Skip to main content

Chocolate Cake! Oh yeah!

Alex writes from Austin, "Mom, do you know any particularly good chocolate cake recipes?" What better time to post this beauty: Texas Sheet Cake. It is easy and quick and tastes just plain yummy.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter (so far it sounds pretty good, right?)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Grease a rectangular baking pan, set aside. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and sale. set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup butter, 1/3 cup cocoa, and 1 cup water. Bring to boil stirring constantly (yes, Alex, you can do this while talking on the phone). Remove from heat. Beat cholocate mixture into the dry mixture until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, buttermilk, an dvanilla. Stir or beat until batter is thin (about 1 minute.) Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 about 25 - 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Err on the side of less time and keep checking it.

Chocolate Frosting
1/4 cup butter
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
3 tbsp buttermilk
2 1/4 powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Mix well, pour over warm cake, spreading evenly. Place cake in pan on wire rack, cool thoroughly before cutting. Or not.

I don't have a picture; I first tasted it at a neighborhood pot-luck and then looked up the recipe on the interweb. It comes out perfect every time. Bon appetit!

Comments

Lillian said…
Mmm this looks fantastic!

Popular posts from this blog

Thick-cut Pork Chops

These intimidating chops were actually pretty easy to cook. They're called an "Iowa Chop", and they're just a thick-cut, bone-in, center-cut chop. I've discovered that the secret to juicy pork chops is to start with a cold pan and obsessively checking the temperature . I find they're best just under 160 degrees. Pork Chops 2 1-lb. Iowa Chops 2-3 Tbsp. salt 2 Tbsp. white pepper 2 Tbsp. dried sage 2 Tbsp. Smoked (or regular) paprika 3 Tbsp. oil Sauce (optional): 1/2 c. chicken broth 1/2 c. white wine (I used Pinot Grigio) 2 Tbsp. corn starch 1 tsp. white pepper 2 tsp. Dijon mustard 1/4 c. cold water Preheat the oven to 350. Pat the chops dry with some paper towel. Sprinkle them liberally with the salt and spices and allow them to warm up to room temperature while you start the quinoa and chop the cauliflower. Place the oil in your pan, but do not pre-heat the pan. Add the chops to the pan and place them on the stove. Heat the pan up to medium, turning the chop

Miele Steam Oven Pulled Pork

I've been debating whether I should post some of these more niche recipes--now that we have a steam oven and a high powered stove, I am making recipes that not everyone can reproduce with other equipment. I've decided to post some of them 1) for my own records, and 2) because there are very few recipes available online for these devices (especially the steam oven). Perhaps these recipes will be of use to others. I don't have a photo for this one because I decided to post the recipe after the fact. 3-5 lb pork shoulder roast (~3 lb without bone, ~5 lb with) 1 large white onion, 1/4" slices 1 Tbsp. butter 1 chicken boullion cube 1 c. water 2 tsp. dried thyme 1 tsp. dried sage 1 tsp. whole coriander 1 Tbsp. coarse ground salt 1 Tbsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. dry mustard 1 tsp. white pepper 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. cayenne 1/4 tsp. allspice 1/4 tsp. celery seed Saute the onions in the butter in a saute pan over medium for 10 min until the onions are somewha

Nantucket Cranberry Pie

Announcing the first of the Thanksgiving recipes! I got this recipe from NPR during a show about cranberries. It's a very simple and easy pie (great if you need to make a last-minute dessert), which uses our favorite seasonal fruit. It can be served warm or cold and with or without whipped cream, though I argue it's best as-is. I didn't take this awesome picture--it's from the NPR website (Andrew Pockrose). Yes, it's as delicious as it looks. Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 9" or 10" pie plate. Filling: 2 c. cranberries (fresh or frozen), coarsely chopped* 1/2 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped* 1/2 c. sugar Batter: 2 eggs 3/4 c. melted butter 1 c. sugar 1 c. flour 1 tsp. almond extract *(Retain some of the most attractive cranberries and walnuts for decoration) Toss together the chopped cranberries, walnuts, and sugar for the filling. Place this mixture in the buttered pie plate and pat it down gently. I chopped these using a food processor but you can ju