Grammy's Texas Sheet Cake
A simple and deliciously nostalgic Texas chocolate sheet cake with a plush chocolate cake and fudge icing topped with toasted pecans. Recipe courtesy of JoAnn Westmoreland and Alissa Minshew!
Servings: 24
Equipment
- 1 half sheet pan (13x18") Other options: jelly roll pan, 9x13 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 (13x18"). 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.
Notes
*Use the lesser amount for a very slightly less thick and sweet frosting. I find the lesser amount hardly differs from the full amount!
Texas sheet cake is traditionally baked in a jelly roll pan, but I only own 13x18" half sheet pans (and think these are more common), which is what this recipe is written for.
If you bake this in a jelly roll pan (typically 10.5x15.5"), you'll likely need to add 5-10 additional minutes of bake time.
If you'd like a smaller cake, you can halve this recipe and bake in a 9x13 pan (I'd recommend checking for doneness around 24 minutes and adding additional time as needed). If you'd like a thicker cake, you can also bake the full amount of batter in a 9x13--I would guess this amount would take closer to 45 minutes to bake all the way through.
Buttermilk sub: If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can sub an equal volume of 1 part milk to sour cream or Greek yogurt. In a pinch, you can sub 1 cup of buttermilk for 1 cup of milk (ideally whole milk, but any kind will work) with 1 tablespoon of milk replaced with vinegar.