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I don’t always need a full sheet cake sitting on the counter, and I’m guessing you don’t either. This small-batch Texas sheet cake has everything we all love about the classic version, but it’s scaled down to something a little more practical for everyday, haha.
It’s still soft, chocolatey, and topped with that signature warm frosting that melts right into the cake. But, it’s just enough to enjoy for a couple of days without feeling like you’re committed to it all week long.
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Why This Is the Best Texas Sheet Cake
This version keeps the best parts of a traditional Texas sheet cake, the thin, tender crumb and that pour-over frosting that’s to-die-for, but it’s a size that actually makes sense for everyday baking. It’s simple, reliable, and comes together quickly, and you don’t even need a mixer.
Ingredient Notes
- Use unsweetened cocoa powder for that classic deep chocolate flavor.
- The buttermilk helps keeps the cake soft and adds a subtle tang. There’s really no substitution. If you don’t have any on hand, see the recipe tips below.
- Unsalted butter is best in this recipe, so the cake doesn’t get too salty.
- You can add nuts if that’s your thing. Finely chopped pecans or walnuts are the usual choices, but it’s up to you, or you can omit them completely (like I did here).
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly spray a quarter sheet pan with oil. Set it aside.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, sea salt, and baking soda together and set aside.
- In a microwaveable measuring cup or small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring often. Let it cool for a few minutes.
- Whisk the egg, vanilla, buttermilk, and water into the melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until a smooth batter forms, but avoid overmixing the batter or the cake will be dense.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 15-16 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
- While the cake bakes, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa powder, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar.
- Pour the frosting over the warm cake immediately after it comes out of the oven. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes to set up before slicing and serving.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- To make your own buttermilk, add 3/4 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1/4 cup milk, stir, and let it sit for 5 minutes. The milk will curdle slightly and work just like buttermilk in this recipe.
- This cake isn’t overly sweet on its own and that’s intentional. The frosting adds most of the sweetness. If you prefer a sweeter cake, you can increase the sugar in the batter to 3/4 cup.
- Make sure to pour the frosting over the cake while it’s still warm, that’s what gives it that classic Texas sheet cake look.
- This is meant to be a thinner cake, similar to a traditional sheet cake.
- There’s no mixer needed to make this cake. Just a bowl and a spoon will do.
- Don’t overbake the cake or it will lose its soft and tender texture.
Quarter Sheet Pan
A sturdy 1/4 sheet pan that bakes evenly, perfect for small-batch cakes and everyday baking.
You Can Save a Bowl and Use the Microwave
The traditional way to make the frosting is on the stovetop, but I want to mention that you can use the microwave too. Just melt the butter in a glass bowl (stirring often) and whisk in the remaining ingredients until smooth. Boom done (in case you need a shortcut, no judgment from me)!
Storage & Reheating
Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, keep it in the refrigerator and allow it to come up to room temperature before serving.
To freeze, wrap individual slices tightly or place slices in a single layer in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before eating.
Check Out These Other Chocolate Recipes
Small-Batch Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup flour (all-purpose, spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 TBS cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup buttermilk (see notes to make your own)
- 1/2 cup water
For the frosting
- 6 TBS unsalted butter (melted)
- 3 TBS cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 3 TBS buttermilk (see notes to make your own)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Instructions
For the cake
- Lightly spray a quarter sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, sea salt, and baking soda and set it aside.1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 TBS cocoa powder, 1/8 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda
- In a microwavable measuring cup or bowl, melt the butter in 30 second intervals until fully melted. Let it cool slightly.1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Whisk the egg, vanilla extract, buttermilk, and water into the melted butter until smooth.1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup water
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until an even cake batter forms. Mix until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared quarter sheet pan.
- Bake the Texas sheet cake for 15-16 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
For the frosting
- While the cake is baking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.6 TBS unsalted butter
- Whisk in the cocoa powder, buttermilk, vanilla extract and sea salt and mix until smooth.3 TBS cocoa powder, 3 TBS buttermilk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp sea salt
- Remove the frosting from heat and whisk in powdered sugar until a nice smooth frosting forms.2 cups powdered sugar
- If you're adding chopped nuts, gently fold them in.1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour the frosting over cake and spread it around using a rubber spatula or the back side of a large spoon.
- Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes prior to slicing into 12 pieces and serving.
Notes
- Frost immediately when the cake comes out of the oven.
- This cake isn’t overly sweet on its own because the frosting adds most of the sweetness. If you prefer a sweeter cake, you can increase the sugar in the batter to 3/4 cup.
