Not long ago, this magazine’s “estimable advice columnist,” a.k.a. the Texanist, answered a question regarding the proper ingredients for a Texas sheet cake. Needless to say, the subject inspired a sheet-load of letters from passionate readers, all eager to share their own tips: “Use extra-dark cocoa powder!” “Don’t use an electric mixer!” Texans clearly have a proprietary interest in the enormous rectangle of thin, flat chocolate cake slathered in deliciously sugary, pecan-studded chocolate icing. But what exactly makes it a “Texas” sheet cake? Some say it’s simply because the cake is huge. Others maintain it’s because it’s flamboyantly rich. Still others point to the addition of Texas-y ingredients like buttermilk and pecans, or to the fact that the recipe is similar to one submitted to the Dallas Morning News in 1957 that subsequently swept the country. I like the explanation offered by the aforementioned, ever-genteel Texanist, who proudly declares it “as big as Texas and twice as oily.” That seems a fitting description of this “oleo”-and-shortening-infused version, a recipe from my maternal grandmother’s collection in the handwriting of my paternal grandmother. That makes it plenty Texan to me.
Texas Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 1 electric mixer
Ingredients
Cake
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 6 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 cup water
Icing
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 1 cup pecan pieces
Directions
Cake
- In a mixing bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl combine then sift flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Bring to boil in saucepan unsalted butter, vegetable shortening, cocoa, and water.
- Pour hot mixture over flour mixture and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Add buttermilk mixture and stir to thoroughly incorporate.
- Pour batter in buttered and floured half-sheet-cake pan (about 15 x 10) and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until edges of cake pull away from the pan and the cake springs back when you touch it.
Icing
- About 10 minutes before the cake is done, bring to a boil unsalted butter, buttermilk, and cocoa.
- Quickly remove from heat (it will not be pretty) and add vanilla and powdered sugar; beat with an electric mixer till smooth.
- Stir in pecan pieces.
- Spread icing over hot cake (this is important). Allow to cool, then cut into squares and serve.
More Recipes to Try:
One-Bite Texas Sheet Cake Truffles
Fresh Mint Panna Cotta With Blackberries