Nana Recipe Wednesday–Texas Cake

Nana and Boppa lived in San Angelo, Texas, for a little while before they made their way to California. This was after Boppa got out of the Navy and it turned out that San Angelo had no pediatricians offices, so he decided to start one. They had my two aunts there in Texas too, maybe they needed some more kids for the practice. (just kidding, Anne and Jill!)

That’s my dad there, standing in the middle. Cute, ain’t he?

Anyway, maybe that is where she landed this recipe for Texas Cake. Not sure why it’s called that, perhaps it’s based on it’s enormity. You bake it in a big half-sheet pan. It’s large–perhaps the largest cake in the union.

Here are all the ingredients you’ll need–for both the cake and the icing.

First, melt butter, water and cocoa together and let come to a boil.

In a seperate large bowl, add your flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and pour in the beaten egg.

Next add in the buttermilk.

And finally the vanilla.

Mix the ingredients in the bowl, and slowly-slowly (don’t scramble the eggs!) pour in a bit of the hot chocolate mixture.

Pour in a little at a time.

And stir it through. Scrambled eggs in cake is gross.

After adding about half the chocolate, you can just dump the rest in.

Stir it through,

Until completely combined.

Spray the oil stuff on your sheet pan.

And instead of dusting with flour, dust with chocolate. Then there’s no white stuff on the bottom or sides when you go to serve it.

Pour the cake batter into the pan and set in the middle of a 350* oven.

Combine butter, cocoa, buttermilk…

…vanilla and powdered sugar in a saucepan and melt together. Do not boil.

Mix until combined.

It gets “mostly” smooth—but there still will be little lumps. I could NOT get those damn lumps to go away.

The little one is excited about the cake.

Just like a sponge or a jelly roll.

Pour the hot icing right on the cake.

Using a heatproof rubber spatula, spread the love around.

Get all the way into the corners and edges.

Sprinkle on pecans-or just mix them into the icing–we had a non-nut lover in the house last weekend…ADAM.

Good enough to eat!

I wanted a piece the size of Texas, but since I had just had a giant falafel, I restrained myself.

And of course I shared with the little darling.

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Texas Cake

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray the sheet pan and dust with cocoa or flour.

2 sticks butter (1 cup)
1 cup water
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour through vanilla in a large bowl. Set aside.
Bring butter, water and cocoa to a boil and pour over flour mixture. Mix well and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the frosting.

Heat on the stove but do not boil:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
4 Tbsp buttermilk

Turn off the heat and mix in:
1 box (1 lb.) powdered sugar
1/2 cup or more chopped nuts (we like pecans)
1 tsp vanilla

When cake is done, pull out of the oven and frost while still hot.

According to Nana: “This is the best chocolate cake EVER! Moist and keeps well. Can be made in 2 or 3 smaller pans and extras can be frozen”.

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This is for any of you Smith relatives out there—-the back of the card from above:

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