Texas Sheet Cake with Pecan Frosting

Chocolate cake topped with chocolate pecan icing! Texas sheet cake is baked and served in straight from the pan so it's easy to transport. Great for picnics or potlucks!

This week the Sunday Supper group is getting ready for summertime fun.  Picnics and family reunions in parks or at the beach!  What’s a picnic without dessert?

This cake is moist, chocolaty and altogether delicious.  I got the recipe many years ago from my friend, Sharon, who is an excellent cook as well as a delightful person with a great sense of humor.  She is also from Louisiana, so that explains a lot.  I almost always have the ingredients on hand and it's quick to put together.  You don't even have to get out your electric mixer (although sometimes I do) because it can be mixed by hand.  But the best part of all is that it is baked and frosted and served straight from the pan, so it is easily transported to a picnic or potluck or party.   If you want to make your life even easier, bake it in a disposable aluminum pan and you won’t even have anything to bring home to wash up.  Because I can assure you, there will be NO CAKE left.

Many thanks to our host for this week’s Sunday Supper, Katy from Happy Baking Days!  If you haven’t met her yet, go on over and say howdy.  She’s cute and sweet and always shares lovely recipes from her happy kitchen.  I know I have at least a few readers who cook and bake gluten-free and Katy can help you out there!

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 cups or 450g sugar
2 cups or 250g flour
1/4 cup or 20g cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter 115g, softened
1/2 cup or 120ml buttermilk
1/2 cup canola or other light vegetable oil
1 cup or 240ml water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons or 90ml milk
1/4 cup or 20g cocoa
1/2 cup or 115g butter
16 oz or about 450g confectioners or powdered sugar, sifted (about 4 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans

Method
Preheat oven to 400°F.  Grease and flour a 13x9x2 inch or 33x23x4cm baking pan.

Toast your pecans in a skillet over a medium flame.  Shake the pan regularly until the fragrance of toasted nuts tells you they are done.  This takes just a few minutes.  Chop the pecans roughly and set aside.

Sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and cinnamon, and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, blend together the two eggs, softened butter, buttermilk, canola, water and vanilla.

Pour your dry ingredients into the wet ones, stirring or beating until you have a smooth, rather thin batter.

Pour into your prepared pan, and bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting.

Mix the milk and cocoa in a heavy saucepan and stir, stir, stir.  I used a whisk because the cocoa sometimes doesn’t want to mix in right away.

Add the butter and, over medium heat, stir until the butter melts.

Remove from heat and gradually stir in the sugar and vanilla until smooth.

Finally, add the pecans.

When the cake is just out of the oven, spread the frosting evenly on the HOT cake.

Enjoy!

My apologies for not taking a photo of the cake being served.  I took this along to a ladies lunch and we were too busy eating to remember pictures!

Update: I MADE IT AGAIN. See, I told you it was a favorite.  So here's the photo.  This time I used Hershey's Dark Special Cocoa (Special Dark Cocoa?) so it was even more fudgy and delicious.

Make sure you check out the links below for more great picnic party ideas!

Salads and Slaws

• Bacon Ranch Potato Salad from Juanita’s Cocina
• Caprese Spinach Salad from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Chicken Chopped Salad from Table for Seven
• Cold Pea Salad  from Shockingly Delicious
• Creamy Potato Salad with Roasted Pears, Cilantro and Romano Cheese from Gourmet Drizzles
• German Potato Salad from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Hawaiian Cole Slaw from Curious Cuisiniere
• Italian Chopped Salad from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Kale Pasta Salad from Hip Foodie Mom
• Mediterranean Pasta Salad from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad) from From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• PA Dutch Pepper Cabbage from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Pineapple Slaw from I Run For Wine
• Spaghetti Salad from Country Girl in the Village
• Tortellini Pasta Salad from Supper for a Steal

Sandwiches and Mains

• Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwich from Momma’s Meals
• Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, and Tomato Sandwich from Magnolia Days
• Grilled Bratwurst and Onion Open-Face Sandwiches from The Urban Mrs
• Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Green Goddess Sauce from Foxes Love Lemons
• Herbs-Garlic and Parmesan Croissants from Basic N Delicious
• Indian Spiced Chicken Drumsticks from Soni’s Food
• Japanese Picnic Bento Box from The Ninja Baker
• Mini Chicken Salad, Avocado and Cheese Subs from Big Bear’s Wife
• Moroccan Fried Chicken from MarocMama
• Pepper, Spinach and Goat’s Cheese Quiche from Happy Baking Days
• Picnic Basket Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Noshing with the Nolands
• Salmon in a Jar from Healthy. Delicious.
• Smoked Trout Deviled Eggs from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Spam Musubi fromKimchi Mom