- Don’t overbake. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with just a few crumbs.
- You don’t need a mixer for this recipe. Just a bowl and a spoon.
- To make your own buttermilk add 3/4 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1/4 cup milk and let it let sit for 5 minutes to curdle.
- Add1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts to the frosting (or sprinkle them over the top of the cake after frosting).
Mmmm this cake is incredible! Great recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much Amy! So glad you enjoyed it too. ☺️
I love that this recipe had less sugar! You’re right, you can’t even tell. This was very good and the cake had a nice spongy texture.
Hi Kelly! Thank you so much. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe (and the cake!).
Stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest. I haven’t made sheet cake in ages! This came out absolutely perfect. Great flavor, soft texture, and tons of chocolate. Winner!
Oh I’m so glad to hear it, Rae! Thank you so much, I’m thrilled to hear the cake was a success!
This cake was so easy to make and everyone LOVED it. I debated about reducing the sugar or using the full 1 cup, but it was plenty sweet with just the 1/2 cup. I’ll make this recipe again, thanks!
Woohoo! Thanks so much, Calleigh! Sheet cakes are THE best! 🙂
I LOVE the smaller size! I can’t have it lingering around, so this is just perfect. I added nuts to the frosting, that’s the way my grandma always made it and it was delicious!
Aw Jen! I love that you made this the way your grandma did! And I’m also happy to hear the cake was enjoyed. Thanks so much for the review!
I love that you cut the sugar in half for this recipe! Cutting back on the sugar just brings out the chocolate, in my opinion. This was very very tasty!
Hi Pam! Oh yes, it most definitely does, the cake is very chocolatey instead of just sticky sweet, but you still get a nice chocolatey sweetness from the frosting too. Winner winner! 🙂
This recipe is awesome! Yummy!
Thanks so much, Amy! 🙂
Delicious! This cake is moist and chocolatey-just what I was looking for. It’s plenty big enough too 🙂
Thank you, Ginny! I totally agree, 1/4 sheet is plenty!
It’s only me and my boyfriend in the house and a whole sheet cake would be WAAAAY too much cake. This was a great size and a great recipe. I’ll be baking this one again!
LOL Nicola! I completely understand that! Thank you – I’m all about small-batch recipes too; they’re my favorite! 🙂
My husband said this was one of the best he’s had. I laughed to myself, knowing I cut half of the sugar out! Brilliant work, Kristine!
Hi Vanessa! This makes me SO happy! I mean, I don’t disagree-it really is the BOMB! Thanks so much for the review! 🙂
What are the dimensions of your 1/4 sheet pan? I tried looking this up, but got several different sizes, the common one being about 9×13.
That does not sound like a small cake to me! I only have 9×13, 9×9,and 8×8 inch cake pans. Which of these, if any, do you think would work best? Thank you!
Hi Barbara! Mine measures about 9 x 13″, so I think that would be the best. The 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 would make the cake too thick. Here’s the link for the quarter sheet pan and I’ll add this to the post as well. I hope this helps. Happy baking!
Hi, looks delicious but I’m gluten-free would I be able to use Bob Mills gluten-free flour for this recipe??
Hi there! Thank you so much! I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but my hunch is that it would work fine. The cake texture might be slightly different, as GF flours tend to yield slightly different results, but it should still taste amazing! Let me know if you give this a try. 🙂
Love your recipe, but think a beginner baker would have a bit of learning curve with the directions. I lost all of my “hand written” recipes from a life time of baking, and I truly appreciate you sharing. This Texas Sheet Cake recipe was given to me in 1974, and it is always a hit when I serve or give one to someone who loves chocolate as a birthday cake. Have a great day.
Hi Martha! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake and thank you so much for that feedback. I’ll take a look and see if I can make them any more clear. I appreciate you taking am minute to leave a helpful comment. Have a good one!
Wonderfully tasting and easy to make cake! Frosting is the best and melts into the cake. I baked this for a birthday and decorated with blueberries and strawberries. This will be a staple.
Thank you so much, Larisa! I’m really glad it was a success and the fruit on top sounds delightful. I’ll try that next time. Yum!
This cake is delicious! My husband and I both agree this is the best version of this recipe we’ve had and I love the smaller size. I followed the recipe exactly except checked my cake at 13 minutes and it was done…thanks for sharing! I’m excited to try other things on your site.
This made my day, thank you so much Whitney! Oh that’s helpful, thanks for letting me know about how quickly yours baked. You definitely don’t want overbake this cake, it gets dry quickly because it’s so thin.