Hospitality baked in a hotel pan: Texas Sheet Cake with Pistachios

Texas sheet cake, a Lone Star State tradition, is big and generous and easy to make. Here, we dress it up with pistachios and Himalayan pink salt. Recipe—and substitutions—below.

SO IT TURNS OUT TEXAS SHEET CAKE IS A THING. Over the weekend, I was rumbling around on the intertubes, looking for something to bake but not anything complicated, like a Napoleon, or annoying, like (grinding teeth) cookies. And this is when I stumbled over a thing millions—literally millions—of Americans already know: Texas sheet cake.

This simple, vast chocolate cake is a Texas staple of home cooking and family events. Some versions are mildly chocolate, some pack a hefty chocolate punch, and they are all buttery and sweet (the version here has three types of sugar). It’s quick, easy to put together, pretty unfussy (some bakers pride themselves on doing all the prep in one bowl and one saucepan), and is it ever delicious.

The first thing to know about Texas sheet cake is that it is thin. You bake it in a sheet pan (sometimes called a hotel pan). Then when it has mostly cooled, you spread a simple chocolate icing on top. Traditionally, you may also sprinkle it lavishly with pecans, and of course alternative approaches exist (such as crushed candy canes in December). We decided to go with toasted, chopped pistachios (for the hint of green) and Himalayan pink salt (to temper the overall sweetness).

Give this a try—like me, you will want to keep this in your arsenal, for when guests suddenly appear, when you need to bring a tasty, appealing treat to a party or a barbecue or show off at work, or to institute a family tradition. You will love it.

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Texas Sheet Cake with Pistachios

Texas sheet cake, a Lone Star State tradition, is big and generous and easy to make. Here, we dress it up with pistachios and Himalayan pink salt.

Course Dessert

Servings 1 large cake

Equipment

• 13 x 18 x 1-inch sheet pan (also called a half sheet or hotel pan)

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup oil, plus extra for oiling the pan
• 2/3 cup cocoa (see Kitchen notes)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups white flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (see Kitchen notes)
• 2 eggs

For the icing:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 – 7 tablespoons sour cream (see Kitchen notes)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup toasted, coarsely chopped pistachios
• 2 teaspoons Himalayan pink salt (see Kitchen notes)

Instructions

• Make the cake. Preheat oven to 350ºF and oil the sheet pan well. Put water, 3/4 cup butter, the oil and the 2/3 cup of cocoa into a large saucepan—I used a 3-1/2-quart pan. Bring to a simmer, stirring to blend everything together. When the mixture starts simmering, turn off the heat. Stir in the vanilla and the brown sugar.
• In a medium mixing bowl, sift in the flour, white sugar, baking soda and salt (or you can just spoon it directly into the bowl). Add this dry mix to the liquid in the saucepan, stirring to make sure there are no lumps. Add in the eggs and the buttermilk and stir well.
• Pour this batter into the baking sheet, spreading it evenly. Slide into the hot oven. Set a timer for about 17 minutes—it may take a little longer depending on your oven. The cake is done when it is just barely pulling away from the sides of the pan and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Let it cool for about 10 or 15 minutes.
• Make the icing. Melt the butter gently in a large saucepan (I used the same one I’d used for the batter and yes, I did wash it in between). When it is just melted, turn off the heat, stir in the 1/3 cup cocoa and salt, and whisk until it is well blended. Whisk in the sour cream and incorporate well. Then add the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time, whisking until everything is well blended, shiny and smooth.
• Spread it on the cake—I found that a metal angled spatula was the right tool for the job. Sprinkle on the nuts and then the pink salt. Ready!

Kitchen Notes

Which cocoa? Some people use the darkest cocoa they can find, but my goal here was everyday accessibility—I used the Hershey’s cocoa I had in the pantry.

Buttermilk? Sour cream? This recipe uses buttermilk in the batter and sour cream in the icing, but you can use one or the other in both, if you prefer.

Fancy some salt? The salt is partly for that wonderful salt/sweet/chocolate flavor mix, but it also adds a nice visual touch. I used Himalayan pink salt, which came in a surprisingly wide range of choices at our local supermarket. Any medium-coarse salt will work as a garnish—black lava salt, for instance. Next time I am trying Maldon smoked salt.

Oil? Well, our friend Andy says that it’s called Texas sheet cake because it’s big and full of oil. That is, some bakers are adamant about using cooking oil or margarine in Texas sheet cake instead of butter. Do that if you want. You won’t get the same fine crumb, but it will still be delicious.

Storage? This keeps nicely for a few days, covered.