Desserts

• Apricot Oat Nut Bars from Pies and Plots
• Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispie Treat Pops from In The Kitchen With KP
• Cocoa Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Fruit Salad from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• Fruit Salad with Honey Port Drizzle from Family Foodie
• Loaded Butterscotch Bars from Vintage Kitchen
• Nathan’s Cookies from What Smells So Good?
• Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treat Truffles from Chocolate Moosey
• Shandy Popsicles With Raspberries from Ruffles & Truffles
• Texas Sheet Cake with Pecan Frosting from Food Lust People Love
• Triple Chocolate Punch Bowl Cake from Neighborfood

• Fresh Limeade with Chia Seeds from girlichef
• Pineapple Sangria from Growing Up Gabel
• Strawberry Basil Lemonade from The Messy Baker Blog
• Strawberry Lemonade from Gotta Get Baked
• Top 10 Wines for Picnic #SundaySupper from ENOFYLZ Wine blog
• Watermelon Agua Fresca from Daily Dish Recipes

Brigadeiros

Chewy caramel insides are covered with chocolate sprinkles to make these sweets, essential at any Brazilian party. They are so easy to make too!

This week, #SundaySupper is celebrating celebrating.  What I mean is, we are sharing recipes that are perfect for showers.  Baby showers, bridal showers or whatever lovely gathering you are planning this month.  Our host is Brandie from Home Cooking Memories, so I think she will appreciate that I reached back to one of my favorite times to share this party favorite. 

Brigadeiros are an easy sweet treat that make an essential appearance at every celebration in Brazil.  We lived there for almost six years when our daughters were little.  In fact, both of them started school (a couple of years apart, of course) at the Omega School, which was a few blocks from our house, in the small neighborhood of Macaé called Vivendas da Lagoa.  It was a tiny operation with fewer than 30 students ranging from the three-year-olds to one sixth grader, with most children falling on the younger end of the chart.  Enrollment was so small most years that when one child celebrated a birthday, the whole crowd was invited. The best part was that they all played well together, regardless of age or grade level.  We missed that interaction later, in bigger schools. 

In those days, Macaé was a small oilfield town, short on amenities.  (I’ve been told it has progressed greatly since then, although I haven’t been back.)  Grocery shopping was limited and it was a challenge to do it all in one day, especially with at least one small child in tow.  Chicken was only purchased at the chicken shop, beef, pork and sausages at the butcher. If you wanted fresh vegetables, the best place was Hortifruti, the covered market.  Fresh milk was in limited supply so we bought UHT (ultra high temperature) milk that came in Tetrapaks.

For cheese, there were a couple of places you might get lucky, just don’t expect anything fancy.  But one thing that every shop had, even the little corner store in our neighborhood, were cans of the sweet sticky paste used for making brigadeiros.  When we left Brazil (and the supply I had brought in our shipment was exhausted) we had to learn how to make them without it.  Because, as I am sure you will agree once you try one, life is too short to go without brigadeiros. Fortunately, it isn’t that hard since you start with sticky condensed milk, available everywhere. 

Ingredients 

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 

1 tablespoon butter plus a little extra for buttering your hands when you are rolling the little balls 

1 (14 ounce or 397g) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) 

10.5 oz or 298g packet chocolate rice or sprinkles (You may not use them all.)

60-70 tiny paper muffin liners

Method 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, pour in the condensed milk, then sift in the cocoa and add in the butter.

Cook over a medium heat, stirring gently to make sure it is well combined.

Keep stirring and cooking until it is quite thick, about 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let rest until cool enough to handle.  It will stiffen up even more as it cools. 

Put your chocolate sprinkles in a small bowl or other deep container. 

Rub a little butter into both of your palms.  Using a small spoon, scoop up a little of the sweet paste and roll it into small balls between your palms.

Use one spoon to scrape it off into your buttered palm. 

Roll it between your buttered palms to get a smooth ball. 

Drop it gently into the small bowl of chocolate sprinkles and roll it around until coated. Place each covered ball in a paper muffin liner. Place on a serving tray.

Continue until all the paste is finished.  Keep in a cool, dry place until ready to serve.

Do not share these with your helper, not matter how much he begs.  Chokit, noooo!

These little balls of sticky chocolatey caramel awesomeness are perfect for any party!  Invite the whole crowd and see if they can play nice.

Enjoy! 

And while you are at it, why not make a couple of special dishes from the rest of the #SundaySupper line up of April Shower recipes? 

Starters, Appetizers & Snacks

• Antipasti Bites from Blueberries And Blessings
• Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail from A Stack of Dishes
• Glazed Pecans from Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Honey Pecan Baked Brie from Supper for a Steal
• Mini Curry Chicken Salad Phyllo Cups from The Weekend Gourmet
• Mushroom and Feta Bites from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Parmesan and Mushroom Focaccia from Basic N Delicious
• Pesto Tortilla Pinwheels from Home Cooking Memories
• Pinenut stuffed Dates from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• Spinach Dip in a Pumpernickel Bowl from The Foodie Patootie

Soups, Salads & Sandwiches

• Alphabet Soup from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Broccoli Bacon Salad from Country Girl In The Village
• Chicken Salad on Endive from Magnolia Days
• Creamy Asparagus Soup Shooters with Shrimp from Gourmet Drizzles
• London Ritz’s Tea Sandwiches from My Cute Bride
• Mini Shrimp & Egg Salad Sandwiches from The ROXX Box

