So Stephanie came over, I went shopping for some jean shorts, found some for only $25, and then we came back to bake something. We decided on a Texas Sheet Cake. By the way, I get most of my recipes from Foodgawker.com. If you haven't heard of this website you need to check it out. It's awesome. It's basically a compilation of all the best food blogs, and you get to look at delicious pictures of food. What more could you ask for? Well, maybe being able to TRY all of the food in the pictures, but I think that's asking for too much.
Here's the recipe:
For the cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. white sugar, granulated
3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp. salt
For the glaze:
1 c. heavy cream
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/4 c. white sugar, granulated
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cocoa powder and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until mixed through.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat until just blended. Remember: Start with dry ingredients and end on dry ingredients!
Spread the mixture out over a 12" x 16" rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a rubber scraper to smooth the batter as evenly as possible across the pan. (I didn't use parchment paper becuase we didn't have any. I just sprayed the pan with baking Pam).
Bake the cake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Set the baked cake aside to cool slightly before glazing.
And here is where the night got eventful. I decided to put the cake in a cookie sheet, because it isn't a tall cake at all, and I didn't think it would rise that much. This is where you would place the ASL sign for WRONG. The cake rose too much and spilled out from over the sides a bit, and it started burning at the bottom of the oven. It got so bad that I would open the oven slightly and smoke would just spill out and fill the room. We ended up opening all of the doors, and Stephanie and I were wafting the smoke with dish towels.
I had to try and see the positive, but I was worried the cake was ruined. We decided to take out the cake 5 minutes early and hope for the best. And let me tell you, even the slightly burned sides of the cake were delicious. The middle was gooey, just the way I like it. So it all worked out for the best.
Next up was the glaze.
Roughly chop the chocolate for the glaze and set aside.
Bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove the cream mixture to a heat-proof bowl and add the chopped chocolate and butter. (We added a dash of extra cinnamon and a tsp of vanilla)
Whisk the glaze until smooth and glossy.
Spread over the top of the cake and serve. (Approximately 14-16 servings)
We decided to try it before putting the glaze on the entire cake, hence the random square in the middle.
I thought it was DELICIOUS. I'm a big fan of chocolate and cinnamon, so this was perfect for me. It was gooey, warm, and delicious with a big glass of ice cold milk. (and yes, I do put actual ICE in my milk. I can't have it any other way)
We took our first bite:
So while we are eating our delicious cake, Stephanie pulls up an online shopping site. BAD IDEA. I have been on this craze for shoes lately, especially heels. I went without heels for 3 years of my life for a reason I don't want to get into right now, but I'm sure you can guess. I think I'm literally making up for lost time. I am going CRAZY for shoes, and of course, a pair of shoes that make me want to cry show up. So after holding the cursor on the "proceed to checkout" button for 15 minutes, I finally pressed it, and these shoes will be at my door in 1-5 business days.
I'm really hoping for the 1 business day. I am SO excited. Please feel free to leave comments on how amazing these shoes are. I know I will be dreaming about them tonight, and I'm not ashamed.
"You complete me kitchen, Matey."
