A social distancing party calls for cake! (A Wonderful Texas Sheet Cake)

My niece Abby had a birthday deep in the thick of the social distancing and stay at home order.  We decided to have a drive by birthday party for her. I offered to make a cake, and she asked for chocolate cake with thin chocolate icing.  I immediately thought Texas sheet cake.  I have only eaten such a lovely dessert and never made one, so it was a nice experiment for the blog.

I immediately found this recipe for The Best Texas Sheet Cake over at Tastes Better From Scratch.  I believed her and got to work.  I braved the store for some decorating gel icing but all they had was what you will see below that turned out not so well.  But you know what, who cares, this was delicious! My brother in law said it was one of the best cakes he has ever had!  Try this one,  you will not be sorry! I used two pans so I could have one cake for the family and one for the cousins that came to visit to take home.  One pan or two, it does not matter! Full recipe to follow the montage.

The Best Texas Sheet Cake
Hey Cake!
The Best Texas Sheet Cake
The cast, I am glad I stocked up on baking supplies!

The Best Texas Sheet Cake
How can a cake with two sticks of melted butter not be good?
The Best Texas Sheet Cake
The dry ingredients
The Best Texas Sheet Cake
And the wet
The Best Texas Sheet Cake
Mix them together and then add the melted butter/chocolate concoction.
The Best Texas Sheet Cake
And you end up with this to pop into the oven.
The Best Texas Sheet Cake
When Abby asks for thin chocolate icing, she gets it!
The Best Texas Sheet Cake
Cake decorating skills are not one of my strong suits!
The Best Texas Sheet Cake
Pin it and make it for someone you love!

A wonderful Texas Sheet Cake (adapted from Tastes Better From Scratch)

1 cup water
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting
6 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 18x13'' pan.
Add water butter cocoa powder to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl mix together the flour, sugar baking soda and salt.
In another small bowl mix together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla.
Add sour cream/egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until combined.
Once the chocolate mixture in the saucepan in boiling, remove it from heat and pour it into the batter. Mix until combined and no lumps remain.
Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth with a spatula to make sure it is dispersed in an even layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until set (mine is usually done around 15 minutes).
When the cake is about half-way through cooking, prepare the frosting.

For the Chocolate Sheet Cake Frosting
Add milk, cocoa and butter to a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil.
Once boiling, remove it from the heat and stir in powdered sugar. I like to beat the mixture with my hand-held mixer to get rid of any lumps.
Pour hot icing over hot cake. Use a spatula to spread it evenly over the cake. Allow frosting to set for about 10 minutes before eating.

You can store any extra cake in an air-tight container for 2-3 days.

Happy Cooking!

Missy

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