Top | Anne Zimmerman
Mary's Texas Sheet Cake
(recipe, Anne Zimmerman)
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Introduction
For more about this Southern recipe, read Anne Zimmerman's blog post on the Dinner Guest blog.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 4 Tbsp. cocoa
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- Pinch of salt
Frosting
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 6 Tbsp. milk or ½ cup buttermilk
- 4 Tbsp. cocoa
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 lb. (16 ounces) powdered sugar
- 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Steps
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 11-inch-by-16-inch pan.
- Make the cake: Sift the flour and sugar together in a large bowl. Combine the butter, cocoa, and water in a small saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Pour the boiling liquid over the flour and sugar and mix well. Add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix well by hand; the batter will be thin.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Make the frosting while the cake is baking: In the same small saucepan you used before, bring the butter, milk or buttermilk, and cocoa to a boil. Stir in the vanilla, then whisk in the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. If you like, stir in the nuts, or save them to sprinkle atop the frosted cake.
- Remove the cake from the oven and pour the warm frosting over the hot cake. Let the cake cool, then cut into squares to serve.
Note
Culinate editor's note: You can easily halve this recipe and make a smaller cake; just use a 8-by-11.5-inch pan instead. Bake for 20 minutes.