This vintage Texas Sheet Cake recipe is a family favorite – a delicious buttermilk chocolate cake topped with a rich fudgy frosting and chopped hazelnuts!
Texas Sheet Cake
We love finding a reason to celebrate in the Love Bakes Good Cakes house. Whether it’s a real holiday (Christmas, Cinco de Mayo, Thanksgiving, etc.), a food holiday (like National Margarita Day or National Doughnut Day), or days we celebrate just because (Shark Week or National Talk Like a Pirate Day) – there always seems to be a reason to make cake!
One of our favorite recipes is this Texas Sheet Cake made with buttermilk! It’s an old-fashioned recipe that stands the test of time!
I love that it is the perfect dessert recipe for game day, a potluck, any kind of celebration, or for a quick treat any time!
This crowd favorite comes together quickly and will be a hit no matter when you serve it. Let me show you how to make it …
Recipe for Texas Sheet Cake
For the cake
- unsalted butter
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- vegetable oil
- black coffee or water
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- baking soda
- salt
- large eggs
- buttermilk
- vanilla extract
For the frosting
- unsalted butter
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- whole milk
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
- chopped hazelnuts, optional
How to Make Texas Sheet Cake with Buttermilk
Time needed: 55 minutes
How to make Texas Sheet Cake
- Preheat the oven and prepare pan.
Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Melt the butter and whisk in the cocoa.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the cocoa.
- Add the oil and coffee.
Add the oil and coffee and bring to a rolling boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Sift and combine.
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and add them to the butter mixture mixing just until combined.
- Mix ingredients.
In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla before adding it to the rest of the ingredients and mixing it with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated.
- Bake.
Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes back mostly clean from the center of the cake.
- Prepare the frosting.
While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the cocoa and bring to a boil.
Add the cocoa and bring the mixture to a rolling boil for 30 seconds.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk and vanilla.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk and vanilla.
- Whisk in powdered sugar.
Add the powdered sugar while whisking constantly until smooth.
- Top with frosting and nuts.
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the frosting over the top of the warm cake and top with chopped hazelnuts, if desired.
- Cool.
Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Texas Sheet Cake: FAQs
You sure can! After baking the cake and covering it with frosting, all it to cool completely. Leave the cake in the baking sheet, then cover in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. It’s best used within a month. To use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Store covered at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can refrigerate for a few days longer.
Technically, no – but it will help it last longer, especially if you live someplace hot and humid.
Nope! You can skip them if you prefer.
Sure! Toasted pecans or walnuts are great.
How did you like this cake recipe?
This cake is the perfect recipe for any occasion, isn’t it?! Comment down below with your thoughts, especially if you tried this recipe! Let me know how it turned out for you. If you have any questions, I’m more than happy to try to help!
Other recipes you may enjoy
- Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
- Chocolate Milk Cake
- Death By Chocolate Poke Cake
- Triple Chocolate Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
- Mississippi Mud Cake
Texas Sheet Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup black coffee or water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup chopped hazelnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the cocoa.
- Add the oil and coffee and bring to a rolling boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and add it to the butter mixture mixing just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla before adding it to the rest of the ingredients and mixing it with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes back mostly clean from the center of the cake.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the cocoa and bring the mixture to a rolling boil for 30 seconds.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk and vanilla.
- Add the powdered sugar while whisking constantly until smooth.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the frosting over the top of the warm cake and top with chopped hazelnuts, if desired.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Using coffee will help give this cake an intense chocolate flavor, but water can also be used.
- Store covered at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Recipe adapted from Julie Richardson, Vintage Cakes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutritional information listed on this page is an estimation based on the products I used. Ingredients and nutritional information can vary significantly between brands. Always be sure to read labels. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Likewise, recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them.
Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.
I made this cake for a family event, everyone loved it! The only thing I did different was, I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa, and I used black coffee. Cake was the most delicious Texas Sheet Cake I have ever made!