Moist Chocolate Sheet Cake

After school I gave two of my boys a choice of three different goodies to make for them...it was one of those kind of days a momma has to cheer up her kiddos.  They chose this chocolate sheet cake.  It is very moist and delicious!  One of my older boys said that he had to get a glass of milk to go with the cake.  That all the "good" chocolate cakes require milk to go with it.  All he could say once he had a bite was, "MMMMMMMMM."  (He is one of my picky eaters when it comes to chocolate cake.) lol  I packed a piece in their lunches with wax paper around it.  They all ate their cake on the way to school! That's one way to keep the other kids from wanting some!!! lol

The recipe is adapted from The Pioneer Woman.  I was impressed with how quickly it all seemed to be put together.  I love that the frosting doesn't taste like powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter

4 tbs heaping cocoa

1 cup water

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp lemon juice

2 eggs beaten

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium saucepan, bring to boil butter, cocoa, and water, stirring well.  Boil for 30 seconds and remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, and salt.  Pour the chocolate sauce into the bowl and mix well.  Try to get as much of the flour lumps out as much as possible.

In another small bowl, mix together the milk, lemon juice, beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.  The chocolate mixture should be cool to the touch by now.  Add the liquid and mix well.

Spray an 18x13 sheet cake pan with a nonstick cooking spray.  Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it out as evenly as possible.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes, test with a toothpick for doneness.

While the cake is baking, you can prepare the frosting.  

Frosting:

3/4 cup butter

3 tbs cocoa

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tbs milk

1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan (I reused the same to make the batter), melt the butter and cocoa.  Remove from heat.  Gradually, add the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla, stirring well between intervals to get to a smooth consistency.  

After the cake has cooled for about 5 minutes, spread the frosting on the cake.  The frosting will harden as it cools on the cake.  Garnish with sprinkles or chopped nuts.