I’m opening my first can of pumpkin for the season for this Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Icing! This cake is gluten free, but it’s definitely a sweet treat! Cinnamon, pumpkin and brown butter are the stand out flavors here and the perfect way to ring in Fall!
I have a HUGE confession: I’ve never made a Texas Sheet Cake before. Nope, never. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve only tasted maybe one or two.
Yes, I did live in the south for the majority of my life. No, I never have made grits either…Take me or leave me, here I am.
BUT once I got to reading sheet cake recipes, I realized how stinkin easy they were! You seriously can finish making an entire cake in under 25 minutes. And with a Texas Sheet Cake, you get that crack-top icing on top! Like, sugar coma please.
So, I just dove right in.
I’ll warn you, this is no diet food. I mean, it has pumpkin and I used coconut sugar in it, but there is a serious dosage of sugar here. Sooooo you’ve been warned. Real dessert here. Might as well wash it down with a Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate! Or a Pumpkin Hot Cocoa…I don’t pick favorites.
This recipe is based off of Christina’s Texas sheet cake recipes in her cookbook Sweet & Simple. Of course, I twisted it in a few ways, including making it into a Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake. I made it small-batch, so you could eat the whole thing in 2-3 days while watching Netflix and it won’t haunt you for a week on your counter.
The recipe is also gluten-free. And like I said, pumpkin. But not pumpkin spice, not yet. It’s more of that natural pumpkin flavor and cinnamon. My faves.
I topped it with this killer brown butter icing. Browning the butter adds a nutty, rich depth of flavor to the whole deal. I used a mix of coconut sugar and powdered sugar. You could swing for the fences and make your own coconut powdered sugar and use that, but I just reached for the trusty traditional stuff. Just make sure you read the directions, because you pour the icing onto the cake while it’s hot out of the oven.
Ok, are you ready to eat some cake?? Because this Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake is seriously one of my new obsessions. I can’t get enough of the perfect icing-to-cake ratio and that cinnamon pumpkin flavor!
ONE
Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake
Recipe by Melissa @ Treats With a Twist
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
1 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob’s 1:1 gf mix)
1 cup coconut sugar
pinch of salt
4 Tbs. melted unsalted butter
¼ cup + 2 Tbs. unsweetened almond milk
½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
½ cup pumpkin puree (not “pumpkin pie filling”)
1 large egg, beaten
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. cinnamon
For the frosting:
7 Tbs unsalted butter
3 Tbs. almond milk
¼ tsp. apple cider vinegar
pinch of cinnamon
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup coconut sugar
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a quarter sheet pan (a 9×9 or 10×10 square pan works too) with parchment and grease any exposed sides with a little butter. For both the cake and the frosting, measure out the almond milk and vinegar, combine and set aside. So, you’ll have two small dishes of almond milk plus vinegar on the counter, ready to use.
In a large glass measuring cup (a 4 cup Pyrex works great) whisk together the melted butter, almond milk, vinegar, pumpkin, egg, vanilla and cinnamon.
Next, add all of the dry cake ingredients to the measuring cup and carefully stir until combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and use a silicone spatula to spread it into an even layer. This is a sheet cake, so don’t worry if your layer seems thin! Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (mine took 17 minutes).
While the cake is baking, make the frosting: In a small sauce pan, start melting the butter. Let the butter bubble, swirling it occasionally, until it starts to brown and deepen in color. When it smells nutty and looks a deep golden shade, turn off the heat. Carefully swirl the butter around for a couple minutes to cool it down.
When the butter has slightly cooled, add the almond milk and vinegar mixture (stand back! It will start to bubble, but it’ll settle down pretty quickly!). Then, add the cinnamon and vanilla and whisk together. Add the coconut sugar next and the powdered sugar, whisking until smooth. (NOTE: I wish I had sifted my powdered sugar better beforehand. Hence my rustic looking icing. You’ve been warned.)
When the cake comes out of the oven, place it on a cooling rack and immediately pour the icing over the top. Use an offset spatula to smooth it over the cake.
Let the cake cool 30min-1hour before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
NOTES
This cake can be kept on the counter, covered, for 24 hours OR in the fridge for up to 5 days. But seriously, it has taken you 5 days to eat a small sheet cake? Invite me over!
I used the baking pan that came in my mini oven (toaster oven) for this cake! It’s a 10×10” pan.
You can use buttermilk in a 1:1 swap for the almond milk + vinegar.
TO PRINT this recipe, copy and paste the text into a new document on your computer and hit print. Sorry I don’t have this fancy and “one click” for you like I used to, but techno stuff happens and we roll with the punches. Thanks!
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