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Nothing beats a traditional, old fashioned Texas Sheet Cake recipe when you need a comforting dessert that feeds a crowd.
While the original Texas sheet cake is always a winner, this version includes a delicious secret! We used a time-tested ingredient combo that takes the flavor of this chocolate dessert to the next level: tangy buttermilk and classic Dr Pepper!
Growing up in Texas, my Mom made this exact cake for our backyard pool parties we hosted. Decades later (and I’m not saying how many decades) 😉 it’s still my ultimate nostalgic treat!
Because we always asked for this cake, our family tradition continued into the holidays when my Mom served it as one of our favorite Thanksgiving Desserts every year.
Whether you’re hosting an outdoor summer party, baking for the holidays, or just need a great Texas sheet cake recipe for a potluck, this recipe is a sure-fire winner!
Table of Contents
Why This is The Best Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
- Buttermilk & Dr Pepper:
The natural carbonation from the soda works directly with the buttermilk to create an ultra-moist texture. It also adds a subtle caramel-like sweetness that completely deepens the rich cocoa profile. - Better than Pioneer Woman’s Texas Sheet Cake:
Her famous recipe calls for nearly 4 sticks of butter, which can sometimes make the cake feel heavy and greasy. Our Dr Pepper and Buttermilk combo keeps the crumb ultra-moist and light with half the amount of butter. - Boiled Chocolate Pecan Icing:
You pour it over the top of the chocolate cake as soon as it comes out of the oven while the chocolate cake is still hot, and the icing melts into the cake for a super moist and heavenly chocolate dessert! - Feeds A Crowd:
It bakes beautifully in a 10×15 pan, giving you 20 heavenly slices perfect for holiday dessert tables, pool parties, and potlucks.
Equipment Needed
To get the perfect, old fashioned, thin cake texture, choosing the right sized baking pan is absolutely essential!
- The Right Texas Sheet Cake Pan: You’ll need a standard 10×15-inch jelly roll pan. Please note that a true commercial half-sheet pan (13×18 inches) is much larger and will cause your cake batter to spread too thin, making the cake dry out.
- Saucepans: You will need one large saucepan to melt the butter and cocoa mixture for the cake base, and one medium saucepan to boil the chocolate pecan icing.
- Mixing Bowls: Grab one large mixing bowl for your dry ingredients and one medium mixing bowl to whisk your wet buttermilk and egg mixture.
- Kitchen Essentials: A sturdy hand whisk and a rubber spatula are needed to combine the ingredients gently without overmixing.
- Optional Baker’s Tool: An offset spatula makes it incredibly easy to spread the warm icing evenly to the very edges of the hot cake without tearing the delicate crumb structure.
- Measuring Tools: You will need a standard set of measuring cups and spoons to accurately measure your flour, sugar, liquids, and spices.
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Use the best quality cocoa you can find since chocolate is the star of the show. Regular unsweetened cocoa powder works perfectly, but you can also use Dutch-process or dark cocoa powder for an even deeper fudge flavor.
- Classic Dr Pepper: This is our signature Texas twist! It adds intense moisture and a subtle caramel-like sweetness. If you are out of Dr Pepper, you can substitute equal amounts of classic Coca-Cola, root beer, or cherry cola. Do not use diet or zero-sugar versions, as the real sugar is needed for the cake texture. For a more traditional cake, you can use water.
- Buttermilk: Essential for creating that famous tender crumb. The acid reacts with the baking soda to make the cake incredibly soft. If you don’t have it, make a quick substitute by adding one and a half teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a half cup of regular milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
- Unsalted Butter: We use one stick in the cake and one stick in the icing. If you only have salted butter on hand, that is totally fine! Just omit the 1/4 teaspoon of salt from the dry ingredients in the cake base.
- Granulated Sugar and Powdered Sugar: You need regular granulated sugar for the cake batter to keep it light. For the boiled icing, you must use powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) so it dissolves completely into a smooth, glossy fudge glaze without any graininess. [1]
- Chopped Pecans: Traditional Texas sheet cake is almost always topped with pecans. For the best flavor, take a few minutes to toast them in a dry skillet first. If you have a nut allergy, you can completely leave them out or substitute them with a handful of mini chocolate chips sprinkled over the icing.
How To Make Texas Sheet Cake with Buttermilk
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring until the butter has melted and the cocoa is completely smooth.
- Pour the hot cocoa mixture over the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the batter and stir just until smooth.
- Stir the cake batter just until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Then place the pan into a preheated oven to bake at 350°F. for 18 to 22 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, make the boiled chocolate icing.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, and Dr Pepper.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, stirring constantly until smooth.
- Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla extract, then fold in the chopped pecans.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the warm icing evenly over the warm cake. Spread gently with an offset spatula if needed. Allow the icing to cool and set before slicing and serving.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Storage and Freezing Instructions
- Keep Tightly Covered: Because of the rich boiled icing, keeping the cake tightly covered is the secret to maintaining that incredible moisture.
- Room Temperature: Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. It stays perfectly soft on your kitchen counter.
- Refrigerator: You can keep the cake in the fridge for up to a week. If you refrigerate it, just make sure to bring the slices back to room temperature before serving, for the best, most tender texture.
- Freezing: This cake freezes beautifully! Wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. This is perfect when you have a few leftover slices after a party.
