A Muse in My Kitchen
Texas Sheet Cake
What has a pound of butter…
a pound of sugar…
decadent chocolate…
and pecans?
Texas Sheet Cake!
This recipe is not for the faint of heart…nor the faint of spirit.
You won’t be able to resist once you see the goey-ness and smell the chocolate.
One bite leads to one piece of cake which leads to another piece of cake…
Get my point?
This cake will make men swoon and their wives call you the next day for the recipe…
Hey – we all need a little help in the ‘swooning’ department, don’t we?
I always make this recipe for chili parties or casual get-togethers where there are a lot of people…
with half of them being men.
You will get their attention!
I’ve tried many versions of this cake – the best one I found comes from The Pioneer Woman.
With a few of my own adjustments, I bring to you…
A siren’s song…
Start by combining 2 cups sugar, 2 cups flour and 1/4 tsp. salt in a large bowl.
In a medium saucepan, melt 2 sticks of unsalted butter with 4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa (I like the Ghirardelli brand).
Melt down until simmering and add 1 cup of boiling water to the mixture.
Boil for 30 seconds and remove from heat.
After cooling a bit, pour chocolate mixture over the flour and sugar mixture and mix well.
In a measuring cup, mix 1/2 cup of buttermilk, 2 beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
Pour into a 16 x 12 inch pan. (You don’t need to spray the pan, the butter in the batter has it covered!)
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting.
You’ll need more cocoa, MORE butter, chopped pecans and 1 lb. powdered sugar.
Chop the pecans coarsely (some people like them chopped fine but I like chunks of pecans).
Heat the butter and chocolate together in a small saucepan, pour over powdered sugar and pecan and mix well.
Once cake is removed from the oven, cool slightly.
Pour the frosting over the warm cake and spread it to all corners.
YUM!
Let cool and take to your party.
Ladies, hang onto your husbands! You’ll be calling me this week!
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 4 tbs. (heaping) cocoa
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- FOR FROSTING:
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- 1-3/4 stick unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp. (heaping) cocoa
- 6 tbsp. milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
- In a saucepan, melt butter and cocoa. Stir together.
- Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.
- Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.
- In a measuring cup, mix the buttermilk with the beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.
- Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture.
- Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.
- While cake is baking, make the frosting.
- Chop pecans.
- Melt butter and cocoa in a saucepan.
- Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
- Stir together.
- Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.
