This vegan sheet cake is perfect for feeding a crowd! It’s rich and chocolaty, flavored with a hint of cinnamon, and topped with buttery chocolate frosting and pecans!
I’ve been wanting to create a vegan cake recipe that was perfect for parties and gatherings — something that would feed a ton of people. I already have fancier chocolate cake recipes like my classic vegan chocolate cake and vegan chocolate torte. I needed a recipe for a big old sheet cake! When I learned that Texas sheet cake was a thing I knew it had to be the inspiration for my vegan sheet cake.
There are lots of versions of this type of cake, but a few features you’ll generally find include a low profile, and spongy chocolate cake topped with chocolate frosting made with melted butter. Cinnamon and pecans make frequent appearances as well. I included everything, for what I think is the ultimate vegan sheet cake recipe.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Water.
- Vegan butter. You can find this in the refrigerated area of most grocery stores, usually near the regular butter. There are tons of brands out there, but Earth Balance, Miyoko’s, and Melt are a few popular ones to try.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Ground flaxseeds. We’ll be mixing this with water to make a flax egg, which is an excellent vegan egg substitute for baked goods.
- Flour. I’ve only made this recipe with all-purpose wheat flour (which you might also know as white flour). Will it work with other varieties? Possibly! I can’t guarantee that it will without having tried it myself though.
- Baking soda.
- Ground cinnamon.
- Salt.
- Sugar. We’re using organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan, as opposed to conventional sugar which is sometimes processed using animal bone char.
- Vegan yogurt. Vegan yogurt comes in lots of varieties, like soy yogurt, almond yogurt, and oat yogurt, to name just a few. You can really use any of them, as long as the one you pick is unsweetened and unflavored.
- Vanilla extract.
- Non-dairy milk. This also needs to be unsweetened and unflavored, but aside from that, any variety of non-dairy milk that you might drink is fine to use. I used almond milk, but if you want to use another variety and need guidance, check out my guide to dairy-free milks.
- Powdered sugar. This also needs to be organic.
- Pecans. You can skip these if you have an allergy or aren’t a fan. You could also swap them out with other nuts, like walnuts.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by heating up some water, vegan butter, and cocoa powder in a saucepan. Heat and whisk the mixture until the butter melts, then take it off of heat and let it cool.
Now make your flax egg. Stir water and ground flaxseeds together in a large bowl, then set it aside for a few minutes. The flax seeds will soak up water and gel during this time.
While the flax mixture sits, whisk your flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl.
Now add sugar, vegan yogurt, and vanilla extract to the flax egg. Beat the ingredients together at high speed for a minute.
Begin alternating adding the chocolate liquid ingredients and the dry ingredient mixture to the bowl with the flax egg. Beat each addition in at low speed. The batter will be on the thin side.
Once the batter is fully blended, pour it into a greased half sheet pan. Pop it into the oven to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Make the frosting while the cake cools. Melt vegan butter in a saucepan with cocoa powder and non-dairy milk, then remove the pot from heat and stir in powdered sugar, vanilla, and pecans.
Spread the frosting evenly over the cake. I like to place it in a bunch of dollops, then gently spread them together. Be careful, as the pecans can tear up the delicate sponge cake!
Tip: You’re welcome to whisk or stir the frosting together, but if you use a whisk like I did in the photo, be prepared to be picking pecan bits out of it. Maybe use a spoon instead!
Once your frosting has had a chance to set, you can slice and enjoy your vegan sheet cake!
Leftovers & Storage
Seal up your vegan sheet cake in a cake keeper or by wrapping it tightly in plastic. It will keep at room temperature for two or three days, or in the fridge for about five days. It’s actually really good cold (with a big glass of almond milk!), so I’d encourage you to keep it in the fridge.
You can also seal it up well and freeze it for up to three months.
More Vegan Cakes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
Vegan Texas Sheet Cake
This vegan sheet cake is perfect for feeding a crowd! It’s rich and chocolaty, flavored with a hint of cinnamon, and topped with buttery chocolate frosting and pecans!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ⅓ cups water, divided
- 1 cup vegan butter
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅔ cup organic granulated sugar
- ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened vegan yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ⅓ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Grease the bottom and sides of a 10 x 15 inch half sheet pan (Notes 1 and 2).
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Place one cup of the water, the vegan butter, and the cocoa powder in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Heat the ingredients up while whisking occasionally, until the butter is melted and the ingredients are fully combined.
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Remove the saucepan from heat and set it aside. Let it cool until it’s at or close to room temperature (Note 3).
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Stir the flaxseeds and remaining ⅓ cup of water together in a large mixing bowl. Set this mixture aside for five minutes, to gel. You can move on to the next step of mixing the dry ingredients in the meantime.
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Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
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Add the sugar, yogurt, and vanilla to the bowl with the flax mixture. Beat the ingredients together for about 1 minute using an electric mixer at high speed, until blended and slightly frothy.
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Using the mixer at low speed, beat about half of the flour mixture into the flax mixture, followed by about half of the cocoa mixture, followed by the remaining half of the flour mixture, then the remaining half of the cocoa mixture.
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Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
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Place the pan into the oven and bake the cake for 20 to 23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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Place the cake onto a cooling rack when it comes out of the oven.
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When the cake is almost cool, make the frosting. Place the vegan butter, non-dairy milk, and cocoa powder into a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Heat the mixture up, stirring or whisking constantly, until the butter is completely melted. Remove the pot from heat.
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Stir the powdered sugar and vanilla into the mixture, followed by the pecans.
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Spread the frosting evenly over the cake. Let it set for at least 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
Notes
- Do not use a cookie sheet. A half sheet pan will have sides that are about an inch high. Anything shorter may not hold all of the batter.
- This recipe can also be made in a 13 x 18 inch pan. Reduce the bake time by five minutes (18 to 20 minutes total). It will be very thin, but just as delicious!
- You’ll need this mixture to be cool before you add it to your batter. So, either take a break, take your time, or place the saucepan in an ice bath to speed up cooling.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (1/15 of recipe) | Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 122mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 868IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg