Black Forest Texas Sheet Cake
A classic flavor trio made in crowd-pleasing size.
Some sources claim that Texas Sheet Cake gets its name because it first showed up in a newspaper article from the lone star state. Others say that it’s more about the fact that it’s the size of Texas. But in the end, it doesn’t really matter how it came to be named, it just matters that it exists because Texas Sheet Cake is a quick and easy dessert that feeds a crowd happily every time. And this version comes with something a little extra special – the classic black forest cake trio of rich chocolate, cherries, and whipped cream.
As far as I’m concerned, to know Black Forest Cake is to love it and this sheet cake just stretches all that flavor out into a much greater serving size. That combination of chocolate, sweet cherries, and fresh cream is just so classic and also so easy to love. But never fear – it’s also super easy to get that flavor too.
You know why? This all starts with a box of cake mix. A box of Devil’s Food Cake mix, to be exact, because we want all the rich chocolatey flavor we can get. Into that cake mix you’re going to add eggs and vanilla, but instead of the oil, you’ll mix in a can of cherry pie filling. It adds moistness but also lets that cherry flavor mingle nice and close with the chocolate.
Once your sheet cake comes out of the oven, you’ll top it with a simple boiled chocolate concoction that’s somewhere between a frosting and a ganache and spread it out all over the cake. It’ll harden a bit with a sugary crunch, but mostly it adds a layer of fudgy texture to this dessert.
Every slice gets a nice little dollop of whipped cream and cherry pie filling and you’re ready to serve. This cake is easy to make, but it’s one that always satisfies and that’s why I love to serve it when friends or family are coming over. It makes a lot, but there’s usually not a crumb left!
Black Forest Texas Sheet Cake
For the cake:
- 1 box Devil's Food cake mix
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 (21 oz) cans cherry pie filling
For the frosting:
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the topping:
- Whipped cream, as needed
- Chocolate bar
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 10x15-inch baking sheet with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract. Add cake mix and one can of the cherry pie filling. Whisk to combine, then spread batter evenly in prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, make the frosting.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, sugar, and butter and cook until melted, stirring often. Let mixture boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- Add chocolate chips and stir until smooth.
- Pour hot frosting over cake while cake is still warm and spread out with a spatula. Let cake and frosting cool.
- Once cool, top each square with whipped cream and a spoonful of cherry pie filling. Shave chocolate bar over the top and serve. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from I Wash Your Dry.