If there ever has been a “workhorse” dessert recipe at my house, it has to be this Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake. What can I say? Texas Sheetcake just has everything going for it.
Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake close up showing how fudgy it is.
I mean, chocolate on chocolate? Yes, please! Plus, Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake is easy, fast, and serves a crowd. What more could you want for any get-together?
About Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake:
If you’ve never had Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake, you’ve been missing out. It’s the cake that has the crinkly icing on top that just melds into the cake. It forms three distinct layers: the chocolate cake is the bottom layer, then the center, just a thin layer that’s almost fudgy. And on top, that crinkly icing. Num.
A while back, Cook’s Illustrated put out a recipe that “fixed” the Texas Sheet Cake. I tried it once and went back to this old standby. CI eliminated those layers, and with it that fudginess. For shame! Those layers, to my mind, are what “make” the Texas Sheet Cake.
This is THE recipe to pull out for any gathering. It makes a lot, it has that down-home goodness that just screams good home cooking. It travels well, is sturdy enough to pick up and eat, and it is quick and easy to make.
Bring it to your kid’s school picnic, the party that the team has for the end of the season, the family reunion, or the funeral luncheon. Because if there was ever a cake that is comfort food, Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake is it.
Pro Tips for Making Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake:
There’s hardly any work to Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake. Everything is mixed by hand. It’s gonna be different than most recipes because both the cake and the icing are cooked before baking.
Critical things to know:
- When you are making Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake, use the right pan. You do really need what’s known as a “sheet cake” pan, not your standard 9×13″ casserole that so many people use for cakes.
- If your powdered sugar has any clumps, sift it first. It only takes a few seconds, just to make sure it’s going to be right. The warm icing has to be poured over the warm cake.
- Once it’s poured, don’t touch the icing. If it’s not perfect the first time, you’re not going to improve it by messing with it because the icing starts to set right away.
If You Like Old-Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake, You Might Like These Recipes:
I have a few sheet cake recipes on my site; here are two favorites.
I’ve used that same pan for Banana Sheet Cake. That’s another great recipe for a crowd.
Banana Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
And another great sheetpan recipe, Pumpkin Sheet Cake.
Easy Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake with Mom’s Cream Cheese Frosting
Store Leftovers:
- Wrap and keep at room temperature for three to four days. This holds better at room temperature than in the fridge.
- Do not freeze.
Saving Money on Groceries:
Another great thing about Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake: not only is it a big cake that serves a lot of people, and it packs a lot of chocolate flavor for a pittance. The method that heats the cocoa is a tried-and-true method that helps it bloom and intensifies the chocolate flavor.
Saving Money on Groceries:
What you pay for groceries depends not only on WHERE you shop, but WHEN. Be strategic and stock up at rock-bottom prices.
- The best sales are before holidays; check out Win at the Grocers. Use these sales not just for your holiday, but to stock up at a low for the coming weeks to months.
- Take advantage of discount stores like Aldi or Lidl. The pricing at Buyer’s clubs is not always the lowest, but can trump in quality; be selective.
The best way to save money on this or any recipe is to have a well-stocked pantry, fridge, and freezer full of sale-priced items.
General Baking Items:
- Never buy baking items when needed and never pay full price. Instead, stock up during your grocery holiday sales, especially before Easter and the Winter Holidays. Many items are up to half off.
- Discount stores have good pricing on baking items year-round, as does your buyer’s club, although quantities are larger.
- Immediately upon arriving home, freeze items containing flour for three days.
Butter:
If you have a deep freeze (and you should if you can swing it), there’s no reason to buy butter at full price. It goes on sale often and keeps well.
- While on sale before any holiday, rock-bottom pricing is before the Winter Holidays, and often matched by sales before Easter. Count out the weeks between those holidays and buy appropriately.
- Discount stores have great pricing on butter year-round (and sale prices before holidays).]
Sour Cream:
On sale often at the regular grocery store, especially before holidays. You’ll find great prices at the discount groceries.
- Unopened, it has a long shelf life and keeps for weeks.
- Once opened, store it upside down. If it separates, stir it back together.
- To make sure it lasts as long as possible, keep it clean, using clean utensils and covering between dips.
Eggs:
- Both Aldi & Lidl, as well as buyer’s clubs (you will need to buy larger amounts at the buyer’s club), have great everyday prices, but usually do not approach a great pre-holiday grocery store sales price.
- If you have room, stock up at a low. Eggs, according to the National Egg Board, keep well for 4 to 5 weeks after the pack date, or about 3 weeks after buying. Hard-boiled eggs, can be safely used up to a week in the shell but only a day if peeled.
- Don’t store in the door; keep in original package on a bottom shelf in the fridge.
That’s a wrap! I updated this post in February 2026, with my original photos enhanced with an ai background. It’s the same great recipe, same great taste. Take care,
Mollie
Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake
Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake
This is it: The cake to make for a crowd, potluck or picnic!
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24 servings 1x
Ingredients
Cake:
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup butter, 2 sticks, cut in several pieces
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Chocolate Icing:
- 4 tablespoons cocoa
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into several pieces
- 1 pound powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Instructions
Texas Sheet Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a Sheet Pan (I use a 10 1/2 by 15 inches, but an 18 x 12 x 1 pan will work, also) with butter, oil, or cooking spray.
In a medium-sized saucepan, add cocoa. Slowly add water, whisking as you add. Make sure to get into the corners. Place over medium high heat and then add the two sticks of butter, stirring as mixture comes to a boil. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the cocoa/butter mixture all at once and stir in. Whisk together eggs and sour cream. Add to bowl and gently stir together.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes depending on size of pan. Do not overbake; cake will continue to cook for a moment or two out of pan.
Chocolate Icing:
About 10 minutes before cake is done, begin to prepare the icing. In a large saucepan, add cocoa. Slowly whisk in the milk. Turn on the heat to medium-high, then stir in the cut butter and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Remove from heat & off the heat, stir in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. The icing should be thin enough to pour – if not whisk in another tablespoon milk.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, drizzle the warm frosting mixture over the top. Let cool on a rack until frosting sets up before serving. This cake takes about two hours to completely cool – if you can wait that long!
You may wish to add a cop of chopped pecans, sprinkled across the icing or quickly mark off where slices will be and add a pecan or Candied Pecan to the center of each slice.
Nutrition
- Calories: 301
- Sugar: 36g
- Sodium: 220mg
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 51mg
19 thoughts on “Old Fashioned Texas Sheet Cake”