Main Dishes

• Crustless Spinach Quiche from Family Foodie
• Easy Baked Ziti from Momma’s Meals
• French Country Flat Pie from Webicurean
• Penne Ala Vodka from I Run For Wine
• Savory Cheesy Kale Tart with Chiles from Shockingly Delicious

Cakes

• Baby Blue Cake Pops from Neighborfood
• Coconut Rum Cake from The Foodie Army Wife
• Japanese Wedding Cupcakes from NinjaBaking.com
• Mini Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting from Damn Delicious
• No Bake Lemon Cheesecakes Shots {Two Ways} from Cravings of a Lunatic
• Strawberry Buttermilk Scones from Vintage Kitchen
• Strawberry Shortcake Push Pops from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Vanilla Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream from That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Cookies, Brownies & Dessert Bars

• Baklava Crisps from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Chocolate Covered Mcaroons from Gotta Get Baked
• Chocolate-Balsamic Macaroons from Foxes Love Lemons
• Fudgy Carob Brownies from Pies and Plots
• Healthy Chocolate Bars with Fruit, Nuts & Coconut from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Lemon Sandwich Cookies with Pink Lemon Curd from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Pastel Pizzelles from Growing Up Gabel
• Pistachio Biscotti from Curious Cuisiniere
• Raspberry Lemonade Thumbprint Cookies from In The Kitchen With KP

Sweet Treats

• Bite-Size Pecan Tarts from Juanita’s Cocina
• Brigadeiros from Food Lust People Love
• Espresso Panna Cotta from Crazy Foodie Stunts
• Rosewater Raspberry Meringues from girlichef
• Shortbread Maple Cream Freezer Tart from A Beautiful Bite

Drink Recipes

• Pink Lemonade from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Pretty in Pink Punch from Noshing With The Nolands
• Slushy Mango Mojito from The Urban Mrs.

Almost Gwyneth's Fudgy Brownies

My less-healthy version called almost Gwyneth Paltrow's fudgy brownies. Still made with spelt, they are chewy and chocolatey and delicious!

I was sitting around the house this past Monday (actually on my laptop making comments on many of the movie-inspired #SundaySupper posts  – so many fabulous ones!) and suddenly, on Facebook (yeah, okay, you got me, also reading Facebook) a link popped up for these brownies.  It was posted by a friend who is trying to eat more healthily (Hi, Claire!) and she said that, for healthy brownies, they were pretty good.  More cake than brownie but good.  Well, I just happened to have some spelt flour I bought on a whim a few weeks ago, (I was under the mistaken impression that it was gluten free.  It’s not!) so I decided to give them a try.  Of course, as these things usually go, I didn’t have maple syrup or agave nectar or soy milk.  So substitutions were made.

If you’d like to make Gwyneth’s actual recipe, here’s the link with metric measurements and imperial measurements, but I can tell you that, after comparing results with my friend, my brownies were chewier and more brownie than cake.  Not as healthy perhaps, since they have sugar.  But hey.

And while, I’m but hey-ing, what’s with all the hating on Gwyneth?   I think folks are just jealous.  Are you a Gwyneth fan?

Ingredients
2 cups or 200g spelt flour
1 cup or 80g cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark.)
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
Healthy pinch fine salt
1/2 cup or 125ml canola or other light oil
1 cup or 250ml honey
1/2 cup or 100g light brown sugar
1/2 cup or 125ml strong brewed coffee, cooled
1/2 cup or 125ml milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup or 175g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your baking pan by greasing with a little canola oil or baking spray.   This is supposed to make 12 brownies so I used my square brownie pan but I must admit it was very full.  (You’ll see what I mean later.  Nothing ran over during baking though, so I guess it was just big enough.)

Gwyneth’s instructions said to sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together but when I tried sifting the spelt flour, the bigger bits just got stuck in the tiny holes in my sieve, so I tipped the flour into my bowl and then sifted in the cocoa, and added the other ingredients, including the light brown sugar.  So you can probably do the same.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the canola oil, milk, honey, coffee and vanilla.

It doesn't really want to mix.  Just do your best. 

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Gwyneth said, "Don't stir too hard," so I didn't.

Pour half of your batter into the prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle with half the chocolate chips.

Now cover the chips with the rest of the batter.

Top with the rest of the chocolate chips.

See how full?!  I was a little worried, I'll be frank. 

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.  I think underdone is better than overdone when the item is brownies.

All the chocolate chips sank.  But maybe that made them more chewy so I'm not complaining.

Let them cool for about 10-15 minutes and then cut into squares.  These were fabulous warm!

Enjoy!

And since I substituted honey for the maple syrup, I am submitting these chewy brownies to 

We Should Cocoa, hosted by Choclette of the ChocolateLogBlog where chocolate is a food staple and April's extra ingredient is honey.  Go on over and visit!