Texas Sheet Cake {tutorial}

I love chocolate.  It’s hard to go a day without any.  Sometimes I put chocolate chips in the fridge, so they’re nice and cold, and then eat them as a snack.  However, I have never liked chocolate ice cream.  Ever.  Won’t touch the stuff.  And I usually don’t care for chocolate cake (Devil’s Food Cake, German Chocolate Cake, you name it), but every once in a while, I have a hunkering for a small bite.  Weird, I know.  And when I have a craving for chocolate cake, I make this super easy, super simple Texas Sheet Cake.

You will need these ingredients, plus powdered sugar.  (Since I bake a lot, I buy powdered sugar by the 50-pound bags and put it  in plastic bins.  It looked ugly in the picture, so I omitted it.)

Make sure you have good quality vanilla.  Not all pure vanillas are made the same, and it makes a HUGE difference.  And certainly don’t buy imitation vanilla.  (Why they tempt people with this, I don’t know.)

You need 2 sticks of butter, water, and cocoa powder in a saucepan.  Bring it to boil.  (Make sure to stir it occasionally!)

Remove from the heat and allow the chocolate to cool down to room temperature.  You don’t want to cook the eggs before they go into the oven.  Add all the dry ingredients, including the eggs and sour cream, in a separate bowl.

Slowly add the cooled chocolate and mix until it is all moistened.

Then pour into a greased jelly roll pan.

Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  While the cake is baking, make the frosting, using butter, milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and powdered sugar.  Cook everything, minus the powdered sugar and vanilla, in a saucepan until it starts to boil.

Remove from the heat and add the powdered sugar and vanilla, until it’s all combined.  Once the cake is out of the oven, pour the warm frosting over the warm cake.  You have to work quickly, before the frosting starts to harden, because once it does, it’s really difficult to spread it across the cake.

Ready for the hardest part? WAIT.  You have to wait for it to cool before you eat it.  Cut the cake into squares and dust with powdered sugar before serving.  And adding a scoopful (I know scoopful isn’t a word, but it fits perfect here) of ice cream (vanilla for me!) makes this dessert great on a summer’s evening.  xoxo

Texas Sheet Cake

serves: 20

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1 c water

1/4 c cocoa (unsweetened or dutch-processed)

2 c flour

2 c sugar

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

2 eggs

1/2 c sour cream

1 t pure vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a jelly roll pan (11×18).  In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring butter, water, and cocoa to a boil.  Remove from heat.  In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.  Once the chocolate mixture comes to room temperature, pour it over the sour cream mixture and stir until just combined.  Pour into the jelly roll pan and bake for 20 minutes.

1 stick unsalted butter

6 T milk (NOT non-fat)

1/4 c cocoa (unsweetened or dutch-processed)

16 oz. powdered sugar, sifted

1 t pure vanilla

While the cake is baking, combine the butter, milk, and cocoa powder in a saucepan.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  Remove from the heat and mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Pour over the warm cake.  Cut into squares once cake has cooled and serve with a light dusting of powdered sugar.