In junior high, I had to take three electives: typing (boring but useful), wood shop (ha! I remember absolutely nothing about that class), and home economics (I remember this cake and sewing a pillow). So while I want to say that this cake was the best thing to come of that year, it probably was typing. Yawn. We'll say it was this cake to be more exciting though. I remember it fondly, and we made it a lot in my house. I remember that the original recipe called for oleo, which shows you how old school the recipe was.
I haven't had this cake for years, so when I made it this weekend, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed about exactly how good it is. It's super moist (sorry for those of you who hate that word) and it's really chocolatey, even though it doesn't call for a ton of chocolate. This is a cake that you can whip up in under an hour, and that includes making the frosting and frosting it. Plus, it doesn't require a hand or electric mixer. Although I'm a big fan of fancy pretty layer cakes, there's something to be said about a from-scratch sheet cake that can be made and eaten in an afternoon. We need more of those in our lives I think.
Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe
Makes a 9x13 cake
Print this recipe
*Note: If you're making this at a higher altitude, your cake will sink in the middle unless you change the amount of baking soda to 2 1/4 teaspoons. I sprayed my cake pan with regular cooking spray, but I think that if you want to flip this cake out of the pan and decorate it, you probably should use baking spray or grease/flour.
For the cake:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking soda*
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons milk
1 pound powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
To make the cake, mix flour and sugar together in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, and water. Heat until it comes to a boil and pour it over the flour mixture. Mix together. Add the rest of the cake ingredients and stir until incorporated. Pour it into a greased 9x13 pan.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Five minutes before the cake is done, heat the butter, cocoa powder, and milk in a medium saucepan until it boils. Don't use a wooden spoon to stir this mixture or it will taste like wood. Remove from heat, add in the powdered sugar, and beat by hand until smooth. Pour over the hot cake. Let cool slightly before serving.
Source: My junior high home economics class.
I haven't had this cake for years, so when I made it this weekend, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed about exactly how good it is. It's super moist (sorry for those of you who hate that word) and it's really chocolatey, even though it doesn't call for a ton of chocolate. This is a cake that you can whip up in under an hour, and that includes making the frosting and frosting it. Plus, it doesn't require a hand or electric mixer. Although I'm a big fan of fancy pretty layer cakes, there's something to be said about a from-scratch sheet cake that can be made and eaten in an afternoon. We need more of those in our lives I think.
Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe
Makes a 9x13 cake
Print this recipe
*Note: If you're making this at a higher altitude, your cake will sink in the middle unless you change the amount of baking soda to 2 1/4 teaspoons. I sprayed my cake pan with regular cooking spray, but I think that if you want to flip this cake out of the pan and decorate it, you probably should use baking spray or grease/flour.
For the cake:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking soda*
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons milk
1 pound powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
To make the cake, mix flour and sugar together in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, and water. Heat until it comes to a boil and pour it over the flour mixture. Mix together. Add the rest of the cake ingredients and stir until incorporated. Pour it into a greased 9x13 pan.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Five minutes before the cake is done, heat the butter, cocoa powder, and milk in a medium saucepan until it boils. Don't use a wooden spoon to stir this mixture or it will taste like wood. Remove from heat, add in the powdered sugar, and beat by hand until smooth. Pour over the hot cake. Let cool slightly before serving.
Source: My junior high home economics class.
