Texas Sheet Cake

          We have been making this cake in our house since I was a teenager. I think it became popular around that time and named as it is after it was printed in a newspaper in Texas. As all great recipes go it was passed around over and over. This cake always reminded me of lunch lady brownies. Those caky brownies that were covered with a fluffy chocolate icing. It was also very similar to a cake my Mamaw would make. She would ice it before it had time to cool and the icing melted into the whole cake. Her cake was usually just a box mix made special with the use of homemade icing.

What sets a Texas sheet cake apart from other cakes is the texture and mild cake with a rich icing. The cake itself isn’t extremely sweet, because the icing makes up for all the missing sweetness. The cake is also really moist. This comes from the addition of the sour cream. Another key to making this cake is blooming the cocoa in the water and melted butter. Cocoa needs that extra step in order to fully absorb the liquids and unlock its full flavor profile. Now the icing is a simple basic chocolate icing. There really isn’t much to it. No additional melted chocolate, cream, or gelatin just simple sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk. That icing has been made in homes for decades to cover all kinds of cakes. However, what makes it a Texas sheet cake is the step of icing while the cake is warm and allowing the icing to melt.

It then melts into the top layer of the cake locking in all the moisture and gets a slightly crackle texture on top. I use this icing anytime I need a basic chocolate flavor. It is the best multipurpose chocolate icing! The last thing that makes this cake a Texas sheet cake is of course the pan it is cooked in. A sheet pan, also known as a jelly roll pan is simply an American cookie sheet that has a 1-inch-deep side instead of just a flat surface. Most cookie sheet these days are that standard commercial jelly roll pan, but I do remember my mom having some cookie sheets without the edges. Even though it is cooked in that sheet pan you don’t have to do it all the time.

I do sometimes cook this in round cake pans. You just need to be sure the pan has enough edge to hold the cake and the icing when finished. If you like the texture of this cake but prefer something that isn’t chocolate, try making flavor changes. You could always leave out the cocoa and add lemon or vanilla. Enjoy!