Ever once in a while I get a taste for something sweet and chocolaty. When that happens, I whip up Miss Cindy’s Chocolate Sheet Cake.
The cake is a common recipe you’ve probably tasted it on a homecoming table or made one yourself. I’ve heard the cakes called by various names over the years, but I call mine Miss Cindy’s Chocolate Sheet Cake because she taught me to make it years ago.
Miss Cindy’s Chocolate Sheet Cake
- 2 cups plain flour (all purpose)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter
- 6 tablespoons cocoa
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- sheet pan (18 X 13 or thereabouts)
Chocolate Icing
- 1 stick butter
- 6 tablespoons cocoa
- 3/4 box of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts – optional
Sift/mix flour, sugar, and salt together; set aside.
In a saucepan- mix 2 sticks butter, 6 tablespoons cocoa, and 1 cup boiling water together. Bring mixture to a boil; pour over dry ingredients and let sit while you complete the next step.
Mix 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon soda, and 1 teaspoon vanilla together in small bowl. I didn’t have any buttermilk on hand so I made my own by adding 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring cup-then pouring whole milk until the 1/2 cup mark. Let milk mixture set for 5 minutes before adding it to the recipe.
Stir chocolate-flour-sugar mixture that has been sitting to the side-being sure to mix well. Add buttermilk/egg mixture and continue mixing until thoroughly combined.
Pour batter into a greased sheet pan and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or till done.
While cake is baking, make the frosting. Add one stick of butter to the saucepan you used earlier-and melt over low heat. Once butter has melted add 6 tablespoons of cocoa and mix well. Remove from heat and add 6 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and nuts if you decide to use them-stir well. Gradually add in 3/4 box of powdered. You don’t have to use a mixer-unless you just want too.
Pour/spread the frosting on the cake while it’s still warm.
This cake is super easy, you can make it without dragging the mixer out. And I love that you can add the icing as soon as the cake comes out of the oven. I like to finish what I’m doing and move on so being able to do that fits me perfectly. Did I mention the cake is very tasty? It is!
Have you ever had this sheet cake? If so what was it called?
Tipper
Awesome and delicious chocolate sheet cake! I agree…very easy
Texas sheet cake.
Gotta make me one now, Tipper! thankye much! Kinda been a long time since I tasted that old cake.
Gotta make me one now, Tipper! thankye much! Kinda been a long time since I tasted that old cake.
Gotta make me one now, Tipper! thankye much! Kinda been a long time since I tasted that old cake.
Gotta make me one now, Tipper! thankye much! Kinda been a long time since I tasted that old cake.
Thanks Tipper for posting. Can’t wait to make it! Just wondering…what do you know of the different names that folks call these clothes I’m wearing under my street clothes these cold days? You know…long underwear, thermal underwear, Long-handled underwear, etc. (I own a pair of red one-piece with the back flap, but that darn flap won’t open as quick as I need it to!) I would love to hear your name for them! My best to you and your girls!
I also made this delicious sheet cake after getting the recipe in Texas. The local cookbooks called it Texas Sheet Cake. Previously I had gotten a similar recipe, but using sour cream instead of buttermilk. I was given the sour cream cake variation in southern Indiana. It was called Kentucky Brownies. I prefer the buttermilk recipe, extremely delicious!
I’ve been making this cake for over 40 years. We always called it Texas Sheet Cake. The small town school lunchroom served this chocolate cake when I was in elementary school. This was in Oklahoma, in the late 50’s. Best cake ever and I just remember tasting butter and chocolate. mmmmm
Lord, this looks luscious. Almost went into diabetic coma just reading the recipe. Wish there was a sugar substitute for powdered sugar. If there was, I’d try to make this.
God bless.
RB
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Yum! We can’t wait to make this. Thanks for sharing Miss Cindys recipe!
Tipper,
Miss Cindy’s Chocolate Cake looks
delicious. I got one of those
Duncan Hines Devils Food (in a box
type), and I might just fix that
thing today. Chocolate is one of
my cravin’ things. Thanks Cindy
for the receipe…Ken
We also called this Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake although I have no idea why. But considering the other comments, it is not uncommon.
This sounds so good. I love chocolate & anything with that much butter has got to be delicious.
I just baked the frozen cookies we bought from our little elementary school neighbor. White chocolate macadamia nut!
A “cheapskate” tip–I buy the Kroger deli cookies from the reduced rack & freeze them. They are very good–I don’t even repackage them.
I make one like this that is called Texas Sheet Cake. The recipe was given to me several years ago by a coworker who was from Texas. It is a really good cake, easy to make and doesn’t stay around very long. Yummy
I’ve made this scrumptious cake for over 40 years! My friend Wanda gave me the recipe and it was called
TEXAS SHEATH CAKE. I always wondered why it was called “sheath” — but later I saw the recipe in several places called TEXAS SHEET CAKE, which made sense.
