Mom’s ‘famous’ Texas Sheet Cake

After my mom passed away my dad and I started the process of looking through her things. While this is a process I wish no one had to go through, it is an inevitable part of life. As hard as it was, I was also reminded of memories. Good memories of time spent with my momma. This is when I found her recipe box. However, it did take over a year and a half for me to look through it… 

My mom never claimed to be a master in the kitchen but what she did, without even trying, is put love into every single thing she did. Back when she was working as an accountant for a car dealership there wasn’t a birthday missed. Every single person, from the owner to the mechanics, would get a cake for their birthday, complete with candles. As I remember it, this Texas Sheet Cake was a fan favorite. Plus, you don’t need a mixer and the entire cake comes together in under an hour. 

Below you will fine the recipe written exactly as I found it in mom’s recipe box. I added tips below, back then instructions weren’t so detailed as they are now. I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I did growing up and don’t forget to lick the spoon!

Recipe:

Cake
Bring to a boil:
     2 Sticks oleo (salted butter)
     1 Cup Water
     4 Tbsp. cocoa
Add at once:
     2 Cups flour
     2 Cups sugar
     1 tsp. salt
     1 tsp. baking soda
Cream well

Add 2 eggs – lightly beaten
1/2 Cup sour cream – Mix well
Bake on a greased & floured (rimmed) cookie sheet* for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Icing
In a pot on the stove top bring to a boil:
     1 Stick oleo (salted butter)
     6 Tbsp. milk
     4 Tbsp. cocoa – Bring to a boil
Add 1 box (or 2 1/2 Cups) confectioner’s sugar. Mix well.
Add 1 tsp. Vanilla and one cup (chopped) black walnuts (optional).
Stir to spread consistency. 

Krista’s Notes:
While you are boiling the first 3 ingredients sift together the next four ingredients. After the chocolate mixture has come to a boil pour it into the dry ingredients, mix until the chocolate has cooled a little. Then stir in the 2 eggs, lightly beaten, and the 1/2 cup sour cream. Once everything is combined pour into the prepared buttered and floured jelly roll pan. 
*I used a 9 x 13 pan, because I wanted to make a deeper cake but a traditional Texas Sheet Cake is baked in a jelly roll pan 12 x 17.

When the cake has finished baking begin making the icing. The icing will start to thicken up if you make it too soon. When adding the confectioner sugar to the boiling chocolate, use a whisk and stir well to avoid lumpy icing. If you have one use a sifter, that will also help eliminate lumps.

There are two methods to icing the cake 1. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the icing on the hot cake and 2. You can let the cake cool completely. It’s a personal preference, and in my case it’s whatever I have time for. 🙂