Brown Butter Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake

Get ready for Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake—the fall twist you didn’t know you needed. It’s the classic chocolate sheet cake we love in Texas, with a cozy brown butter and pumpkin spice twist. Trust me, your sheet pan is ready for this!

If you’re in the Wilson family, you know that Texas Sheet Cake is basically a non-negotiable at every family gathering. Birthdays, church gatherings, holidays—if we’re together, there’s this chocolate cake.  And somehow, a Texas Sheet Cake is like Jesus with his loaves and fishes: there’s somehow always enough, if not a few leftover slices to wrap in waxed paper and stash in the freezer.

This year for Thanksgiving, as the entire crew descends on Bellville Texas, I thought, why not switch things up just a little? Enter: Brown Butter Texas Sheet Cake—a nutty, caramelized twist on our beloved classic. The browned butter gives this that deep, toasty flavor I especially love in the fall, and dry milk powder that levels up the richness. Add a little cornstarch to keep the cake extra tender, and we’ve got a dessert that’s familiar enough to feel like home, but just different enough to keep everyone guessing what will come out of the oven next. I can’t wait to see their faces when they realize I’m not serving the same old ( but very reliable) Texas Sheet Cake this year.  Here’s to new classics and budding traditions!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake:

•  all-purpose flour

•  cornstarch

•  granulated sugar

•  ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves (though you could also reach for your jar of pumpkin pie spice)

•  baking soda and kosher salt

•  unsalted butter

•  dry milk powder

•  large eggs

•  pumpkin puree (I used canned)

•  vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. This includes flour, granulated sugar, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and all those cozy warming spices.  Alright, halfway there!

Next we’ll brown the butter.  We’re going for layers of flavor and the nutty brown butter will compliment all the cinnamon and spice.  If you’re new to browning butter, it’s very easy. You’ll find a tutorial here!

Simmer the butter until the water cooks out, the crackling subsides, and the milk solids in the butter begin to brown and get toasty.  Remove the pot from the heat though, keep in mind that it’s best to move fast because the butter continues to brown in the hot pan.  Add the dry milk powder to the hot butter and immediately whisk to incorporate and work out any lumps.  The milk powder will lightly toast in the hot butter.  It’s a wonder.

To finish the batter we’ll add all the wet ingredients to the dry.  Beaten egg, buttery pumpkin mixture, sour cream, and vanilla extract all get whisked and folded into the dry ingredients.

Spoon the pumpkin cake batter into a greased half sheet pan (we’re talking about the big rimmed 18×13-inch pan).  I think it’s important to make a sheet cake in an actual sheet pan. It makes for the perfect thickness of  cake with juuuuust enough room for a thin layer of glaze.

An offset spatula comes in very handy here to spread the batter into a thin and even layer across the pan.

If I don’t have a half sheet pan can I use a 9×13-inch pan?

You sure can! Prepare the recipe as written below but bake in a greased 9×13-inch pan.  Note that the cake will be a bit thicker, so you’ll need to extend the baking time by about 5-10 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and test for doneness with a toothpick (it should come out with a few moist crumbs). You may find that you have more glaze than you need for the smaller pan OR you could just go for a thick layer of glaze which no one has ever fussed at.