Texas Sheet Cake

Well, howdy folks! It has been a hot minute, and I truly apologize for that. I'll give you a quick update as to why it has taken me an era to post again. Since my last post, I have accepted a full-time job at a wonderful company called Applied Measurement Professionals. It has been busy, but incredibly rewarding. I have also signed up to run the Walt Disney World Half Marathon with my stepmother this January 10th (yes, I'm nuts). I'm also raising money for The Leukemia Lymphoma Society to go along with it. If you'd like to help me reach my goal, click HERE. Shameless plugin. You know you love me! In all seriousness, any little bit helps. Let's eliminate blood cancers!

All that being said, I know why you're really here. That cake. More like, THE cake. This cake goes by many names. I call it Texas Sheet Cake, others call it Funeral Cake. No matter what you call it, one thing is for certain; it is delicious.

This cake is one of my father's many claims to fame. He has perfected it from the fudgey icing, down to sifting the dry ingredients three times for the silkiest texture. This cake is simple, but fantastically delicious, and I urge you to try it. I mean, it's chocolate on chocolate with pecans. How can you resist? Just give into the temptation.

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Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ICING
  • 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsley chopped
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375º F, and grease and flour a jelly-roll sheet pan. 2. Sift together the sugar, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Repeat the sifting process three times. May seem overkill, but trust me, it makes the cake so incredibly silky. 3. in a medium saucepan combine the water, vegetable oil, butter, and cocoa. Bring it to a boil and stir constantly. 4. Once completely combined, pour the hot mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir until just smooth. 5. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Then incorporate this mixture into the batter. 6. Pour batter into the sheet pan evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes. 7. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter. Once melted, take off heat, and stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Place the mixture back on the double boiler. Add the powdered sugar, and heat the icing for 10 minutes. Finally, remove from heat, and continue stirring until spreadable. Don't fret if you feel like your icing isn't coming together. Give it time. 8. Spread the icing over the entire cake, and before the icing sets, sprinkle the pecans over the entire cake.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 20 servings

Cocoa Brownies

Let's talk about brownies. Who doesn't love brownies? A square of dense, gooey chocolatey goodness? I'm in. I'm SO in. I know a bunch of you are all like "Wait, I can just buy a boxed brownie mix and it'll be just as good." OK, so, yeah you could do that. Except when you make something from scratch you'll feel a sense of accomplishment. Plus, why NOT make them from scratch. It takes maybe 5 minutes longer to make them from scratch, and in my opinion, made from scratch brownies are the best brownies.

Huffington Post named these the best coca brownies and they're right. The brownies are from the lovely Smitten Kitchen, and I thank her for creating such wonderful brownies. 

I don't think the photography of these brownies does them justice, because let's be real, brownies don't really photograph well. I promise though, they're great. 

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Cocoa Brownies
Ingredients
  • 10 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1-1/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts,) optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line 8x8in baking pan with parchment paper or grease pan with non-stick spray. 2. Melt butter in a double broiler. Once butter is melted, add sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Combine them until the mixture looks gritty, and well combined. You could also melt the butter in the microwave and then add the ingredients. Let the mixture cool until lukewarm. 3. Once mixture has cooled, add vanilla, and then eggs one at a time. Once well combined, add the flour and stir once again to combine well. If you're using nuts, add then now, and stir until well distributed.5. Bake for 25-30, or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out slightly moist with batter. Remember, we want gooey brownies. Let cool at bit, and then cut and serve.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 9 brownies