Kitchen Project #7: Lone Star Lovin'

I've only set foot on Texan soil once in my life. I spent five days in Dallas during the 2003 NCA Cheerleading National Championships. 

(Go ahead, take a few minutes. Wrap your head around that one. Get back to me when you've ceased laughing.)

Okay, are we good? I suppose what I'm trying to say is that my opinion of Texas was shaped by five days of spankies, curlers, and glitter, and that I realize I may not know the Lone Star State all that well. Although I may not know Texas, I do know Texas Sheet Cake...it's genetics. You see, I inherited my sweet tooth from my mother, who was gifted with the very same affliction courtesy of my grandmother. This recipe has been passed down through women in my family, I believe, as a means of coping with a bottomless need for sweets.

Essentially, the recipe goes like so: cake= boil, combine, pour, then icing= boil, combine, pour. What you're left with is a vast, expansive cake, fluffier than the imaginable, topped with a hardened icing that is crunchy to the teeth but melts in the mouth. Did I mention this thing is huge?

Sure, you could try to halve the recipe, but where's the fun in that?

I added red sprinkles for a Valentine's effect. About ten minutes after cooling, this cake was sliced, packaged, and placed in a box for shipping. On Monday I'll ask UPS to deliver the package to my baby sister who is currently playing college in Boulder, Co.

I think Pat Green would be proud.

Unusual Chocolate Cake (aka: Texas Sheet Cake) by Granny Forrest

For the cake:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs (slightly beaten)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 t. baking soda

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Sift the sugar and flour and set aside
3. Combine the butter, water, and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over the sugar/flour mixture.
4. Combine the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda in a separate bowl and add to the cocoa mixture. 
5. Pour into a 15" x 10" pan and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

For the icing:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 6 T. milk
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare when the cake has 5 minutes left to bake.
2. Combine the butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
3. Add sugar, vanilla, and pecans to the mixture and combine.
4. Spread on cake while cake is still hot.