Texas Chocolate Sheetcake with chocolate pecan frosting (2024)

Original Texas Sheet Cake is a tried-and-true, quick chocolate cake recipe that never fails! Moist chocolate cake topped with a delicious chocolate pecan icing!

This single layer, vintage Southern chocolate cake always a crowd pleaser and ready in about 40 minutes! Perfect for family reunions, potluck dinners and large gatherings.

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As a native Texan, I’ve had this sheet cake at plenty of family reunions and church potluck dinners!

The simplicity of the ingredients is probably what helped this chocolate recipe to prevail throughout the years.

Texas Sheet Cake History

I found this Texas chocolate cake recipe scribbled on the back of a Kilgore Bank deposit slip, in a Piggly Wiggly grocery sack of recipes I inherited from my Grandmother!

Just in case you’re unfamiliar with this small East Texas town, it is not only full or rich oil folks, but also home to the world famous Kilgore College Rangerettes!

From the looks of the newspaper clippings and other recipes in the bag, this version dates back to around 1968.

The origin of the Texas Sheet Cake is somewhat a mystery.

Food historians and librarians discovered publications as early as 1936, where it appeared Galveston Daily News and in again in 1967, in the Huntsville Heritage Cookbook (out of Alabama, not Texas.)

By the 1950’s, this popular dessert was widely known in the South as “Texas Sheath or Sheet” Cake.

My research indicates that there was a discrepancy over whether it was called “sheet” or “sheath.”

There are a variety of names for this Southern chocolate classic dessert: “Sheath”, Brownie or Brownie Sheet, and plain old Sheet Cake.

Early recipes used buttermilk as an ingredient; however, today, there are versions that use sour cream in lieu of buttermilk. This versionuses buttermilk.

Some versions include a dash of ground cinnamon. This Texas chocolate sheetcake is made without cinnamon. If you want to add a little, go ahead.

Why this recipe works

Who doesn’t love chocolate cake? I usually serve this after a dinner of fried catfish, collard greens and macaroni and cheese!

• Easy – three simple steps
• All-natural ingredients – no boxed mix with additives, preservatives or fillers
• Keep in mind, this thin chocolate dessert yields about 16-20 slices, so, if you’re serving a large group, you might want to double the recipe.

Here’s what you’ll need for the sheet cake

The Original recipe says to bake this on a jelly roll pan. If you don’t have one, use a 9 x 13 baking dish.

• Flour: all-purpose
• Sugar; you’ll need granulated for the batter and confectioner’s (powdered sugar) for the frosting
• Buttermilk: 2% or whole fat
• Eggs: large
• Baking Soda: make sure it’s fresh
• Butter: salted or unsalted
• Vanilla extract
• Cocoa powder
• This Texas sheetcake does not contain cinnamon. Some sheetcake recipes do, but my Grandmother’s recipe doesn’t. If you want to add a dash of cinnamon, go right on ahead!

How to make the Original Texas Sheet Cake

Step-by-step instructions for this easy chocolate cake recipe:

Combine flour and sugar in large mixing bowl; set aside. Meanwhile, bring a cup of water to boil.

In a saucepan on low heat, combine butter, cocoa; add the cup of boiling water and cook a few minutes then pour this mixture into the flour/sugar mixture

In a separate small bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract; stir this up and pour it into the big bowl of flour/sugar/chocolate mixture; combine well and pour into an ungreased baking pan

After you add the cocoa sauce to the sugar/flour mixture, it will look something like this. Combine together well.

To finish the batter, add the eggs, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla to the batter.

Here’s what you’ll need for the chocolate pecan icing

Powdered (confectioner’s) sugar, chopped pecans, cocoa powder, milk, butter and vanilla extract.

How to make the chocolate pecan icing

How to tell when it’s done

The original recipe says to bake in a non-greased pan, uncovered @ 350ºF about 20-minutes. My oven is old and slow, so it took mine about 40-minutes to bake.

Check it at 20-minutes, then if it’s not done, check it in 10-minute increments.

Test for doneness by sticking a toothpick in the center. When it comes out “clean,”it’s done!

Nut allergies

This Original recipe has pecans in the icing, however, if you’re serving to a large group where some might have allergies to nuts, simply eliminate them from the recipe, or serve chopped pecans on the side.

Reheating leftover Chocolate Pecan Sauce

This chocolate pecan icing recipe makes about 1 cup, which is plenty to cover the sheetcake; however, if you have any leftover, refrigerate it.

You can easily reheat it on the stove or in the microwave to drizzle a little over a slice.

This Original Texas Sheet Cake is always welcome (and popular) at family reunions and picnics!

• Tex-Mex Sour Cream Sauce
• Texas Chili Recipe
• Southern Sweet Tea
• Southern Potato Salad
• Classic Pecan Pie
• Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pie
• Orange Olive Oil Cake
• No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie
• Orange Creamsicle Icebox Pie
• Chewy Texas Pecan Pralines

If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a rating and comment! I love to hear from you!