A chocolaty Texas sheet cake with pecans in the icing scores big in the Lone Star State and beyond. Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer. 2,000 calories a day is used for cake icing recipe nutrition advice. Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
The classic recipe generally calls for buttermilk, but this updated version substitutes sour cream for a pleasantly acidic flavor and a particularly moist and tender texture. Pour batter into a 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly roll pan or sheet cake pan. Bake cake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cake should pull away from sides of the pan and spring back when you touch it. Ice hot cake immediately, following instructions below. With about 10 minutes left on timer, prepare icing. With a spatula or knife, spread icing to edges.
Let cake cool, then cut into squares to serve. Replace the water in the batter with brewed black coffee, cooled to room temperature, for a mocha flavored cake. Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the batter to make a Mexican chocolate cake. Substitute chopped walnuts, almonds, or peanuts for the pecans. Or omit them altogether for a nut-free version. Leave out the cocoa powder when you make the batter and the icing for a white Texas sheet cake version. I don’t like this at all.