Texas-Style Chocolate Sheet Cake with Pecan Icing
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and NYT Cooking.
This uses the same tin, oven and portions as the classic yellow sheet cake, but the creamed batter is replaced by a hot-mixed cocoa cake, iced while still hot with a warm cocoa icing and toasted pecans. Thin, moist and ideal for feeding a crowd.
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Method
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Equipment
- 23 x 33 cm metal baking tin (not glass), greased
- medium saucepan
- small baking tray
- large bowl
- wire rack
- skewer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 438 kcal |
| Protein | 4.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 56.8 g |
| of which sugars | 40.5 g |
| of which free sugars | 39.6 g |
| Fat | 23.3 g |
| of which saturates | 11.6 g |
| Fibre | 2.7 g |
| Salt | 0.45 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 15 servings
Cake
- 250 g plain flour
- 300 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 3 g fine sea salt or table salt, or table salt about ½ tsp
- 170 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 35 g natural cocoa powder
- 240 ml water, just boiled
- 120 g soured cream, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
Icing
- 100 g pecans, roughly chopped
- 115 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 30 g natural cocoa powder
- 60 ml whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 300 g icing sugar, sifted
- 1
Heat oven, toast pecans. Heat the oven to 175°C (155°C fan) for at least 20 minutes with a shelf in the middle. Toast the pecans on the small baking tray for 6-8 minutes until fragrant, then set aside. Toasting deepens their nutty flavour and keeps them crunchy under the icing.
- 2
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in the large bowl and make a well in the centre.
- 3
Bloom the cocoa. Melt the 170 g butter in the saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the cocoa, then the just-boiled water, and let it bubble for 30 seconds. Hot liquid dissolves the cocoa and releases its flavour compounds, giving a deeper, rounder chocolate taste.
- 4
Combine the batter. Pour the chocolate mixture into the well and fold just until no flour shows, keeping the pan aside for the icing. Whisk the soured cream, eggs and vanilla together, then fold them into the batter until even. The soured cream reacts with the bicarbonate to lift the cake and keeps the crumb moist.
- 5
Bake the cake. Pour the batter into the greased metal tin and spread it right into the corners. Bake for 22-28 minutes until a skewer in the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs. A metal tin conducts heat quickly and evenly, so the thin layer bakes through without drying at the edges, which a glass dish can cause.
- 6
Make the icing. During the last 5 minutes of baking, melt the 115 g butter in the same pan and whisk in the cocoa until bubbling. Off the heat, whisk in the milk, vanilla and icing sugar until smooth and glossy.
- 7
Ice while hot. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the warm icing over it and spread quickly, then scatter over the pecans. The icing sets as it cools, sealing in moisture and forming a thin, fudgy layer on top.
- 8
Cool and cut. Cool on the wire rack for 1 hour, then chill for 30 minutes if you want clean squares. Cut into 15 pieces.
Storage
Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Squares freeze well, wrapped, for up to 2 months; thaw at room temperature.
