Pioneer Woman's best ever chocolate sheet cake

By Anonymous -
I have a bunch of buttermilk leftover from the cake I made last weekend (which is gone, sigh) and I hate to waste buttermilk. I threw out the question to my Facebook friends, and two of them recommended this cake.
So I gave it a shot. It really is a very good chocolate sheet cake, and so, so easy to make. Yum. Also, not low-cal by any means. Almost 4 sticks of butter in this cake. I'm trying not to think about that.
(I've still got buttermilk left. I'm currently weighing my options on what to do with the rest of it.)

adapted slightly from Pioneer Woman (obviously)

FOR THE CAKE:
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
2 sticks Unsalted Butter
1 cup Boiling Water
½ cups Buttermilk
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

FOR FROSTING:
1 stick Butter, plus 6 Tbsp.
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
6 Tablespoons Milk (3 oz, if you don't want to measure out each tablespoon)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
About 3 cups Powdered Sugar

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. (Note here: I don't have a sheet pan. I intended to use a 9x13 pan, but then found a baking pan that was larger than that. I don't know how big, but I used it and it came out fine. If you use a 9x13 pan, you'll have to increase baking time.)
While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Pour over warm cake.
Cut into squares and eat.

Comments

Melissa said…
I've had good luck freezing leftover buttermilk, usually in 1 or 2-cup portions so I can grab it for a batch of pancakes. If I remember, I defrost it overnight in the fridge, but sometimes I just defrost in the microwave and put it in the batter.
5:05 PM
Kelly said…
Biscuits to go with sausage gravy!
5:45 PM
Alissa said…
I was going to suggest freezing it, but I see someone beat me to it. The other benefit of that is that you won't have to buy another whole container of buttermilk the next time you need a small amount. I do this with tomato paste, too, as I never seem to need the whole can.
6:57 PM
Kelly said…
So true about tomato paste. I freeze it in little 1-2 Tbs blobs and then chuck them in a bag on the freezer door. So much more convenient that way.
12:32 AM
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