Texas Sheet Cake

When I was a kid, family events and church suppers were attended with mom's mac n cheese in one hand and texas sheet cake in the other. These two dishes were easy to make and had a large yield, so they were a favorite for a big event.
 

Texas sheet cake is kind of a strange bird. It looks like fudge from the top, but upon slicing a piece you find cake peeking out from beneath the icing. It's kind of like a brownie with frosting, but it's not...it's cake! 

We're not sure where the name came from. The only thing we could figure is that the name relates to its size...it's a large sheet cake, almost as big as texas!

This dessert is one of my dad's favorite things. The cake beneath is thin, but moist. The frosting is creamy, but light. The perfect end to a meal that you probably ate too much of. It may be as large as Texas, but I guarantee that it will be gone before you know it. 

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Note: The recipe below is halved. I do not own a large sheet pan (and usually shouldn't EAT a whole sheet pan's worth!) so I always halve the recipe. This recipe posted below is for a 9 x 13" pan. If you want to double it, use a large sheet pan (like a 21" x 15")

Texas Sheet Cake

Makes a 9 x 13 pan

Cake:
8 T. butter
1/2 cup water
2 T. cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Icing:
4 T. butter
2 T. cocoa
3 T. milk
2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup chopped nuts

For the cake:

Boil butter, water and cocoa together in a small saucepan until butter is melted. 

Turn off heat and set aside.

In bowl of standing mixer, cream together sugar and egg.

Add sour cream and mix.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

Alternately add flour mixture and melted butter mixture to egg mixture. 

Did you know that when recipes tell you to alternate dry and wet ingredients, 

that you always start and end with the dry? So to the mixer you'd add:

 A third of the flour mixture. Mix

Half of the melted butter mixture. Mix.

Another third of the flour mixture. Mix.

The last half of the melted butter mixture. Mix.

The last third of the flour mixture. Mix. 

Or think of it like this:

Dry. Wet. Dry. Wet. Dry.

Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan. 

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, 

until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes clean.

For the icing:

During the last 10 minutes of the cake baking, start your icing.

Boil butter, cocoa and milk together until butter is melted. 

Add powdered sugar and whisk vigorously until no sugar clumps remain. 

(It will be a lot easier if you use a handheld mixer instead of a whisk!)
If frosting is too stiff, add a little more milk to loosen consistency.

Quickly stir in vanilla and nuts and pour on top of HOT cake.

Cut into small squares once cake is cool.

Recipe from my mom.