Chocolate Sheet Cake

I rarely bake. And I could swear to you that I was born without a sweet tooth. No, I'm the kind of girl who likes to indulge in well marbled cuts of beef. Or just about anything wrapped in bacon. My kind of candy for sure! But recently, I have been wanting a piece of Chocolate Sheet Cake; the kind my mom used to make. (Okay, so I have a tiny sweet tooth.) Anyway, I didn't call my mom to ask for the recipe because lately when I have, it goes something like this: "Oh...Leslie. I don't know! It had butter and powdered sugar."  Okay...so we've got TWO of the TWENTY ingredients down. (thanks, mom) I can't complain though, I don't keep a recipe box either. Hence, my blog.

I searched the internet far and wide and found a version that is a perfect match to mom's. I really don't think there's a need for me to bake any other cake...EVER! Anytime my sweet tooth shows her face I will be quieting her down with this. Enjoy!

For The Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp (heaping) cocoa powder
2 sticks butter
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

For Frosting:
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 and 3/4 sticks butter
4 Tbsp (heaping) cocoa powder
6 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a mixing bowl, combine flour sugar and salt
In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa, and stir together
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, stir lightly to cool.
In a separate mixing bowl, beat eggs and mix in buttermilk, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate/flour mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake for 20 minutes.While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. And the pecans and stir well. Pour over warm cake.

LESLIE'S NOTES: I used a 16" x 12" x 1" sheet pan. I also bought a bag of finely chopped pecans. What a time saver that was! This recipe is adapted from the one I found on The Pioneer Woman