Texas Sheet Cake

My Texas Sheet Cake is an incredibly chocolaty moist sheet cake with wonderful icing that's a classic for a potluck and Sunday suppers!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword sheet cake recipes, Southern cake recipes, Southern Desserts, Texas recipes, Texas Sheet Cake

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings People

Calories 557kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

Cake:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup strong brewed coffee
5 tablespoons cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons milk, room temperature
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 10X15 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a saucepan, melt butter (1 cup). Add coffee (1 cup), and 5 tablespoons cocoa, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in sugar (2 cups), flour (2 cups), baking soda (1 teaspoon), and salt (1/2 teaspoon) and mix until smooth. Add sour cream (1/2 cup) and stir until combined, then mix in the eggs (2) and vanilla (1 teaspoon) until well combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Icing:

In a large saucepan melt 1/2 cup butter. Stir in milk (3 tablespoons), cocoa (2 tablespoons), and instant coffee granules (1/4 teaspoon) and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and mix in powdered sugar (2 3/4 cups) and vanilla (1 teaspoon) until smooth (I use a handheld electric mixer).
Pour icing over warm cake. Cool completely on a wire baking rack.

Notes

Time: Isn’t on your side – Be sure to have your icing ingredients set out and ready to go. This icing gets a thick, fudgy consistency as it cools, so you’ll need to work quickly to spread it on the cake after you’ve stirred in the confectioner’s sugar. I like to mix the sugar into the icing with a handheld electric mixer because it makes quick work of the job plus it requires less of an arm workout!
Pan Size: This recipe uses a classic jelly roll pan, roughly 10” x 15” x 1”. Using a thin pan means this cake will cook up super fast, so it’s a perfect option for last-minute company or potlucks
Eggs: Just make sure you’ve beaten the eggs a bit before adding them to the batter. Over-mixing once the flour has been incorporated can make your cake tough, and the eggs will be hard to incorporate if they’re not mixed ahead of time
Icing Tip: The only tip for the icing is that you’ll need to work quickly so it’s still spreadable enough to coat every nook and cranny of your cake. I also like to add some instant coffee here too. And the icing’s just as easy to put together as the cake, all in one pot (though you may appreciate a little help from an electric mixer).
- The icing adds such a lovely texture to this cake – it’s like a soft fudge that’s so creamy it melts in your mouth. You can also copy other recipes like the Pioneer Woman Texas Sheet Cake and add a generous cup of pecans on top of the icing or stir them into the icing itself to add a little crunch.
Baking Basics: Unlike many cakes, there’s no need to make sure everything’s at room temperature or dirty up every dish in your kitchen. The batter comes together on the stovetop in one pot, then gets dumped into the pan for baking.
Peanut butter….. anyone? – This cake is pretty customizable. You can stir some flavored chips into the cake batter – chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter, or you can replace the cocoa powder in the icing with ½ to ¾ cup of creamy peanut butter for a Texas-sized twist on Reese’s cup. Just keep in mind you may need to adjust the amount of milk and/or powdered sugar to get the right consistency.

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