This cake is one that I routinely prepare because it is a traditional Texas family recipe that is usually shared at church. Now that I’m in Pennsylvania, I’m telling my churchmates and friends from the north about it. Take it in again! With vanilla bean ice cream, EXCELLENT.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 18 |
| Yield: | 1 – 9×13 inch cake |
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup shortening
- 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup butter
- 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9×13 inch cake pan.
- In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup shortening, 2 ounces chocolate, and water. Heat until chocolate is melted; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda. Make a well in the center, and pour in buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Add melted butter/chocolate mixture, and beat until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cake tests done. Five minutes before cake is done, make frosting.
- To make frosting: In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, 2 ounces chocolate, and 6 tablespoons milk. Heat until bubbles form around the edge; remove from heat. Beat in confectioners’ sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and nuts. Frost cake while still warm. Allow to cool totally before cutting.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 463 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 61 g |
| Cholesterol | 49 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 162 mg |
| Sugars | 48 g |
| Fat | 24 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
There are so many variations to Texas sheet cake this is just another one I’ll have to try it and compare it to the others. Sometimes the cake turns out to be about 1 inch and other times it turns out to be maybe 2 1/2 inches I’m not sure why the variation if you make it the same way each time. This by far is the best sheet cake dessert I’ve ever had it’s always my go to whenever it’s my turn to make a dessert
I’ve made this cake multiple times and it’s one of our favorites. Tthe last few times I’ve made it once I took it out of the oven it fell!
So good. Chocolate-y, moist, rich.
I substituted coconut oil for the shortening. Cake came out great!
really, really good. and so easy. I love frosting it while it’s still warm. my whole family loved it.
This is a repeated request from my family young and old. They just love it and it is fast and easy for me to make. I am a native Texan and love the touch of cinnamon with the chocolate. The cake is very well balanced.
Absolutely love this moist, delicious cake. I have cut the recipe in half and used a 9 in square baking pan and it turned out really well. I have substituted dark cocoa when I don’t have chocolate available, turned out fine.
I am a native Texan and can tell you that this is the real McCoy using real chocolate, buttermilk and ground cinnamon! It is excellent with or without vanilla ice cream. I’ve eaten it with pecans instead in of walnuts. Either is good. Thanks for the recipe Bron!
Delicious! This was my first from scratch cake ever. I followed suggestions to add 1more ounce of chocolate and reduce cinnamon to 1/4 tsp. wonderful flavor! The cinnamon is not recognizable, you isn’t get that ” what is that great taste” affect. Will make again! Oh, only made the cake not the frosting.
Good and simple cake, but not great. Might make again.
Very Good! I used 1 cup coffee and think that next time I would only use a rounded tsp. of espresso powder instead. It had a bit too much coffee flavor (almost a mocha taste). Loved the cinnamon and will keep that in. Good for a family dessert, picnic or casual party
My mother always made this exact cake when we were kids and now my kids love it. I added the 1/2c flour like many people have suggested but I have to say I won’t do that again – it made mine almost a little dry. This recipe is a winner!
I recently made this for 200 without ever trying the recipe before being put on the spot. It filled 4 full sheet pans. Every piece was perfect. What a wonderful recipe! Everyone loved it.
Following the recommendations of previous reviewers of this recipe, I added 1/2 cup flour and reduced the cinnamon to 1/2 teaspoon. I also baked it in a jelly roll pan (Pampered C. bar pan) and used buttermilk in the frosting recipe and elimintated the pecans. It really turned out great. Possibly could use more chocolate flavor. I might try adding an additional ounce of chocolate to the cake.
The main reason I chose this cake over the other Texas cakes on this site is because this is the only one that uses unsweetened chocolate instead of cocoa powder. I was hoping for a more intense chocolate cake that way. But as a serious chocoholic, this still wasn’t enough chocolate for me. Plenty sweet though. The cake is nice and moist. I did increase the chocolate to 2 1/2 squares and the flour by another 1/2 cup. Very glad I reduced to the cinnamon to 1/4 teaspoon. Mine took about 35 minutes to cook. I don’t recommend starting the frosting until the cake is just out of the oven. I started mine at 25 minutes after the cake started cooking and then the cake took another ten minutes to cook. I was in a total panic that the frosting would firm up on me while waiting for the cake to finish. It was a little firm to work with and not the best looking but I have eaten Texas sheet cake before and know it is the frosting that makes the cake.
I had never heard of Texas sheet cake until I tried this recipe. It’s great! I made it exactly as given and like it so much this way, I wouldn’t take a chance on trying some of the changes other reviewers have suggested. It is “demanded” for all of our church pot lucks!.
This recipe will make a good cake. Some adjustments are needed. If made in a jelly roll pan, I would double the frosting recipe. Ii sets up quickly, and it will not spread easily. Also there is just not enough! The texture of the cake is soft like a layer cake. I added extra cocoa powder (1 Tablespoon to the batter and the frosting unless your are doubling the icing). This is good, but there are better ones. I would make this again, if I could not find one of those that I know exist!
Great cake!
O.K. I admit, I’m from Texas and grew up with this cake at all our birthday parties. However, even with minor modifications-depending on where I was cooking-this is an easy, fail-safe cake. My favorite version includes the 1t of Cinnamon (I had someone tell me it reminded them of their grandmother’s coke-cola cake), I substitute oil for shortening and use 4+T of very good cocoa instead of the chocolate squares. Depending on my whim I add toasted pecans or substitue 1/2C coffee for 1/2C water. My icing recipe is different than this one and I never make a full icing recipe. (I always leave it in the pan-so it would be too much!) Even the original family cookbook I use for this recipe lists many modifications. I love a basic recipe, like this, that is so easy to change yet always tastes great.
I chose this recipe because I too am a native Texan living in Pennsylvania! I made the cake for a school function and although I didn’t get to try any myself I was told by those who did it was outstanding. I did follow another reviewer’s advice about using half fresh brewed coffee and half water instead of the full cup of water. I am making this again for another school function next week and hopefully this time I will actually get to try some before it’s all gone!
I really wanted to like this recipe… I added the 1/2C flour and about a 1/4 extra buttermilk, and one extra square of chocolate. The cake was moist, I give it that, but the flavor did not excite me… sort of blah… I mixed the frosting as listed,it was to runny, and to sugary/sweet for me. and even the chocolate in the frosting didn’t really come through in taste… But I am a very picky flavor nut… so, its just another OK recipe…