Texas Sheet Cake

[orangewasabi]

Anyone got a tried and true really great recipe for Texas Sheet Cake?

[odkaty]

No recipe to share but this is one of my favorite cakes! I haven't ever encountered another chocolate cake that even compares. I might need to make on this week - my husband is out of town so I won't have to share!

[NeNePie]

We called it "30 minute cake" in our family. Our recipe had no water in it, though.

I made it last week and on a whim I added a square of unsweetened chocolate to the cake mixture and another square in the icing. I made two rounds instead of one sheet and glazed the layer cake with the icing. Mmmm!

[Old Spice]

Add another family...we've been making this family favorite for years too! We call it "Neighbor's Chocolate Cake." One of those dishes that turned up at a family reunion or church potluck one time, and everybody wanted the recipe. It's fantastic. I even score points for making it in NYC. We particularly like it when baked in a slightly bent-up sheet cake pan of my mom's...the cake cracks in that pan, and the icing seeps into the cracks.

Chrissytine notes that some folks find it too sweet. Happened with me as I got older. Now I cut back a bit on the sugar and use more cocoa in both the cake and frosting. It's still decadent, and so easy.

[southerngal]

I love, love, love this cake. We call it the "Church Social Cake" because it shows up at every church social in Texas. It is so easy to make. You don't have to wait for the cake to cool before icing it. It's my favorite.

[Katie Nell]

My mom puts cinnamon in hers- don't know if that's traditional or not, but it sure tastes good! I didn't know there was an actual "Texas Sheet Cake"- I thought it was just what we called it! Ooh- I just saw that the Homesick Texan puts ancho chile powder in along with the cinnamon- that sounds good too!

[chrissytine]

That looks just like my family recipe too! It's really good, even if some people find it too sweet. We have no connection to Texas and aways called it Buttermilk Brownies, though I concede that doesn't make much sense either as it is definately not a brownie.

[gyp7318]

Is there a reason why it's called "Texas Sheet Cake"? I've never heard of the term before.

[GeekVanessa]

Yup, it's made in a sheet cake pan...no way can you use a 9x13 unless it's sheet. I think mine is like 11 x 17. Lisa at The Homesick Texan makes one just like me:
http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/200...

[jinet12]

Agreed...This must be made in a sheet pan...This is an awesome cake...very, very rich because of the frosting....

[gyp7318]

Thanks for the link! I was wondering how the heck it got it's name. The cake looks awesome.

[kkak97]

I can only venture to guess that it is called a Texas Sheet Cake since it is in a
large sheet pan. Here is an article from the Dallas Morning News that mentions possible origins.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedconte...

[DLAOKC]

Oh, boy, do I second the link that Becca posted.... looks just like my Mama's cake, but we call it Texas Hot Cocoa Cake... and we bake in a 9x13 pan.... I have a family reunion to go to next weekend, and this cake is a MUST!

[Becca Porter]

As a matter of fact....

http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/the_pioneer_woman_cooks/2007/06/the_best_chocol.html

There are a lot of great recipes on this site. The most important thing about this recipe is, to use salted butter, or add salt. 1/2 teaspoon per stick of butter.

-Becca
www.porterhouse.typepad.com