Chocolate Sheet Cake

How are you celebrating the holiday weekend? Some of our family members are at the lake. Others are visiting in Atlanta. Us? Our plans got changed and we are finding ourselves at home and busy tying up some loose ends that keep nagging at us.

Wherever you are and whatever you do, I know at some point you will be thinking about something to eat. I've got a great dessert for you that can go anywhere, anytime, and is a real crowd pleaser. I call it a "bake and take" cake because it can be baked, frosted, and ready to eat or leave the house with you in an hour. I almost always have the ingredients on hand and I can easily make it on my lunch hour. I've even mixed it up while preparing breakfast. While the cake bakes, I put on my "face", do my hair, and get dressed. I pour on the icing just before I leave for work. I am also including some variations you might want to try sometime.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day!

Bring butter, water, oil, and cocoa to a boil over medium heat.

Pour the hot mixture over the flour and sugar and mix well. Make sure you use a heat proof mixing bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Pour it all into a greased (or Pam'd) 13x9 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I wanted to show you my little nut chopper. I know you probably have a fancy, schmancy chopper, all electric and everything and I've got one too. But this one belonged to my Nannie and guess what?
When the glass cup is almost full I know I have a cup of chopped nuts. So, there. Laugh at it if you want to.

Okay, this is what the icing looks like and I wish you could smell the delicious aroma of chocolate in my kitchen right now! Pour onto the hot cake and then lick the pan.

There she is and she tastes as good as she looks. I have never taken this cake anywhere that I didn't get compliments and requests for the recipe.

Chocolate Sheet Cake
2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa powder
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teapoon vanilla
Mix flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. I whisk the two together to break up lumps in flour. In  a medium saucepan, mix water, 2 sticks butter, oil, and cocoa. Bring to a boil over medium heat whisking occasionally until smooth. Pour hot mixture over sugar and flour mixture and whisk until blended. Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla, mixing well. Pour into a greased 13x9 inch pan (I use cooking spray to grease pan). Bake at 350F about 45 minutes or until cake tests done in center. While the cake is baking, make the icing.

Icing for chocolate sheet cake:
1 stick butter
3 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa powder
6 tablespoons buttermilk
1 box (1lb) confectioners sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon vanilla
Wipe out or rinse the saucepan you used for the cake and use it to make icing. Bring butter, buttermilk, and cocoa to a boil over medium heat, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in confectioners sugar until smooth. Add pecans. Pour over hot cake in pan.

Variations on a theme:
To make a chocolate peanut butter cake, make the cake as directed. Mix together a 12 oz jar of creamy peanut butter and 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil. Spread over hot cake and let cool. Make icing as directed above leaving out chopped pecans. I've never tried it but I bet it would be good to add chopped peanuts to the icing. Pour icing over cooled cake.

To make a rocky road cake, prepare cake as directed and let cool a little bit.While cake is still warm pour a bag of miniature marshmallows on top. Prepare icing as directed above and pour over marshmallows and cake.

Happy cooking!
Nan