink coffee. Chopped pecans, put half in the icing and half on top.
Carolyn
So 42 g of cocoa powder works out to way more than 1/4 cup. Which measurement do you use?
erika
Thank you for catching, that should be 21g! Just updated the recipe.
janelynn
Gramma’s recipe beats them all: cake flour a requirement; sour cream in place of buttermilk.
Chrissie
This was a breeze to whip up and I would totally have given it five stars except the frosting was very dry and hardened on top of the cake. Not sure what I did wrong, but next time I’ll probably add a little heavy cream to keep it soft.
Caitlin
I read probably 25 recipes for this cake before choosing this one, and Im so glad I did, it was one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made! Only thing i did different was add 1 tsp of cinnamon. and used coconut oil instead of canola, but youd never know.
I was looking for a cake that used some oil and buttermilk, no shortening, no dr pepper or coke, and was written in a way thats easy to follow.
Things that make this cake stand out from others: Love the addition of cream cheese for smoothness. Also love that the salt is doubled from most recipes which I think makes a big difference in flavor, and that the butter is halved and buttermilk is doubled from most recipes, making it a bit lighter with no sacrifice in taste,
erika
Thank you so much Caitlin! Glad you enjoyed it!
Tina
So good! Did a half batch, no pecans substituted walnuts, do not recommend walnuts. I’ve made the Bravetart one and didn’t like the cinnamon nor the texture of the cake, it was too fluffy and light. I like this texture, it’s just right. I did copy the dusting with cocoa powder trick from Bravetart, dunno if it made a difference. Also I used 365 brand cocoa powder. Oh and even with the half batch only used 80g powdered sugar bc I don’t like super sweet frosting. Otherwise followed rest of recipe. Highly recommend and will be making this again! But with pecans.
Marita
This is the most moist chocolate cake I have ever made! Made it for fathers day, and everyone in my family loved it. Never gotten so many compliments on a cake before 😀 This will definitely be a go-to chocolate cake for me!
Lauren Weller
This was amazing!! I added 1 tsp of instant coffee to the cake and it deepened the cocoa flavor in a beautiful way. Thanks for sharing!