Chocolate Cake

When Arena sent me PW's cookbook (which you should totally go buy, like right now!) I knew my days of cooking the same old cakes (out of boxes) were about over*. There is a reallllly good recipe for a chocolate sheet cake in this cookbook that is divine! Actually, I didn't realize until I started making the icing that it's the same recipe/cake that my grandma has been making since I was little. Who cares, it's still good and I will still make it for whoever asks. Forgive the quality of the pictures in this post, you all know by now I want a window in my kitchen and a new camera**.

PW's Chocolate Sheet Cake
It makes a HUGE amount of cake...

What you need for the cake:
 2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp.vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
2 sticks butter
4 heaping tbs. cocoa powder

What you need for the icing:

1 & 3/4 sticks of butter

4 heaping tbs. cocoa powder

6 tbs. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lb powdered sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional) I didn't use any because I made this for a Christmas dessert and my grandpa doesn't like nuts in things.

See those pictures? Flash then no flash, it's a recurring theme among my blogs.

Moving on.

The first thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 350. Gather all of the ingredients you need for the cake and we'll get started. Grab a big bowl and combine the flour, sugar and salt. You can just stir it until blended with a fork. Set mixture aside.

In another bowl, it can be smaller, mix the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. You can still use a fork. Stir it good. Set it aside. It'll bubble a bit and look like a science experiment but it's okay. This picture was before I mixed it...

Now, grab a saucepan. Melt the 2 sticks of butter. When it's almost melted, add the cocoa. Stir it good. Yum.

While that is melting together, bring one cup of water to a boil. I just stick it in the microwave a couple of minutes because I'm lazy. When your chocolate/butter mixture is smooth add this cup of boiling water. Mix well.

Let it bubble for a couple of minutes. I stirred it every once in a while. I like to babysit my food. Turn off the heat after it's bubbled a bit.

Next, remember that large bowl you mixed the flour and other ingredients in? Grab it. Pour the chocolate mixture into this big bowl with the flour mixture.

Stir this together to cool of the chocolate a bit. Don't over-stir.

Now pour in the egg/buttermilk mixture.

Stir until smooth.

The bubbles might freak you out. No worries. Now, pour the mixture onto an ungreased rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes. Mine took a bit longer. Just use a toothpick in the middle and see if it comes out almost clean. Hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself.

When you put the cake into the oven to bake, start making your icing. Gather the things I told you at the beginning that you'd need in order to do that. Melt the 1 & 3/4 sticks of butter in a saucepan over low heat.

Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth. This was before I stirred. Duh.

When the mixture is smooth, add the milk and vanilla. Stir.

Now, add the powdered sugar. I made a mountain out of mine. See?

Stir this together. Don't walk away. It thickens fast. At this point turn your heat on the lowest you can. Once the mixture is combined, you can add chopped pecans, ya know, if that's your thing and all.

Don't forget about your cake. It should be about done. My icing was finished about 5-8 minutes before the cake was. Just keep stirring the icing if this happens to you. As soon as you take your cake out of the oven, pour the icing on top.

Pour it in a way so that you don't have to do much spreading. The cake and icing should both be hot enough that it spreads on its own!

You're finished! Hopefully yours looks prettier than mine. Mine totally overflowed all over the counter.

It's okay though. It was still super yummy!

Now go clean up your messy kitchen and then have a big fat piece of cake.

* I tried to make this recipe as simple as possible to follow because my 15 yr old brother, Tyler, likes to cook and he wanted to try making this. Hopefully he has success!

**The pictures in the post really blow because I did this all on my own, Chris was at work so I was stirring/pouring/taking pictures all at once. Hence, the action pictures aren't too hot.