Recipe: Chocolate Sheet Cake

You can't beat the simple goodness of homemade chocolate cake. This recipe from a neighborhood cookbook became one of my mom's staples a few years ago. Both the recipe and my mother's philosophy that almost any occasion (or lack thereof) calls for a good cake have become part of my bake-and-take lifestyle. Even my self-proclaimed baking-challenged aunt conquered this recipe—after three tries of forgetting important ingredients that is.

Box mixes don't call for near enough butter to provide the moist richness of this dense yet light cake. The thick layer of icing reminds me of fudge and likewise is on a different playing field than anything you find at a grocery store. The cake doesn't require a birthday but does make for a nice treat for such an occasion. A few years ago, it was especially appropriate for a friend with has a strong appreciation for confections on her 21st birthday, nearly a year after most of our friends had hit that last all-important birthday.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Cake

2 cups sifted flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 sticks butter

1 cup water

4 Tbsp. cocoa

½ cup buttermilk

2 eggs, well beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9-inch pan. Sift together flour, sugar and baking soda. Put the butter, water and cocoa in a small saucepan; mix and bring to a boil. Pour hot mixture into the flour mixture; mix well. Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Pour batter into greased 13x9 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Icing

1 stick butter

 4 Tbsp. cocoa

5 Tbsp. milk

1-16 oz. package powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Put butter, cocoa and milk into a small saucepan. Mix and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add sugar, vanilla. If too thick, add more milk. Spread on warm sheet cake.