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Texas Sheet Cake

Posted on 02/25/2010 by Maura

Meet my boyfriend Tim.  Tim is what I like to call a freak–he does not  like cupcakes or cake.  Actually, Tim never really liked sweets at all until we started dating!  Now he often has two cookies before breakfast.

Anyway, the other week I was trying to think of what to make Tim for Valentine’s day.  I considered making him cupcakes regardless, but I knew if I did this, I would be tempted to eat them all and I’ve been feeling a little fluffy lately.  Instead, I sifted through my recipe binder, stumbling across the Pioneer Woman’s (www.thepioneerwoman.com) Texas Sheet Cake, which I’ve been dying to try.  I knew the icing, which resembles a chocolate-glazed donut, and the thin, moist cake would be up his alley.  Also, it’s really easy to make and doesn’t use too many dishes!

He LOVED it, and love is even an understatement.  See, Tim and I gave up sweets for Lent, which started right after Valentine’s day, and after trying this cake he was begging me to let him give up all sweets EXCEPT Texas Sheet Cake.  I have no idea where he’d be getting this Texas Sheet Cake from since I would not be making it, but I said no anyway.

But–this is the thing–I realized last night that it’s quite difficult to take pictures of food without someone’s help!  So, I made an offer to Tim that I knew he couldn’t resist.  I said if he took pictures during the baking process, I would make Texas Sheet Cake even though I can’t eat it.  He obviously obliged.

The power of food.

Texas Sheet Cake

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Serves 24

Ingredients

Cake:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter (I used unsalted)

4 tablespoons cocoa (I used Hershey’s and made sure the tablespoons were overflowing)

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup buttermilk  (I didn’t have buttermilk on hand, so I poured 1/2 cup milk, removed one tablespoon and replaced that tablespoon with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar–stir, let sit for 5 minutes, and you have buttermilk)!

2 beaten eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting:

1/2 cup chopped pecans (I omitted this)

1-3/4 sticks butter

4 tablespoons cocoa (again, heaping)

6 tablespoons milk (I used 2%)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar (or a pound minus 1/2 cup)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.

In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter.  When the butter is melted, add the cocoa and stir to incorporate.  Add the boiling water to the saucepan and bring the butter/cocoa/water mixture to a boil for 30 seconds.  Immediately turn off heat.  Pour this mixture over the flour/sugar/salt mixture and stir to cool.

In the measuring cup with the buttermilk, add the eggs, baking soda and vanilla.  Add this into the butter/cocoa/flour mixture and stir until combined.  Pour into an UNGREASED jelly roll pan or sheet cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Now it’s time to make the icing!  Chop the pecans if you are using them and set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat.  Once melted, add cocoa and stir to combine.  Immediately turn off heat.  Add the milk, vanilla and powdered sugar and stir.  (I added the powdered sugar in 3 installments just to make it easier).  Add the pecans and stir to combine.

When the cake comes out of the oven, let it cool for about 5-10 minutes (it should still be warm).  Pour the icing over the warm cake.

Cut into 24 squares and eat immediately, or eat for breakfast like Tim does

**P.S. Thank you Barb Lea for introducing me to Texas Sheet Cake!

About Maura

I have a secret: I cannot do anything in moderation. I always have to take things to the extreme, at the expense of my own and my family's sanity and often times my dad’s checkbook. When I started taking horseback riding lessons, I insisted on having a pony. When I ice skated for probably the second time, I made my mom buy me ice skates that were never again worn. When I thought I wanted to be a teacher, I made my parents turn one of the rooms in the basement into a school room, stocked with an overhead projector, pull-down maps and a real, classroom-sized chalkboard and white board. When I discovered cooking I bossed my older sister around in the kitchen for an entire day, forcing her to make dozens of recipes with me against her will and then had her do all the dishes (sorry Cait). And, when I discovered food blogs I bought the biggest binder I could find, printed out 250 recipes in one day and laminated and categorized each one. My dad was not happy about the ink situation. So, what does this tell you about me? For one, you can trust that every recipe I post is more than delicious and has been meticulously tried and tested for you. Also, that I’m an anal freak. Enjoy! View all posts by Maura → This entry was posted in Dessert and tagged cake, chocolate, thepioneerwoman.com. Bookmark the permalink. ← Maryland Crab Dip Quesadillas Two Ways with Guacamole →