This Classic Chocolate Sheet Cake, sometimes called Texas sheet cake is moist and fluffy with sweet, smooth chocolate icing, but this time it's gluten free! This cake is the taste of my childhood (we called it Scotchbake, and I'm still not sure why, perhaps Grandma was sneaking scotch while she baked) and reminds me of my grandma's house. I still have her handwritten recipe card that she wrote for me before she passed. I framed it and cherish it.
Key Ingredients to make gluten free sheet cake
- Gluten Free Flour Blend - Feel free to use all-purpose flour if you can handle it, or a gluten free flour blend of your choice. However, my all-time favorite is King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure. You can read why here.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - For everyday cooking, I like to use Hershey's Cocoa Powder, but for special recipes, try Ghirardelli for a richer chocolate flavor.
- Buttermilk - If you don't have buttermilk on hand, it's very simple to substitute! Simply mix ½ cup milk with ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice or distilled white vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes before mixing into the recipe. For another buttermilk substitute recipe, check out this tutorial from Live Well Bake Often.
The Best Gluten Free Flour for Cake
I've tried and tested many different gluten free flour blends and the clear winner is King Arthur Measure for Measure (always cheapest on Amazon). It can be used as a direct replacement in almost any recipe and it will taste just as good as the original. You can read about my gluten free flour blends experiment here.
How to make chocolate sheet cake
To make the cake
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a ½ sheet jelly roll pan. Typically, about 10 inches by 15 inches in size.
- In a large bowl, combine gluten free flour blend and sugar. Set aside.
- In a saucepan combine and bring to a boil: unsalted butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and water. Once it begins to boil, remove from heat.
- Pour chocolate mixture over flour and sugar mixture and combine until smooth with a wooden spoon.
- Add the room temperature buttermilk, room temperature eggs, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla, mixing very well until smooth.
how to get room temperature ingredients — fast!
Eggs — speed up the process of getting eggs to room temperature by dropping them gently into a bowl or cup full of hot water (not boiling) and let sit 5 minutes. Done!
Yogurt or Milk — To get yogurt to room temperature quickly, simple place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 50% power in 15 second intervals, stirring each time.
Butter — the best way to soften butter to room temperature is to get a tall glass and fill with hot water. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes until the glass is hot. Empty the water and turn the glass upside down over the wrapped butter. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. this will gently warm the butter through to the center.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until the center springs back or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not over bake.
To make the Icing
- Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl being sure to get rid of any lumps. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine and boil; unsalted butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and milk, stirring often, being careful not to scald the milk.
- Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and pour over sifted powdered sugar. Add vanilla and stir until smooth. If lumps still remain, pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer before pouring on top of cake.
- Pour onto cooled cake and spread out evenly. Top with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or chopped nuts. Slice into large squares and enjoy!
Looking for more delicious gluten free recipes? Try these favorites!
- Protein Brownie Bites - sneaky way to get kids to enjoy something healthy!
- Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Bars - so moist and tender, you'll never know it's gluten free.
- The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies - two tricks for perfection!
- Apple Upside Down Cake - a gluten free cake in a skillet, perfect for fall baking.
- Chocolate Ganache Tart - gluten free AND dairy free — no one will know it!
Texas Sheet Cake Variations
There are plenty of fun ways to modify this recipe for your tastes. Here's a few ideas:
- ADD NUTS - my grandma always added chopped walnuts sprinkled on top of the icing while it was still warm. Of course, feel free to use whichever nut is your favorite. This cake would be great with pecans too! Nuts adds a delightful crunch and a little bit of a healthy kick too!
- ADD MORE CHOCOLATE - add mini chocolate chips to the batter to add little bits of melted chocolate to the middle of the cake. And then of course, add more chocolate chips on top too!
- SIMPLE WAYS TO MODIFY THE FROSTING - Add a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the frosting to mirror the "hint" in the cake. Or, my favorite, add espresso powder to complement the chocolate. Simply add 1 tablespoon espresso powder with the sifted powdered sugar.
Gluten Free Chocolate Sheet Cake
Vintage recipe from my Grandma that is easy to make and tastes like the classic, but made gluten free.
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Servings: 20 Squares
Calories: 216kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup buttermilk - see text for simple homemade buttermilk
- 2 large eggs - slightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly grease a ½ sheet jelly roll pan.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Set aside.
- In a saucepan combine and bring to a boil: butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and water. Once it boils, remove from heat.
- Pour chocolate mixture over flour and sugar mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until the center springs back. Do not over bake.
Icing
- Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl being sure to get rid of any lumps. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine and boil; butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and milk, stirring often.
- Remove from heat and pour over sifted powdered sugar. Add vanilla and stir until smooth.
- Mix well and pour onto cooled cake and spread out evenly. Top with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or chopped nuts.
Nutrition
Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 324IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg
This is the original recipe made with lower sugar, a perfect recipes for a healthier dessert option
Low Sugar Chocolate Sheet Cake
Vintage recipe from my Grandma that is easy to make and moistly delicious, and with less sugar, feel free to indulge in 2 (or more!) pieces.
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Servings: 12 Squares
Ingredients
- 1 C All-Purpose Flour - Regular or Gluten-Free
- ¾ C Coconut Sugar
- ¼ C Butter
- 2 tablespoon Cocoa Powder - Unsweetened
- ½ C Water
- ¼ C Buttermilk - see text for simple homemade buttermilk
- 1 Egg - slightly beaten
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Icing (Optional)
- ¼ C Butter
- 2 tablespoon Cocoa Powder - Unsweetened
- 3 tablespoon Milk
- 1 C Powdered Sugar - or sugar free substitute (see above for suggestions)
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly grease a ¼ sheet jelly roll pan or 9x9 cake pan.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar.
- In a saucepan combine and bring to a boil: butter, unsweetened cocoa powder and water. Once it boils, remove from heat.
- Pour chocolate mixture over flour and sugar mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Add the rest of the cake ingredients and stir well.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes or until the center springs back. Do not overbake.
Icing
- Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl being sure to get rid of any lumps. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine and boil butter, cocoa and milk, stirring often.
- Remove from heat and pour over sifted powdered sugar. Add vanilla.
- Mix well and pour onto cake and spread out evenly.
- Enjoy warm or wait until later if you can. Either way, it's super delicious!
Notes
If you want to double the recipe, please do! Just use a 9x13 pan or large baking sheet with a rim. And add about 5-10 minutes of bake time, depending on your oven. Just be sure to check doneness in the center so you don't over-bake!
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