Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake

Texas Sheet Cake

Can I put this under snacks? Because seriously, I could graze on it all. damn. day.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 10 (unless I'm there, then pretty much only me)

Ingredients:


Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups white sugar
¼ tsp salt
7 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup butter (16 tbsp or 2 sticks)
1 cup boiling water
½ cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
½ tbsp espresso powder (optional)

Frosting
1 cup finally chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
14 tbsp butter (1¾ stick)
6 tbsp cocoa powder
6 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
3½ cups confectioners sugar

Directions:


1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.

3. In a saucepan over med-high heat, melt the butter, then stir in the cocoa. Pour in the boiling water and boil, stirring for about a minute, then take it off the heat and pour it over the flour mixture. Give it a good stir.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla. Stir this into the chocolate flour mixture.

5. Poor into a sheet cake pan and bake for 20 minutes.

6. While the cake it baking, make the icing. In a sauce pan over med-high heat melt the butter, then stir in the cocoa powder, stir to combine, then take off the heat. Add the milk, vanilla and confectioners sugar, stirring well to combine. Stir in the pecans. Pour the icing over the hot cake.

TRICK: If you don't have buttermilk, simply put 1 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar into your measuring cup, then fill up with regular milk and give it a quick stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes and, presto, buttermilk!

NOTE: This cake does fit in a sheet pan (think for jelly rolls), but barely. Take your time with the icing, you'll have to scoop it back onto the cake as it approaches the edges. It's fine if some hits the counter though, because then you can just eat it yourself!

Credit where it's due: I originally got this recipe from http://thepioneerwoman.com then made a few of my own changes.