Texas Cake
So I started a healthy-eating challenge with some friends a while back. It’s been going great. The only problem is, you can only eat treats once a week. Sugar is my weakness. I love it so much.
During my first week of doing this challenge, I thought all week about what I wanted to indulge in on my cheat day. I knew three things:
1. It had to be chocolate
2. It had to be decadent.
3. It had to be absolutely delicious.
I decided on a Texas Sheet Cake, but not a sheet cake. Let me explain.
Years ago, my mom had the most genius idea to bake a sheet cake in a 9X13 cake pan instead of a sheet pan. That’s my secret to making this cake so good.
Something about baking it in a smaller pan is so magical. It tastes better somehow. The cake and the frosting are both thick and decadent.
I pulled it out for dessert, and my sugar-loving mini-me could not wait. She kept calling them brownies, and I had to correct her that they weren’t brownies, but cake. So the next time we pulled it out she was so excited to eat the brownie cake. That girl!
Either way, Texas (non-sheet) Cake or brownie cake, it’s amazing!
Texas Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup water
- 2 sticks butter
- 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
Frosting
- 5 TBS cocoa powder
- 6 TBS milk
- ½ cup butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, combine water, cocoa, and butter. Heat until butter is completely melted and it begins to bubble. Remove from heat.
- Pour chocolate mixture on top of your dry mix and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Finally, add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix until completely incorporated.
- Grease a 9X13 pan and pour the batter in. Bake for 32-35 minutes, until the center is completely cooked and doesn’t jiggle when moved.
Frosting
- When the cake has about 5 minutes left to cook, start on the frosting. It will be poured on the hot cake.
- In a medium saucepan, combine milk, butter, and cocoa over medium heat.
- Once the butter is melted, add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and pecans. Mix until combined. The pecans will help break up any clumps from the powdered sugar. If you are omitting the pecans, sift the powdered sugar before mixing it in.
- Pour the frosting immediately on the hot cake, and spread it quickly if needed. As the cake cools, the frosting will crust and firm up.