Texas Sheet Cake

5 from 1 vote

This classic Texas sheet cake is rich, chocolatey, and ultra-moist with a warm pour-on frosting. Easy to make and perfect for a crowd!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: sheet cake, texas sheet cake

Servings: servings

Calories: 265kcal

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 18x13 inchbaking sheet.
Add butter, cocoa powder, and water to a medium sauce pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Set aside.
Add egg mixture to the flour mix and stir to combine.
When cocoa mixture is boiling, add it to the flour and egg mix and stir to combine. Be sure to mix thoroughly so ensure no lumps in the batter.
Pour batter into the prepared baking sheet and smooth with a spatula.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. While the cake bakes, prepare the frosting.
Add the milk, cocoa, and butter to a medium sauce pot and bring to a boil.
Once it boils, remove from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar. Whisk to combine making sure no lumps are present. Pour the hot icing over the hot cake using a small spatula to smooth the icing over the entire surface. Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Sift the cocoa and powdered sugar if needed. Sometimes they can get clumpy in the container and those little clumps don't always dissolve when heated.
Grease the pan well. I use the wrapper from the butter and slather that all over the baking sheet. Make sure you get the edges and corners so the cake doesn't stick!
Add any decorations before the icing sets. If you want to add sprinkles to make your sheet cake more festive or chocolate chips for more chocolate flavor, add them a few minutes after pouring on the icing. You don't want the icing so hot that it makes the sprinkles bleed or melt, but you also don't want the icing to be completely set either, or the sprinkles won't stick. (In other words, the icing should be wet, but no longer piping hot.)