Texas Sheet Cake # 2

Every Texan has a sheet cake recipe. This one earns its spot with sour cream in the batter and a warm cocoa icing that soaks right into the top.

The batter comes together quick. Boil water, margarine, and cocoa together, then stir in the dry ingredients along with sour cream and eggs. Pour it into a jelly roll pan and it bakes up thin, moist, and intensely chocolatey.

Five minutes out of the oven, while the cake is still warm, you pour on a boiled icing made from milk, cocoa, margarine, powdered sugar, and vanilla. It seeps into every pore of the cake, creating a glossy, fudgy top layer that sets up slightly chewy.

Pro Tips

• Ice the cake while it’s still warm. This isn’t optional. The warm cake absorbs the icing, fusing the two together. Let it cool too long and the icing just sits on top instead of melting in.
• Use a proper jelly roll pan, not a regular sheet pan. The 1-inch sides keep the thin batter contained. A rimless or low-sided pan will give you overflow problems.
• Don’t overbake. Twenty minutes is all you need. The cake should look set but still slightly soft in the center. It firms up as it cools and the icing adds moisture back.