Texas Sheet Cake

This is my absolute favorite from scratch cake recipe. It is so good, that I made it this year for my boys' birthdays!

I got the recipe from:

http://southernfood.about.com


Ingredients:
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•2 cups sugar
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1 cup butter
•1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
•2 eggs
•1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
•1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
•.
•Chocolate Frosting:
•1/4 cup butter
•3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
•3 tablespoons buttermilk
•2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
•1/2 teaspoon vanilla
•1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
Preparation:
Cake
Grease a 15X10X1-inch or jelly roll pan or a 13X9X2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup butter, 1/3 cup cocoa, and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. With an electric hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat chocolate mixture into the dry mixture until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin). Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in a 350° oven about 25 minutes for the 15X10-inch pan or 35 minutes for the 13X9-inch pan, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Pour warm chocolate frosting over the warm cake, spreading evenly. Place cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly before cutting.
Makes 24 servings.

Frosting:
In a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, and 3 tablespoons buttermilk. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add 2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth. If desired, stir in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans.