The Great CAKE Festival

All cakes / Free recipe

Texas Sheet Cake

Brought by Jessica Holden, Pickup truck

  • 1 hr
  • Serves 24
  • Easy
An illustrated festival scene for Texas Sheet Cake

Pour the frosting on while the cake is still warm. That is the whole secret.

Jessica Holden

Jessica shows up to the festival in a truck. In the bed of the truck is a cooler with ice packs, and inside the cooler is a 9x13 pan wrapped in foil. She will not tell you what is in the pan until she is ready to tell you, and she is not ready yet.

When she finally unwraps it, you understand. Texas Sheet Cake is a sheet pan of dense chocolate cake with a hot fudge frosting poured directly on top, still warm, still glossy, pecan pieces suspended in the chocolate like confetti that means business. You do not eat a sliver. You eat a square.

Jessica's Texas Sheet Cake

You make the frosting on the stovetop while the cake bakes. It needs to go on hot, so have it ready the moment the cake comes out of the oven.

Cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 6 tablespoons whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease and flour a half-sheet pan (18×13) or use a well-greased 9×13 for a thicker cake.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, water, and cocoa powder. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour the hot butter mixture over the flour mixture and stir until combined.
  4. Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla to the batter and stir until smooth. The batter will be fairly thin. That is correct.
  5. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the center springs back when lightly touched and the edges just begin to pull away from the sides.
  6. While the cake bakes, make the frosting: combine butter, milk, and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and pecans until smooth.
  7. The moment the cake comes out of the oven, pour the hot frosting over the hot cake and spread quickly. It will set as it cools. Let cool at least 30 minutes before cutting.

Jessica's note: Don't wait on the frosting. Hot cake, hot frosting. That's how it soaks in. If the frosting seizes up in the pan before you pour it, add a splash of milk and stir it back over low heat.