Great for parties or large get togethers, this large cake is rich and fudgy. With equal cake to frosting ratios, one little square is all you need to totally fill your chocolate quotient. Free of gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut and tree nuts. It’s also top eight free and vegan!
Do you know what I think of when I think of sheet cakes? Foot prints. Yes, foot prints.
My mom would make what she called Texas Sheet Cake (chocolate sheet cake) growing up. One fine summer day, she made one for a family party. Since it’s so large, she sat it on the floor of our so typical, 90’s, white Chrysler van–do you remember those? Well, in my haste to get in, I totally stepped RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the cake. My mom was pretty sad, but since it was time to go, there was nothing that could be done.
She had to present the cake, foot print and all to the party. Thankfully, my family is pretty chill, so we just ate the cake, with a wide perimeter to the foot print. Thank goodness sheet cakes are so large!
When I got older, I fell in love with Pioneer Woman’s recipe. It was a dessert my friend Stacey and I would love to make and pig out on. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the fact it had almost an entire box of butter in it.
I’ve haven’t had the cake in years and was wondering what on earth to make for Labor Day since we were having friends and family over. I decided to channel my mother and make a cake–sans foot print.
I really didn’t know how it’d turn out, taking Pioneer Woman’s classic cake, and completely using all allergy-friendly ingredients, but I knew my family was chill if it turned out badly.
Thankfully, this cake was AMAZING. My friends said it was almost brownie like because it was so dense and fudgy. The thick, satiny layer of frosting is just divine. The reason there’s no photos of the entire cake is because we ate wayy too much of it before I got my hands on a camera. It was THAT good.
I will forever love sheet cakes, because it doesn’t make you dig through inches of cake to get to the frosting. Each bite is slathered in frosting, and that to me is how cake should be.
This is perfect for birthday parties, office parties, get togethers, and anytime you want to feed a large crowd over overdose on chocolate cake by yourself.
Enjoy!
- CAKE:
- 2 cups gluten-free flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 4 heaping Tablespoons cocoa
- 2 sticks vegan butter
- 1 cup Boiling Water
- ½ cup plain rice milk mixed with ½ Tablespoon vinegar to make a "buttermilk"
- 3 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 4 Tablespoons of water to make "eggs"
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your gluten-free blend has this in it already)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- FROSTING:
- 1 and ¾ sticks vegan butter
- 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa
- 6 Tablespoons plain rice milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pound powder sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the cake.
- In a small sauce pan over high heat bring two cups of water to boil. (I find boiling extra ensures you have enough in case some evaporates.)
- In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the vegan butter. Add cocoa and whisk together until there are no lumps. I find a flat whisk works well for this.
- Measure one cup of boiling water and add it to the cocoa butter mixture. Allow it to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir.
- In a measuring cup, pour the "buttermilk" , "egg" and vanilla. Whisk and then pour into the bowl, stirring until all of the batter is combined and smooth.
- Grease a 13x18 inch sheet pan and pour the batter. Spread it until it's flat and even. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cake done.
- While cake is baking, make the icing. Melt the vegan butter in the large saucepan. (You can wash the large saucepan in between making the cake and icing, but I just re-use it.) Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the rice milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. until smooth. Pour over the warm cake, as this helps it spread evenly.
- Once cooled and the frosting has set up, cut into squares and die of chocolaty heaven.

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman
omgosh i remember being in elementary school and cafeteria lady sheet cake was my favorite! i haven’t had it in ages and little miss never has so i will be making this recipe for her soon!
Thanks Keeley! I hope you and your daughter enjoy! Isn’t it fun how food takes us back in our memories?? 🙂
I could totally go for a slice of this deliciousness right now! It looks so good!
Thanks Emily! I wish you would have…I ate WAYYY too much 🙂
Pinning and making soon! I know I’m going to LOVE this!
Thanks Lauren! I’m sure you will–be warned though–it’s hard not to eat the entire thing! 🙂 Enjoy.
This looks delicious!
Thanks so much!!!
I love the sound of these cake…such a delicious treat.
Thanks Megan. Yes, cake is a great treat!
Hi there! I am trying to make this recipe with eggs… If I omit the egg substitute, do you know how many eggs I would need for this cake? Thank you!
Hi Alison! Thanks for stopping by. Yes, you would need two regular eggs if you are not using egg replacer. Enjoy! Wishing I had a slice right now!!!