I keep forgetting to post this. Please forgive my brain-deadness.
I came across this recipe awhile ago, but didn't want the fuss of cutting out the cakes and whatnot. So, I decided just to make a 9x13 sheet cake and frost it (just like all my childhood birthday cakes were - I didn't know round, multi-layered cakes existed). Oh. My. Word. Seriously - this will be the absolute BEST cake and frosting you'll ever have. End of story. There. I said it. So stop asking. And yes - this whole cake has four sticks of butter in it. Shut up, eat it, and smile because it's so dang good. Your grandma would have.
This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman. Some of her comments the whipping of the frosting process amused me greatly.
The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
2 sticks Butter
1 cup Boiling Water
½ cups Buttermilk
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.
In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.
That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had
5 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)
In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness. If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled chocolate cake.
