Texas Sheet Cake

Texas Sheet Cake  (America’s Test Kitchen)

 (looks like those brownies from the place near 1st Bank Hopkins.  You know the ones.)

ingredients

• Cake:
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 8oz semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350°. Grease a 18x13" cookie sheet. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs, yolks, vanilla, and sour cream in another bowl until smooth.

Heat the chocolate, butter, oil, water, and cocoa in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 3-5 minutes. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until incorporated. Whisk the egg mixture into the batter, then pour into the prepared baking sheet. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

• Chocolate Icing:
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp light corn syrup
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

About 5 minutes before the cake is done, heat the butter, cream, cocoa, and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Off the heat, whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread the warm icing evenly over the hot cake and sprinkle with pecans. Let the cake cool to room temperature on the wire rack, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until the icing is set, about 1 hour longer. Cut into 3-inch squares. Timing is everything - be sure to pour the warm icing over the hot cake as soon as it comes out of the oven and spread evenly to the edges.