One of my favorite desserts at my family’s parties was my Aunt’s famous Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake (aka Chocolate Cafeteria Cake). Lucky, for me (and you) she shared it with me and I modified it to be gluten free. This cake is so moist and tasty; a real crowd pleaser! My husband and boys are requesting me to make this cake all the time now.
Gluten-free Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 cup buttermilk See notes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
ICING
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- *optional 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Grease and dust 13x18-inch jelly-roll pan or 13x9 pan
- In a large bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, xanthan gum, ground cinnamon and salt
- In a small saucepan bring water, butter, and cocoa to a boil (for about 30 secs), stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and pour into flour mixture.
- Mix until well-blended.
- Add buttermilk, vanilla, and eggs; mix batter well.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- For jelly roll pan bake at 375° for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- For 13x9 pan bake at 375° for 24-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- To prepare the icing, combine butter, milk, and cocoa in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and gradually stir in powdered sugar (about 1/3 cup at a time), walnuts or pecans, and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
- Spread over hot cake.
- Frosting will cool and set in about 30 minutes. It will be completely firm in 1-2 hours.
- Eat warm or wait to fully set; either way its wickedly good!
Notes
Texas Sheet Cake is suppose to be baked in a a big 13 x 18″ sheet pan or jelly roll pan so it is Big (like Texas) and it is a thin cake. I do not own one and I like my cake slices thick so I make mine in a 13×9 pan and it comes out wonderful and delicious every time. Either way Thin and Big or Thick you can’t lose with this moist, chocolaty and rich cake!
Hope you enjoy this recipe! Check out my other gluten-free recipes HERE.
Who doesn’t love chocolate cake? I’m going to have to give this version a try!
So- we made this yesterday for my daughter’s 12th birthday. One of her friends is gluten free so we decided to make it together for the girls. It was a fun baking project for the 12 year olds and it was delicious! Couldn’t tell it was gluten free, it was just yummy. We only used 1.5 cups of sugar for the cake instead of 2 and also less powdered sugar for the icing. Delicious, and thank you for sharing.
Oh–I want to try this! I love sheet cake but gluten free always makes me feel better. It looks wonderful!
I’m stuck in the house (quarantine) and just wanted to make something yummy. This was an absolute winner. I didn’t have buttermilk, so I used heavy cream. I also used coffee for the water in the batter because I thought maybe the lack of buttermilk would make it less flavorful. That being said, the cake was so delicious, moist and fudgey! When things get back to normal I’m going to make it with the buttermilk. Thanks for sharing the recipe