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
Sandwiches and Mains
Desserts
