Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients:
CAKE:

• 2 cups AP flour (10 oz)
• 2 cups granulated sugar (16 oz)
• ¼ teaspoons salt
• 8 Tblsps. dutch-processed cocoa (2 0z)
• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla

FROSTING:

• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (you can change this to your liking)
• 1-¾ sticks salted butter
• 4 Tblsps. dutch-processed cocoa (1 oz)
• 6 Tblsps. whole milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 pound confectioners sugar (i.e. one box)

Cake Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar and salt; whisk to combine these. Put on you tea kettle to boil water.
2. In a heavy bottom saucepan, melt the 2 sticks of butter. Add the cocoa; whisk smooth (like you would do for a cream gravy...you don't want lumps!)
3. Add boiling water and allow mixture to bubble for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
4. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool. (You want to make sure that the mixture is not too hot, otherwise you will scramble the eggs when you add them to the batter).
5. Whisk the buttermilk and eggs together; add the baking soda and vanilla.
6. Fold the buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture.
7. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes rotating the pan half way through for even baking. (I used the same temp and baked the cupcakes for 20 minutes and it works out perfectly; just be sure not to overfill your muffin tin otherwise your frosting will slide off the cake if you don't have a bit of a lip. I used a small ladle Aunt B gave me and put only one scoop in...roughly 1/3 of the well.)

Frosting Directions:

1. While cake is baking, prepare the icing.
2. Toast the pecans in a dry pan--roughly 5-7 minutes (nuts can be tricky--when you start to smell them they are almost too toasty so keep an eye on them). Cool a bit & then chop finely.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
4. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Whisk to combine. Fold in pecans.
5. Pour over warm cake (or spoon over cupcakes) 

Source: Here