Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake

Lately I have been practicing dishes that feed at least six people so I can get used to making them quickly. This chocolate Texas sheet cake is incredibly easy to make and it feeds crowds. I highly doubt there is a cake as moist and delicious that is this easy and quick to make.

Cake ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1. Coat the pan with a light layer of butter. (I use a napkin and run it over room temperature butter before rubbing it onto the baking sheet in circular motions. You only need enough to make the flour stick.) Dust the pan with about 2 teaspoons of flour (I used a tablespoon and then put the rest of the flour back into the container.)

Every time I butter the pan I think of baking with my neighbor as a child. My mom was helping me and my neighbors (sisters, one 3 years older than me and one 3 years younger. We were probably 5, 8, and 11) make a cake. My mom gave the oldest sister a napkin with butter on it and asked her to butter the pan. When we turned around again we realized that she started to butter the outside of the pan. Having never really baked before she assumed the entire pan needed to be covered. It still makes me laugh).

The pan should be just barely coated in flour to keep the cake from sticking.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

4. In a small sauce pan combine water, butter, and cocoa. Bring to boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
5. Pour mixture straight from the stove into the flour mixture.
6. Beat at medium speed until well-blended.

7. Add buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs. Beat well. (Be sure to let the mixture sit for a few minutes and beat the mixture quickly after adding the eggs to be sure that you do not cook them in the batter.)

8. Pour batter into prepared 15×10 inch pan (or 13×9, refer to longer cooking time).

9. Bake at 375 for 17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. (for 13×9 inch pan bake 22 minutes).

Frosting ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Combine butter, milk, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil stirring continuously.
2. Remove from heat and gradually stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.