FOOD NEWS
The Origins Of Texas Funeral Cake
BY AUTUMN SWIERS
Texas funeral cake is a chocolate sheet cake topped with a layer of fudgy chocolate frosting and chopped pecans. It can be made quickly and is commonly found at funerals.
The practice can be traced back to northern Europe's seed-loaded funeral cakes, which were more akin to cookies and focused on utilitarian nourishment.
The cake's ties to Texas might be due to the pecans, which are indigenous to south-central North America. Still, the cake's actual origins remain a little murky.
Alternate theories include that the cake is physically "big like Texas" and that it was invented by Lady Bird Johnson. Recipes started popping up in cookbooks around 1930.
They continued appearing through the '50s and '60s. By the 1970s, the Texas funeral cake that fans know and love today had officially taken shape.