Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: Melt-in-your-mouth cake and glossy frosting.
Taste: Rich, fudgy chocolate in every bite.
Ease: Great beginner recipe and makes enough for a crowd!
Top Tip: Pour the warm frosting over the cake just 5 minutes after it comes out of the oven to get that distinct fudgy layer when it sets!
Recommended GF Flour: Use a high-quality flour that contains xanthan gum. Both King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour work well!
Would I make these again? 100%! My husband’s grandma always made this for birthdays and now this gluten-free take on the classic recipe has become a total family favorite!
xoxo erin
Featured Comment
From Robi: “This made me so happy! It tastes just like a ‘regular’ Texas sheet cake. Easy to make and tastes fantastic!”
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make this gluten-free Texas sheet cake. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: For the best texture, use a high-quality flour that contains xanthan gum. I like to use King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour.
- Sour cream: This is the secret to getting a moist, tender crumb in gluten-free cakes.
- Brown sugar: I like to add brown sugar, in addition to the typical granulated sugar, because the molasses content adds extra flavor and moisture.
- Water: Water works better than milk to evenly blend the unsweetened cocoa powder and melted butter without taking away from the rich chocolate flavor.
- Butter: This ingredient is key to creating a glossy, fudge frosting. The butter works with the milk for a smooth, pourable consistency and helps the frosting to set as it cools for that classic Texas sheet cake finish.
How to Make Gluten-Free Texas Sheet Cake
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Bloom the cocoa powder for intense chocolate flavor by heating it with water and butter until it boils, then set it aside to cool.
In one bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; in another, mix the wet. Stir the wet into the dry, then whisk in the cooled cocoa mixture until smooth.
This cake works best in a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan. You’ll know it has baked long enough when the edges pull away from the sides of the pan (and a toothpick test never hurts)!
Start the frosting just as the cake comes out of the oven (or a little before). You’ll make this fudgy frosting on the stove by combining the four ingredients until melted and smooth. Immediately pour it over the warm cake and even it out with an offset spatula. It’s hard to wait, but give it about 10 minutes to set before slicing and enjoying!
Gluten-Free Texas Sheet Cake (Crowd-Pleaser!)
Ingredients
Texas Sheet Cake
- ¾ cup (170g) butter, cut into 12 pieces
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- ⅓ cup (33g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups (300g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (106g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fudge Frosting
- ½ cup (113g) butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 6 tablespoons milk of choice
- 3¾ cups (450g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Texas sheet cake:
- In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the butter, water and cocoa powder. Stir often, until the butter is melted, then bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Add the sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until well-combined.
- Once the butter-cocoa mixture has cooled for at least 15 minutes, pour it into the batter and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Once the cake has finished baking (or several minutes before), begin preparing frosting.
For the fudge frosting:
- In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, add the butter and milk. Stir until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla until completely smooth.
- Pour the frosting over the warm cake. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting into an even layer. Allow frosting to set for about 10 minutes before slicing.
This was delicious! I made this for my gluten-intolerant toddler’s birthday and it was delicious! Definitely wouldn’t have guessed it was gluten free!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear the cake was a hit! Thank you for your kind feedback, Liz.
Can you substitute the brown sugar for more white sugar?
Hi Rhonda, thank you for your question! The brown sugar adds to the texture and moisture, not just flavor, so we wouldn’t recommend swapping it out and using more granulated sugar. We hope you enjoy the cake!
This made me so happy! It tastes just like a ‘regular’ Texas sheet cake. Easy to make and tastes fantastic!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the new recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback, Robi. Happy baking!
I just made this but dairy free and it worked great! I used cocojune plain coconut yoghurt to replace the sour cream ( it’s pretty high fat content so figured it would work), country crock plant butter and oat milk.
Thank you for sharing your positive experience making this recipe dairy-free, Rebecca! We’re so pleased to hear it worked well with those substitutions!
Hi! This came out more like fudge than cake. I cooked it for almost 30 mins and the toothpick was clean when I tested it. We thought the cake was raw when we cut into it. Any suggestions? Flavor was great. All your recipes have been a hit!
Hi Summer, we’re glad you enjoyed the flavor! We’re sorry you had this experience with the texture. Did you use a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan? Using a different size pan will make the batter thicker and change the baking time quite a bit. Not cooling the cocoa mixture enough, overmixing the batter, and/or cutting the cake too soon can all impact the texture as well. We hope these ideas help!
How would I make this dairy free?
Hi Amelia, we haven’t tried dairy-free substitutes with this cake unfortunately. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!