frani’s texas sheet cake
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this texas sheet cake made by a childhood friend’s mother was a staple in my neighborhood. maybe that’s why after more than 30 years i still think about it.
I remember, I remember,
Where I was used to swing,
And thought the air must rush as fresh
To swallows on the wing;
My spirit flew in feathers then,
That is so heavy now,
And summer pools could hardly cool
The fever on my brow!
~from i remember, i remember by thomas hood
there are two young boys in the neighborhood that ride their bikes up an down the street every day. only 2. kids don’t play outside anymore. when mine were younger, we were outside all. the. time.
is it me or are people not as neighborly as they used to be? growing up, we knew not only everyone on our block, but also knew practically everyone on the four or five blocks surrounding ours. now, ian and i know maybe five of the families on our street, and when we walk the dogs each night, we are the only two people out and about.
as kids we lived outdoors. even in the winter. if we weren’t building snow forts and having snowball wars, we were ice skating in the backyard. and not just my sister and i. we were usually joined by at least four or five other neighborhood friends.
summers included lemonade stands, carnivals, bike rides, backyard camp-outs, and pool hopping. it really was an idyllic childhood.
this past fall i visited one of my very best childhood friends who now lives in las vegas. we had so much fun reminiscing, we literally were the last ones in the bar. not bad for a couple of 40 somethings! jen’s mom is the frani of frani’s texas sheet cake.
texas sheet cake
Ingredients:
for the cake
- 1 cup of oil
- 6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup of water
- 2 cups of flour
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup sour cream (i used buttermilk)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 stick of butter, melted
- 1/2 pound powdered sugar
- 5 Tbsp cocoa powder
- dash salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4-6 Tbsp milk
Directions:
- preheat oven to 350°
- grease a Large Sheet Cake Pan, 12 x 18-Inch
- in a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the oil, cocoa, and water
- bring to a boil, and remove pan from heat quickly
- in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, and salt, add the cocoa - oil mixture and stir well
- whisk the egg with the sour cream (or buttermilk), and add baking soda, then add to the chocolate
- stir in vanilla and beat until smooth
- pour batter onto the prepared sheet pan, and bake 22-25 minutes (pick inserted should come out clean)
- while the cake bakes, prepare the glaze by combining the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt,cocoa, and milk (start with 4 Tbsp adding more if needed)
- allow cake to cool for 10 minutes, then pour on and smooth glaze (the warm cake will do most of the work)
- allow cake to cool and the glaze to set before cutting
this texas sheet cake made an appearance at every function. when i asked fran if she still had the recipe, she laughed. it made so many appearances she has it memorized.
pretty sure it will make many appearances in my home as well.
enjoy!
