Healthier Vegan Texas Sheet Cake

Every time we went to visit my grandma’s house in Fort Smith, no matter the circumstance, there were always two specific desserts: pumpkin pie and Texas sheet cake. Pumpkin pie was and still is one of my favorite desserts, so I always ate a lot of that and never really ate much of the sheet cake. As I got a little older, I branched out from my regular pumpkin pie and learned to love this delicious easy cake. My grandma would only put pecans on half the cake to cater to those who did and did not like the pecans on top.

Now that I live much farther away from Texas, I have realized that most people have never heard of a Texas sheet cake. It’s a single layer chocolate cake baked in a cookie sheet and spread with milk chocolate icing, and may or may not have pecans on top. Baking a cake in a sheet pan is also much easier to make and transport than a traditional cake. My grandma always put cinnamon in the recipe, creating a spiced chocolate dessert that is the epitome of fall. I’ve looked at a lot of recipes for sheet cake, which may call for > 1 stick of butter, sour cream, and cups of sugar. This recipe has a secret ingredient that makes this a healthy alternative to traditional recipes, without losing any of the indulgence!

Servings: makes a half cookie sheet (recipe can be doubled for a full cookie sheet)

Ingredients:

For the cake:

Cake base recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie’s Chocolate Cake with a Secret Ingredient

• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp ground flax
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 packets of stevia or 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup milk of choice
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

For the icing:

• additional 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter if not vegan)
• additional 1/8 teaspoon salt (1/4 teaspoon if using coconut oil)
• additional 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• additional 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• additional 3-4 tablespoons milk of choice
• additional splash vanilla extract
• pecans (optional)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a half cookie sheet and set aside
• Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, cocoa powder, and flax. Combine and set aside
• In a separate bowl, melt coconut oil. Stir in pumpkin, sugar, and stevia to combine. Add milk and vanilla to combine. Add in flour mixture and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Spread onto cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cool
• For the icing: melt additional butter or coconut oil. Add salt, cinnamon, and vanilla and stir. Pour in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and 3 tablespoons milk. Stir until combined and icing is shiny, adding additional milk 1 teaspoon at a time until the icing looks shiny as it does in the picture above. It should not be as thick as buttercream, but not as thin as a glaze. Spread over cooled cake and top with chopped pecans if desired.

 

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