One of my favorite cookbooks is Peace, Love, & Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue, by Mike Mills. It’s full of delicious barbecue recipes and fabulous tales from all over U.S. from some of the top names in barbecue. While this book is jam packed full of fabulous and smokey barbecue goodness, it also includes recipes for different salads (including this fabulous Shout Hallelujah Potato Salad), sauces, rubs, sides, and desserts.
One such dessert is Chris Mills’ Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake on page 17. Mike explains that in his family it’s a “rite of passage” to bring your first attempt at cooking to a family party. It will, he explains, invoke criticism, so members of the Mills family have developed thick skin. The first time Chris made this, he forgot a key ingredient, the buttermilk. The cake never rose and was hard as a rock. Since then, Chris has perfected the recipe and brings it to all family parties.
This is truly a delicious recipe. This is a sheet cake, it’s not a high rising cake, but the step where you pour the icing over the hot cake is the secret to the moist and fudge-like texture.
Chris Mills’ Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake
CAKE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk mixed with 2 tablespoons white
vinegar)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ICING:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 box (1 pound) confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional) (I skipped these)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 18-by-12-inch sheet pan.
Make the cake: Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl.
Combine the water, butter, shortening, and cocoa in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over the flour mixture.
In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla together. Add to the batter and blend thoroughly by hand.
Don’t use an electric mixer. Pour into the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester come out clean.
When the cake has baked for about 15 minutes, make the icing: Combine the butter, milk, and cocoa in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir in the confectioners’ sugar and walnuts, if desired. Pour the icing over the cake as soon as it is removed from the oven and spread it out evenly. Let the cake cool completely on a rack before serving from the pan.
Serves 20.
Hi Amanda, lived in TX for 14 years and yes this was one of "the cakes" I made all the time. Super simple and tasty to most folks. I use a whole cup of Buttermilk and its really moist. Sometimes I add a smidge of Kahlua as well. I still make it. Teenagers like it. I like dark chocolate so easy for me to resist.
Nice to fellowship with a TX sheet cake maker. he he
AmyRuth
Have made this cake many times Amanda. It's a real favourite of mine, and yours looks fantastic!
I love this cake, just haven't converted it over to Gluten Free yet!
Amazing!
I just made this yesterday for a birthday party in the evening! It's my stepson's favorite and so easy. It's been floating around our family for at least thirty years. No doubt it's a crowd pleaser. Great for potlucks at work too!
Oh, it's so gorgeous and moist! Salivary glands are working over time right now :D
Don't know why I haven't made a Texas sheet cake before. It's just the kind of cake I love! Yours look perfect!
The cake looks wonderful, so moist and delicious!
Mmm, looks good. I've lived in Texas eleven years now and haven't tried making a Texas Sheet Cake. Might be time to remedy that… =)
I've made this before and also omit the walnuts. A great cake that goes a long way…(quickly though!).
Simple and delicious. YUM.
I would give anything for a piece of that cake right about now! It looks so moist and delicious!
Yummo – what a delicious looking cake!
This is my kind of cake. I must take your recipe.
Ooh, I haven't had Texas Sheet Cake in forever! Takes me back and looks delicious!
I LOVE when a recipe calls for pouring the frosting/glaze on the still warm (hot)cake! Yum, so moist and good! I bet this was a hit for all the chocolate lovers.
~ingrid
This looks delicious, yum.
Thanks everyone, I need to make this again :)
I've been wanting to make a Texas sheet cake for a loooong time! This looks like a good recipe to try out- SO yummy looking!
I'm not a big cake person, ubut this is a great cake. Yours looks awesome.
My mom made one very similar to this. Dad, who worked with sheet metal for a living, made her two special pans just for this cake. She would run home at lunch, whip one up and be back at work in less than an hour so that all the folks there could have warm chocolate cake for whatever special occasion was going on, i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Has to be about my favorite! I'm going to have to get one of those pans out and make this one this weekend!
Love this cake! But I am from TEXAS and only use PECANS!
We love this recipe! Its always a favorite to take to gatherings because it feeds so many!
OMGoodness! I haven't even made the watermelon cookies yet and now, now you throw this at me. I want to make both! My butt does not thank you, but my tastebuds will!!! :)