Vegan Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake
Adapted from this recipe for classic chocolate Texas sheet cake from the food network.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 9" x 13" Cake
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Dry Cake:
- 2 ¼ cups gluten-free flour blend {I recommend Pamela's Artisan Flour Blend} {or make your own by combining: 1 cup brown rice flour, ¾ cup tapioca starch, ½ cup sweet rice flour, ¾ tsp guar gum}
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
Liquid Cake:
- 2 cups maple syrup {or another liquid sweetener of your choice}
- ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce {I used my homemade applesauce}
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Butter Chocolate Mixture:
- 1 cup dairy-free butter
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup boiling water
Frosting:
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk {should be refrigerated overnight}
- 6 oz non-dairy baker's chocolate
- ½ cup maple syrup {or liquid sweetener of your choice}
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Optional:
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter a 9" x 13" x 2" rectangular baking dish {or something of a similar size}. Set aside.
- Combine all dry cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add in wet cake ingredients, and mix everything together with a wooden spoon.
- Place butter in a small sauce pan and warm on medium-low heat. Boil 1 cup water separately in the meantime. Once butter is melted, add in cocoa powder and stir the mixture to combine. Pour boiling water into the mixture and mix everything together into a smooth chocolate mixture. Pour into the other cake ingredients and stir everything well with a wooden spoon to combine. Pour into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the top to even everything out.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 27 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for the cake to fully cool.
- FROSTING: Remove chilled can of coconut milk from the fridge. Use a spoon to carefully extract the white cream layer at the top of the can, and discarding all the water that separated at the bottom of the can. {Important: try to really only scoop out the solid white part, leaving ALL water behind in the can}.
- Place the coconut cream into a medium sized mixing bowl and use a mixer to whip it into whipped cream. Add in maple syrup and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler {or microwave} and pour into the whipped mixture. Mix everything to combine, and place in the fridge to chill for at least half an hour {over which time the liquid mixture will solidify}. Once chilled, use a spatula to mix it a little. It will look like something like this when done:
- If using pecans {optional -- I skipped this part}, then spread the pecans over the cake, then frost the cooled cake and enjoy! {See further notes on frosting tips}.
Notes
Store any leftover cake in the fridge. It will keep fresh for days. It also freezes very well.
A few notes on the frosting: Traditional Texas sheet cake frosting is more solid and hard since it relies on the mixture of sugar and butter. I felt like going with a slightly more soft frosting {since the cake is in a pan that's very forgiving and I'll take a good gooey melted chocolate topping over a crunchy one any day ;) }.
This particular frosting has a solid soft spreadable consistency after chilling. If however you frost your cake while it's still warm/hot, then the frosting will turn slightly more gooey {as you can see in the pictures of the finished cake, which I frosted while still warm}. I love it that way, but if you prefer a more solid frosting, then make sure your cake is chilled first.
Either way, the frosting will solidify once the cake has chilled in the fridge.
For a more traditional frosting, have a look at the frosting in this recipe {but use non-dairy butter and milk}.