Texas Chocolate Sheet Cakes
This was one of the first recipes I scaled down to size. I’ve always been mesmerized by the versions of Texas chocolate sheet (or sheath) cake. My Mom’s version is made with shortening and contains cinnamon. I kept the cinnamon but replaced the shortening with butter. This little chocolate cake really cures the homesick blues.
Texas Chocolate Sheet Cakes
Makes 2 small cakes in ramekins.
Ingredients
For the cakes:
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon unbleached flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (plus more for greasing ramekins)
- 3 packed tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons water
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
For the icing:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 packed teaspoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons very finely chopped pecans, toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and butter two 8-ounce ramekins.
- In a medium bowl, stir together with a fork the flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder.
- In a small saucepan, add the butter, water and cocoa powder. Stir with a small whisk over low heat. Once it simmers gently and the cocoa powder is well dissolved, remove from the heat.
- In another small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Pour this on top of the flour mixture, then immediately pour the chocolate mixture on top of this. Using a small whisk, stir until just combined.
- Divide the batter between the two ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Make the icing while the cakes cool slightly. Have ready in a small bowl the powdered sugar.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter, cocoa powder and milk. Pour this over the powdered sugar and beat with a whisk to combine. Stir in the pecans. Pour this over the cakes while they are still warm. Serve the cake when cooled.
Oh fun! Not gonna lie, I am even more intrigued because it has Texas in the name
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This is my husbands favorite cake ever, but I never make it because it’s so much cake (gluten) around the house. I can totally have this amount, thank you so much for sharing this.
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Hi thank you for stopping by my site. It is great to meet another texas blogger. Those little cakes look so good. Looking forward to getting to know you. Ü
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It looks so cute baked in individual containers. Butter. Good choice.
The cinnamon sounds lovely.
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love ur place. just perfect for a family of 4 (soon to be 5)
i’ll be coming here often for ur dessert recipe 
thnx for sharing.
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Even the Beatles wrote a song about chocolate. It’s not a fad! Thanks for the great post!
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Oh Tina, you rock!
This is a childhood favorite and as me and my 4 sisters got older My Mom passed the spoon and let us learn to make it.
I too loveeeee this cake but it’s always too much and it’s a crime to let it sit around for tvery long (we will eat it!) .
I will give this a try as it’s just me and the hubby these day.
Lisa from Texas : )
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[...] for cake but every once in awhile a piece of cake sounds good. And then I saw this sweet recipe: Texas chocolate sheet cake for two. Perfect! Even though I am one, cake for 2 is a better size than a cake that serves a [...]
Cooking for two for Thanksgiving. Can’t wait to try this!
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Delicious! I just found this site and this is the first recipe I’ve tried. I had 6″ square bakers instead of round and used those. The cake is so moist! Is it the buttermilk? And I like the hint of cinnamon. I’m so thrilled to have found this site – I love that I have a go to site now that has scaled down recipes. Cheers!
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I made this recipe this weekend and it was amazing!! The cake was perfectly rich and chocolately — the perfect vehicle for the vanilla frosting I made (I wanted something more akin to a one layer cake). I baked it in a 6 inch round which worked wonderfully. Unfortunately, it ended up being more like “dessert for one” and I ate the entire cake within 36 hours. Thank you so much for the amazing recipe! Love the site!
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