Aunt Dorothy's Texas Sheet Cake Recipe

This classic Texas sheet cake is a chocolate lover's dream! Insanely moist chocolate cake is topped with a fudge-like frosting and chopped pecans.

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT22M

Total time: PT37M

Rating

4.43 stars (70 reviews)

Keywords

chocolate cake, classic cake recipe, pecans

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup water
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup unsalted butter
6 tablespoons milk
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Cuisine

American

Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.
Make the Cake: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the water and cocoa powder, increase the heat to medium, and whisk until the mixture reaches a bowl. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center, add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla, and whisk them together. Add the chocolate mixture and gently whisk to combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached, 18 to 22 minutes.
Make the Frosting: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the milk and cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. If using, stir in the chopped nuts.
Immediately pour the frosting over the warm cake, using an offset spatula to gently spread it evenly over the surface. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes so the frosting can set, then serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 533 kcal
Carbohydrates: 75 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 26 g
Saturated Fat: 14 g
Cholesterol: 75 mg
Sodium: 173 mg
Sugar: 59 g

Reviews

Heidelind on 2026-05-23 (5 stars):
This cake is perfect! It tastes like childhood:) I really enjoyed the backstory too. Makes it so much more special. My 7 year old helped me make it, he did most of it actually, so very easy!
Julie on 2026-05-06 (5 stars):
This recipe is an old favorite and an easy last minute/no time dessert. I’ve made this both ways - with sour cream or with Buttermilk. Either way is good and even better with Coffee instead of water. People complaining about whisking or mixing must have never baked. I grabbed my whisk and look at and decided heck no. There’s a whole lot of hand mixing going on here. This recipe is delicious!
Crystal Lea on 2022-02-23 (5 stars):
This is one of my favorite recipes from your site. Thank you!
Nancy on 2022-02-06 (5 stars):
Easy, quick, delicious, and the perfect size for our small family.
Lynette on 2021-07-29 (3 stars):
The unnecessary whisking in this recipe created frustration along with waste and extra cleanup. There was a giant ball of heavy, thick ingredients trapped inside of the whisk after adding wet ingredients to so many dry ingredients and required a lengthy effort to release it using more tools. A nearly identical recipe in my Southern Cooking cookbook is so much easier, calling for whisking only once compared to the five times in this recipe. Whisks are great, but they're not always the right tool. The cake is still cooling on the counter. It smells wonderful and looks good.
Caroline Campbell on 2020-07-17 (5 stars):
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it for my son’s 10th birthday recently as we celebrated with some family members. It was a big hit! It tasted like a brownie type cake, which was delicious. I didn’t put nuts on top as my son doesn’t like them. But it turned out exactly as in the video and pictures. I will be making it again for sure. 🥰
Colleen on 2020-06-29 (4 stars):
We too use this recipe for birthday celebrations, only we use m&m's on the top to make it festive! I love your idea of using Sour Cream, my recipe uses buttermilk. Can't wait to try your version! :)