Texas Sheet Cake

Growing up in Texas, flour and butter reign supreme (there is a butter sculpture competition at the Texas State Fair every year, and it's really quite good). This Texas Sheet Cake lives up to the buttery goodness, offering velvety notes and rich flavors. The cake is my take on an old family recipe, replacing the "Oleo" with brown butter and modifying a few additional ingredients.

Texas sheet cake is typically a single layer, adorned with chopped pecans (see a reference photo here). To add dimension, I cut my cake in half and layered it, adding more frosting and flowers... because everything's bigger in TX, right? Enjoy this chocolatey goodness, and come visit Big Tex in the fall to see the infamous butter sculptures!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 cups flour

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), browned

• 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla paste

  • I got mine from Trader Joe's, but regular vanilla also works

For the frosting:

• 1 stick butter

• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder

• 6 tablespoons milk

• 1 box powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 16x11 pan.

2. Sift sugar, flour, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, beat eggs slightly with a whisk. Set aside.

4. Brown the butter in a large saucepan, heating it over medium heat until it's fully melted and small orange/brown specs begin to form. Constantly stir to prevent the butter from burning.

5. Once browned, immediately add 1 cup of water and 4 Tablespoons of cocoa powder to the saucepan and bring to a boil.

6. Pour the boiling liquid over the sugar and flour mixture and stir.

7. Add eggs, buttermilk, cinnamon, baking soda, and vanilla to the mixture and stir until combined.

8. Bake for 18-20 minutes and begin combining the icing ingredients while the cake is baking.

9. To make the icing, cream the butter with an electric mixer until soft and fluffy.

10. Add cocoa powder, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat until fully combined.

11. Fold in chopped pecans (or you can choose to sprinkle these on the top once the icing is on the cake).

12. Once the cake is done baking, remove from the oven and spread the icing evenly on the top layer.

    1. Note: it's important to do this while the cake is still hot so that the icing reaches the right consistency. It will melt initially, that's okay.

13. Let the cake cool and the icing re-harden before serving. Top with flowers if desired, and enjoy!