Texas Sheet Cake is a staple at every family gathering. Moist, chocolatey and big enough to feed a crowd the size of Texas!
Texas Sheet Cake
Texas Sheet Cake is quite possibly the perfect dessert to serve at any party or gathering. Who doesn’t love a slice of velvety chocolate cake with a layer of fudgy frosting? This dessert takes center stage at all of our family Memorial Day picnics, Fourth of July barbecues, Halloween parties, or just a Sunday afternoon treat. And it’s really easy to make. You cook the ingredients in a pot over the stove! No mixer required for the cake OR the frosting!
Tips for the Perfect Texas Sheet Cake
- This is probably the moistest (is that a word?) cake I have ever tasted; it melts in your mouth! The secret ingredient is sour cream! It may sound weird, but sour cream takes the moist factor in this cake to the next level. And you can’t even taste the sour flavor at all. All of the best cakes, in my opinion, have sour cream in them! (My personal favorite is our Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake….SO GOOD!)
- Texas Sheet Cake frosting is so divine, you will look forward to licking the spoon! It whips up in just moments, and is poured over the cake while it’s still warm. No waiting for the cake to cool, and no crumbs in your frosting either!
- Start cooking the frosting while the cake has about five minutes left in the oven. It sets up quickly, so make sure to keep a constant stir going until you pour it over the cake.
- For easy frosting spreading, use a rubber spatula. And then don’t hesitate to lick the excess! It’s so yummy!
- When you serve this cake, it is best to remember the popular saying, “Some like it hot, some like it cold.” I love to eat this cake right out of the oven! It is warm and gooey and delicious! BUT, it is also so good to eat after it’s cooled off a little OR after it has been in the fridge for a little while. Enjoy it your way!
- Store leftover cake covered at room temperature for up to a week. You can also store it in the refrigerator too.
More Decadent Cake Recipes
If you love cake you are in the right place! Check out some of our favorite cake recipes that make the perfect dessert for any occasion.
- Strawberries and Cream Cake– Strawberries and Cream Cake is a great summer dessert, loaded with fresh strawberries in both the cake and frosting! Perfect for a family get together.
- Cinnamon Swirl Cake– This Cinnamon Swirl Cake is one of my favorite desserts because it’s quick, easy and so yummy! It’s like a cinnamon roll in a cake, end everyone loves it!
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake Copycat– Our copycat version of Nothing Bundt Cake’s Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake is a MUST TRY! It is one of our most popular recipes for a good reason.
- Carnival Cruise Warm Melting Cake– Have you tried the Carnival Cruise Line Warm Chocolate Melting Cake? If you’ve been on a Carnival Cruise, you know how amazing it is. If not, you can indulge in this decadent chocolate melting cake at home.
- Flourless Chocolate Cake– This Flourless Chocolate Cake is by far the easiest version I have ever made and it tastes just as good as more difficult recipes. It is light and decadent and has a rich chocolate flavor. And spread over the top is a silky smooth chocolate ganache.
- Chocolate Pudding Cake– This Chocolate Pudding Cake is probably the easiest chocolate cake recipe out there. There are only 4 ingredients!
- Orange Pineapple Cake– Orange Pineapple cake is a light, fruity cake with an island flair. You will love the delicious whipped creamy topping! Perfect for potlucks and parties!
- Coconut Cream Cake with Coconut Frosting– This Coconut Cream Cake is a coconut lovers dream! It is a coconut infused cake, with a rich and creamy coconut cream cheese frosting, sprinkled with even more toasted coconut.
How to Make Texas Sheet Cake
Texas Sheet Cake is a staple at every family gathering. Moist, chocolatey and big enough to feed a crowd the size of Texas!
Serves: 20
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Frosting:
- 1 stick butter
- 4 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Cake:
- Heat butter, water, and cocoa in pan until butter is melted.
- Add sugar, flour, and salt and mix well.
- Beat in eggs, sour cream, and baking soda.
- Pour into a 12x18 cookie sheet pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Frosting:
- Melt butter, cocoa, and milk in a sauce pan, then bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Spread frosting on warm cake.
Recipe Video
Nutrition
Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 253mg | Potassium: 81mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 525IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @favoritefamilyrecipes or tag #favoritefamilyrecipes!
Tammy says
Funny story. Found this recipe on Facebook just as I was laying down for a rest. Decided to forgo the nap and bake this delicious looking cake. Got the ingredients and started melting butter, turned to check recipe on my phone and phone died. Ran to get charging cord, and got plugged in. Restart and died again….panicking I ran around to try and find a laptop. None! Finally enough charge to restart but Facebook app no longer installed on my phone. WHAT?!?!Now I am really panicked! Have butter, cocoa and water boiling at this point! Yikes! Pull off element from memory threw in flour and sugar but what else???sour cream, right! Just bought some so grab the container and it’s nearly empty! What now??? Butter milk to top it up, okay good. Now I know I needed eggs but how many? 1,2,3? I need a recipe! Was it baking powder or soda? Another search underway for a device to find the recipe. Laptop found but recipe is not the same. Improvise and get the cake into the pan. Oh man, should have stayed in bed. Found another recipe similar and finished the icing and cake. Now I going back to bed. It was so good. Thank you!
Emily says
Haha! That is quite the story! Glad it turned out good in the end. 🙂
Gina says
Approximately how many people will this feed?
Erica says
If you do 2×2″ slices it can be up to 96 servings.. realistically though I would say around 30-40 servings depending on how hungry people are!
Joanie says
I would think that the eggs would start to cook when you add it to the hot cake mix.
Erica says
We have made this many many many times and it has never been an issue. Hope this helps!
Jess says
Grease the pan or no…?
Echo says
Yes, I will add that to the recipe. I spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Thank you for asking!
Lisa says
What size pan do you use?
Echo says
I use a 12×18 baking sheet. I will make a note on the recipe. Thank you!
Ron deVos says
I am not much of a chocolate eater, so was wondering if this could be made as vanilla flavoured instead.
Erica says
I am sure it could– we would just have to figure out proportions on how to do it and have it still taste good. Thanks for the heads up, we might do this as a future recipe!
kate says
I’d LOVE a vanilla heated and poured recipe for vanilla frosting, if anyone knows of one.
Kate
Fiorenza says
Special. We all adored and devoured it in less than an hour … no, there was just no time to have leftover.
Thanks, keep posting interesting recipes!
Sandi says
I am from Texas and remember sheet cakes. This recipe looks absolutely delish!!
Jersey Girl Cooks says
So perfect for a party! I will family loves this cake!
Christina says
This is one of our favorite desserts! So chocolately and yummy!
Jaclyn says
Such a delicious cake — I am sure the family will be requesting it again before too long!
MaCee Payne says
Help! I have made this recipe loads of times, as a matter of fact, I’ve been eating this cake my whole life (perks of being related to Echo 🙂 it is easily my favorite chocolate cake. My question is, can you put it in a smaller pan and make layers to stack? Or will it not work well for this? Thank you for your assistance!
Favorite Family Recipes says
I haven’t tried it in layers – I would be a little worried that it wouldn’t hold up. This is a softer cake so I don’t know if it would support the weight of layers. However, I did some digging and I found this recipe that look similar and might work better: https://lakesidetable.com/chocolate-sheet-cake/ Hope this helps! Thanks for the rating and for your support! Love you!
Bianca Robinson says
If I put that frosting on a cooled cake, would it work. It says to put on warm cake but I’m trying to make a different cake with that frosting.
Favorite Family Recipes says
This frosting has a different consistency than most frostings, so I would not recommend putting it on a cooled cake.