Pro Tips for The Best Texas Sheet Cake
- Temperature Matters: Use room temperature buttermilk and eggs. Cold ingredients can cause the melted butter mixture to seize up, while room temperature ingredients create a perfectly smooth batter.
- Watch The Mixing: Do not over mix the batter after combining the wet and dry ingredients. Stir just until the flour disappears to keep the cake texture soft and delicate.
- Spread It Evenly: After pouring the batter into the pan, tilt your sheet pan back and forth slightly to ensure that the batter fills out all the corners before going in the oven. This will help the cake bake evenly.
- Do It While It’s Hot!: Say what?!! You must pour the warm icing over the cake IMMEDIATELY after it comes out of the oven, while it is still hot! Do not delay. This is a CRUCIAL step. This allows the icing to melt into the cake creating that super moist, tender cake that is extra flavorful.
- Toast The Pecans: Trust me, it’s worth taking a few extra minutes to toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat until they are fragrant! This brings out the natural oils, and adds incredible crunch.
- Use Quality Cocoa: For the best flavor, invest in a high quality unsweetened cocoa powder. Since the chocolate flavor is the star of the show, a good cocoa powder yields a much richer, deeper fudge flavor.
- Let It Set: Allow the icing to cool and set completely before slicing. An offset spatula makes it very easy to spread the warm icing evenly to the edges without tearing the cake.
- Make It Ahead: This cake actually tastes better the next day. Leaving it covered overnight allows the Dr Pepper, buttermilk, and chocolate flavors to meld together beautifully.
- Perfect Pairing: Serve each slice of cake with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream for an extra special dessert.
Texas Sheet Cake Variations
Are you one who likes to change things up every once in awhile? Then you’ll love these sheet cake variations.
- White Texas Sheet Cake – If you want a break from rich chocolate, a white sheet cake features a vanilla – almond cake base topped with a warm, sugary white chocolate or vanilla boiled icing.
- Mexican Chocolate Sheet Cake – To give this cake a warm, cozy twist, add 1 – 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake – For the ultimate flavor combination, swap out the cocoa powder in the cake and icing for creamy peanut butter. It creates a rich, nutty, melt-in-your mouth dessert that peanut butter lovers will obsess over.
- Texas Sheet Cake Cookies – Love the flavor but prefer individual servings? Transform this cake into rich, fudgy, chocolate cookies, topped with a pour of the warm chocolate pecan frosting right on top of each cooking.
- Gluten Free Texas Sheet Cake – You can easily make this cake allergy-friendly! Simply swap the all-purpose flour for a high quality 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour blend. The Dr Pepper and buttermilk will ensure that the cake stays completely moist and doesn’t dry out.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Dr Pepper adds incredible moisture, enhances the deep chocolate flavor, and gives the cake a subtle, caramel-like sweetness you can’t get from plain water. Plus, it gives the cake an extra authentic Texas twist!
Yes, you can use Coca Cola, root beer, cherry cola, or whatever you have on hand. They all work beautifully. Just keep in mind that each substitution will give the cake a slightly different flavor profile.
Buttermilk is the secret to that soft, light, velvety chocolate sheet cake. It reacts differently with the baking soda to produce a soft, moist cake with a very slight tang that perfectly balances out the sweetness of the chocolate cake.
Absolutely! In fact, this old fashioned Texas Sheet Cake is an excellent make ahead dessert because it actually tastes better the next day! The flavors have time to more fully develop and the cake becomes even more moist after resting overnight.
The cake is done baking when the top springs back lightly when touched, or when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs.
Yes you can. However, your cake will be much taller and thicker and behave more like a traditional cake than a thin sheet cake. Because the 9×13 pan is smaller and deeper, it will take longer to bake, usually around 25 – 30 minutes.
Our traditional 10×15-inch jelly roll pan yields 20 thin, rich sheet cake slices, which is why it is so perfect for feeding a crowd! If you bake it in a 9×13-inch pan, the cake will be much thicker, so you will get about 12 – 15 standard cake slices instead.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Layer Cake
- German Chocolate Cake
- Texas Pecan Pie
f you made this recipe, I'd love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below and let me know if you added your own twist. Don't forget to rate the recipe ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. This helps others find the recipe too!
Recipe
Texas Sheet Cake Recipe with Buttermilk and Dr Pepper
Equipment
- Half-sheet pan or 10×15-inch jelly roll pan
- Large saucepan
- Medium saucepan
- Medium mixing bowl
- whisk from Amazon.com (affiliate link)
- Offset spatula, optional
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Dr Pepper
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Pecan Icing
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons Dr Pepper
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan.
Make The Sheet Cake
- In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large saucepan, combine the Dr Pepper, butter, and cocoa powder.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring until the butter has melted and the cocoa is completely smooth.
- Pour the hot cocoa mixture over the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the batter and stir just until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Make The Chocolate Icing
- While the cake is baking, prepare the icing.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, and Dr Pepper.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, stirring constantly until smooth.
- Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla extract, then fold in the chopped pecans.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the warm icing evenly over the warm cake.
- Spread gently with an offset spatula if needed.
- Allow the icing to cool and set before slicing and serving.
Hi, I’m Michele Feuerborn, a home cook with 25+ years experience, and former AllRecipes Allstar, creating bold & easy Southern, Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Instant Pot recipes. Featured in publications like Parade and BuzzFeed. Read More…
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