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by erika Published: Jul 11, 2023 Modified: Feb 3, 2024 6 Comments
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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 Texas Chocolate Sheet 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 sheet 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. The cake is typically made with natural cocoa powder for a lightly chocolatey cake. Frosting-wise, the fudge frosting is typically made with melted butter, cocoa powder and powdered sugar for a runny, sugary frosting. Topping the cake with pecans is optional, but I think this is a non-negotiable for the best flavor and texture!
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. Natural cocoa contributes a lighter flavor than a deeper cocoa like Dutch-process (like the difference between milk chocolate and dark chocolate). I used Hershey’s natural cocoa in this cake! 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.
How to Make Texas Sheet Cake: Step by Step
This cake is extremely easy to make! Start by preheating the oven to 375.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, white sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Melt together the wet ingredients: In a medium saucepan, melt butter, oil, cocoa and water over medium heat. Heating the cocoa with the wet ingredients will help bloom the cocoa and maximize the chocolate flavor in the cake.
- Combine wet and dry: 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.
- Bake in the prepared pan: Pour the cake batter into a greased and floured sheet pan (I either use a nonstick spray or a butter wrapper) and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cake springs back when you poke the center.
- Make the icing: While the cake is baking, melt the butter in a saucepan and toast pecans until golden and fragrant. Remove the pecans and melt the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and cocoa in the same saucepan. Once again, this step helps bloom the cocoa and also emulsify all the ingredients into a smooth icing. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. If the frosting is too stiff, you can whisk in a tablespoon of milk at a time until it reaches your desired consistency (it should be soft and sludgy but not runny).
- Frost and serve: 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
Frequently asked questions
How should you store Texas sheet cake?
Texas sheet cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or for up to a week in a refrigerator.
Can I make this cake in advance?
Yes! You can bake the cake a day before and store it in the fridge, wrapped well. Bring the cake to room temperature before icing the cake. It’s best to let the icing set for 20-30 minutes before serving. You could also freeze the cake for up to a week before serving, but it’s best served fresh.
If I don’t have buttermilk, can I sub something else?
Yes, you can substitute half sour cream (or Greek yogurt) + half milk of your choice for the same volume of buttermilk. I wouldn’t recommend the commonly suggested swap of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar. This will work in a pinch, but the texture will be runnier than the sour cream swap.
What cocoa powder is best to use in this cake?
Texas sheet cake almost always uses natural cocoa powder. I used Hershey’s natural cocoa powder, but other high-fat natural cocoas like Sunfood Superfoods or Penzeys would also work very 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 and love it, I’d be so grateful if you can leave a star rating and review!
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!
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4.80 from 5 votes
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!
Prep Time 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes minutes
Total Time 50 minutes minutes
Servings 24
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 all work
- 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder such as Hershey's (42g)
- 1 cup water (227g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (227g)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
For the toasted pecans
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter (28g)
- 2 cups pecans, chopped (228g)
For the icing
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter (113g)
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 4 cups powdered sugar (454g)
- 3 tbsp natural cocoa powder (16g)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease and flour a half sheet pan (13×18"). See notes for additional size options.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the 2 cups of flour, 2 cups of sugar, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 8 tbsp butter, 1/3 cup oil, 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 1 cup of water and heat until melted. Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
In a separate bowl (or the saucepan that you just emptied), whisk together 2 eggs, 1 cup buttermilk and 1 tbsp vanilla. Gradually add to the butter mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cake is fragrant and springs when you press it.
For the toasted pecans
While cake is baking, melt 2 tbsp butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add 2 cups of chopped pecans to the butter and toast, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from saucepan and let cool.
For the icing
In the same saucepan (no need to wash), combine 8 tbsp butter, 4oz cream cheese, 4 cups powdered sugar and 3 tbsp cocoa powder and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tbsp vanilla, then pour over the warm (but not hot) cake. Sprinkle the toasted pecans over the top.
Cake is best served the day it's made. Wrapped well or put in an airtight container, cake will last 1-2 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge.
Notes
Texas sheet cake is traditionally baked in a 13×18″ half sheet pan. You may also use a jelly roll pan (typically 10.5×15.5″) but will likely need to add 5-10 additional minutes of bake time (I haven’t tried this iteration). If you’d like to use a 9×13 pan, I’d recommend baking at 350 for at least 30 minutes and adding additional time as needed.
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.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
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.Reply
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 co*ke, 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,
Reply
erika
Thank you so much Caitlin! Glad you enjoyed it!
Reply
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.Reply
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!Reply
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!Reply
