SECRET RECIPE CLUB: TEXAS SHEET CAKE

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets, Secret Recipe Club by

September is here!  The month that brings with it the end of the summer, and the beginning of Sally’s foul mood. Aren’t you thrilled? Well, I cannot let meteorology ruin the mood of my favorite event in the whole blogosphere: The Secret Recipe Club‘s Reveal Day is here, for us members of Group A.  My assignment was the blog Crazed Mom, hosted by Nicole, from St. Louis. Crazed Mom, what a cute name for a site, it tells it all. Nicole is a mom to five teenagers. Let’s make a brief pause to let that sink in. Five teenagers. She also takes care of a toddler and a newborn on a regular basis. Five teenagers. One toddler. One newborn. I have a full-time job that demands quite a bit of energy and commitment, but I am always in awe of women whose job is to take care of one or several kids. How do they do it? I know there are plenty of rewards, but imagine having to deal with kids at different phases, one going to school, dealing with homework, sleepovers, another too young to leave your radar, some very picky eaters, some with food allergies. And of course, you are also a woman, a wife,  a daughter, maybe a sister, with goals and dreams for yourself. Not easy to find balance.  But Nicole does it all and blogs about a ton of interesting stuff, in fact she’s been a presence online for 12 years! Unreal!  I had a lot of fun browsing her site, even if this past month was particularly sad and stressful for us.  I did not have as much time as I normally like to indulge in the stalking process, but still composed a list of possibilities to share with  you today. Here they are:  Chicken Kiev with a Twist,  The Best Blueberry Muffins,  Caramel Coconut Cupcakes, and Spicy Gingerbread with a Mocha Glaze (if that doesn’t make you go weak in the knees, you need therapy).  But once I saw her take on a Texas Sheet Cake, I decided I had to make it. I’ve often heard about it, but had never tasted or even seen one face-to-face. I had to take matters into my own hands, and jump on this opportunity to enlighten myself on this American classic.

Texas Sheet Cake

TEXAS SHEET CAKE
(from Crazed Mom)

for the cake:
1 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

for the icing:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 box (1 pound) confectioners’ sugar (sift it first to remove lumps – otherwise icing remains lumpy)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the cake: In a saucepan, combine the butter, water and cocoa over med. heat until the butter melts. Don’t let it cook too long. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour, salt, eggs, and baking soda. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Careful, it’s hot. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix well. Pour into a sheet cake pan or jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

For the icing: In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa and milk over medium heat and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and combine with confectioners sugar and vanilla. Mix well with a mixer to remove lumps. Spread over the sheet cake while it is still hot.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

compositesheet

Comments: This is a rich cake. Very rich. As Nicole says, eat a slice and go take a walk. But I tell you one thing, it is decadent delicious, it’s the kind of cake that with each bite you feel more and more naughty, which is a good feeling to have every once in a while.  I took it to our department and it was basically gone within 45 minutes. I also got several visits to the lab of colleagues thanking me and giving me hints of “you can bake this one again anytime!”  I guess by now they realized that a food blogger rarely repeats recipes and once something really good shows up in the mail room, they better enjoy. Be Zen. Savor the moment. Literally.

Confession time… My friend Gary is my guru for all things involving baking. I was wondering about the size of pan to use and wanted to run a question by him, so I texted.  Then I told Phil about it. I just texted Gary, I had a question about that sheet cake I’m making today.  Phil almost lost it, laughing so hard – “what kind of cake are you making????” It turns out that my spoken sheet apparently sounds exactly like another word that starts with SH.  It’s a good thing accents don’t travel by text.

Nicole, I loved stalking your site, and agree with you, this is one amazing cake, I am not surprised that you requested it every year for your Birthday. If we have to get one year older, might as well celebrate in style!  

And, for all my readers,  you can delight yourself with the recipes made by my virtual friends with a poke in the blue frog smiling quietly at the end of the post.

Texas Sheet Cake from Bewitching Kitchen

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, September 2015

TWO YEARS AGO: Sour Cherry Sorbet: A Labor of Love

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen – September 2013

FOUR YEARS AGO: Raspberry Sorbet at Summer’s End

FIVE YEARS AGO: When three is better than two  (four years with Buck!)

SIX YEARS AGO: Grating Tomatoes (and loving it!)

SEVEN YEARS AGO: A Peachy Salad for a Sunny Day

31 thoughts on “SECRET RECIPE CLUB: TEXAS SHEET CAKE”

  7. I bet your accent is beautiful, even with the way you say the name of this cake which might actually forever be etched in my head from now on. (lol). I’m SO glad you picked this cake this month, and thank you for all of your kind words. Life is crazy, but it’s rewarding too. And just think, when things get too bad – I have this cake 😉 Thank you for doing this recipe and making me crave it again… guess where I am heading now? All I need is sour cream – I have everything else (always) on hand! haha

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    • sorry for “contaminating” such a classic with my butchering of its pronunciation… 😉 I guess I should go with “Texas Tray Bake”, as my friend Elaine advised me to do… playing safe, you know… playing safe

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  8. I laughed out loud at the SH* cake!
    Being expats in the UAE, you don’t want to know how many times I got in trouble for my accent of for using words that are completely normal in Jordan but are horrible here!!
    I too have never tried the Texas sheet cake and you made me realize that I am really missing out!
    One final question, Nicole offer lessons on how to manage a house full of teenagers and a blog?
    I am hardly managing with two kids!

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    • Amazing! So you know EXACTLY what I go through… it is sooooo annoying when we make mistakes, right?

      Now, if Nicole gives lessons, we’ll go together, how about that???? ALthough I think you do a fantastic job yourself….

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  12. I haven’t made a Texas Sheet Cake in ages. Now I feel a need to search out my recipe (if I can find it) because I don’t remember it calling for sour cream. Or maybe I’ll just adopt this recipe because it looks fabulous.

    Does your department realize how spoiled they are? Repeat recipes or no repeat recipes.

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  14. My mother used to make us this sh* cake when I was a teenager! The 4 teens at my house could have that thing demolished in half an hour back in the day. What a great memory. I love Nicole’s blog, and you picked a beaut of a recipe to show it off!

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  15. I could have easily written your opening sentence, Sally. I really do love the fall weather but I hate that nagging feeling that winter is coming. In my mind, Labor Day begins the slow slide into the depths.This post is, for me, nostalgia-laden. Sheet cakes were the cakes that Mom & Zia made often when I was young. Sure, for our birthdays a layer cake might make an appearance but, for any other day, a layer cake, very often chocolate, would be served. (I’m whispering so that I don’t offend any heavenly spirits but I bet this cake tastes better.) 🙂

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    • You and me both… I see the trees turning color, and even though it is a beautiful sight, I shed a virtual tear inside, anticipating what THAT is going to lead to. Gloves, scarves, heavy coats, goodbye to my flip flops… oh, the humanity!

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