I’m thinking that back somewhere, someone misunderstood the word and wrote “sheath” instead of “sheet.”
Tipper, Thanks for the recipe. When I can go into the pantry and use staples only, I am a happy cook. Not having to go to the store makes it a “real recipe”. I just might make this today. Great blog.
If you like Chocolate—you have got to make this cake. I had made it lots of times while I was working. The office staff loved this one. A friend Sherrie first brought the recipe to work and it was one that everyone wanted a personal copy of.
So get your coffee pot ready and make the cake and invite your friends over.
Thanks for posting this —–love your emails and just can’t wait to see what you have for us tomorrow.
By the way I live in Bakersville ( Mitchell County ) are you fermiler with this area??
Ginger Peterson
I made a wacky cake yesterday. It was apparently very common during the depression. It has no milk and no eggs. White vinegar and baking soda are the leveling agents. I saw on Pinterest there are now other varietys including lemon.
I iced it with a chocolate glaze while it was still warm.
They can sell all the boxed mixes they wish, but you cannot beat those wonderful tasty family recipes. Tipper, better grab all the recipes you can from family and friends. Sounds like Miss Cindy is a treasure trove of ideas and recipes!
I sympathize with children nowadays with those so-called healthy school lunches–mostly frozen re heated. The school lunches I recall were wonderful and made from scratch. Oh how I wish I had some of those old recipes. There was a casserole that was probably chicken casserole, and I have not been able to duplicate that wonderful dish.
With the holidays and snow I’m gonna look like the Good Year Blimp. So, maybe I can try that cake this summer when I’m getting a fair amount of exercise. 🙂
Every once in a while you get to want something like this – I could eat it everyday and more than once. I love anything chocolate. This recipe looks so moist and gooey. Are you working on that cookbook? Another one for the book!
This cake does have a fault. It tends to disappear quickly. There is a similar version with Coca-Cola and I used cherry Coke instead. It was yummy but disappeared, too!
I’ve heard it called by several different names, but we’ve always called it “Satan’s Delight”.
Please tell me you are bringing this to work today!! 🙂 My mouth is watering. I have never made a cake from scratch, and since I have a mixer now, this might be my first one to try! 🙂
Well for the late sleepers, there is snow out there and no school in East Tennessee! We have had a terrible blizzard with more than twenty deaths – due to folks freezing to death. It was and is the worst storm due to the many deaths. Power lines are down in the more remote counties and folks will be without power for at least another week!
STAY WARM! Eva Nell
My name for this Chocolate Sheet Cake is “Double-Chocolate Cake.” It comes from the cake itself being chocolate and the icing being chocolate. But my “Double Chocolate” that I’ve been making since “early marriage” times of cooking up something good is almost exactly like your Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe! I guess, across the mountains, we taught each other how to make this, and passed the recipe on to others! Delicious!
My grandkids are chocolate lovers, while I prefer the fruity kind of cakes. If it’s not chocolate, I end up eating it myself. I have tried just about every recipe you have posted on here, but this one will have to wait until I shed some pounds caused by making and eating pralines, pumpkin rolls, banana pudding and etc. It sounds like one slice of this yummy looking cake could use up a whole week’s worth of Weight Watchers points.
In Ohio where I’ve lived all my life, this recipe is called “Texas Sheet Cake” and it’s a wonderfully choclate-y recipe! Thanks for the reminder, Tipper.
It’s been many years since I have had that cake. I had lost this recipe. I am so glad you posted it!
I will make 7 grandchildren happy with this cake very soon!
This is an old standby for me..we always called it Grandma’s chocolate cake. The recipe in our family came from my Grandma Maude. It is identical to Miss Cindy’s. I wonder if the first go-round was in the 30’s or 40’s? Do you have any idea? Thanks!
Oh, Tip, that is a mighty fine chocolate cake. I like that it has lots of chocolate in it. I can’t remember where I got the recipe. I just looked it up in my recipe box and it is written on a 5″ X 7″ card in my handwriting but No note about where it came from and I have no memory of where I got it. I do remember that it is very good. Just the thing on a snowy or cold rainy day.
Save me a piece!
Tipper,
We would call that a large
“iced brownie”!
At least my (from scratch) brownie recipe is similar to Cindy’s sheet cake recipe!
I can’t make anything else chocolate until Spring. I’ve already made too many sweet things to get us through this ice.
Made those Chocolate no-bake oatmeal cookies (cow-paddies) this weekend. Banana pudding when the snow first started last Mon. week…middle of the week Razzle Berry pie…mercy!
We hid the cookies last night from ourselves….just in case that fresh snow skiff came through during the night…haven’t looked outside yet…I’m afraid to…
Thanks Tipper,