Jeremy’s Texas Sheet Cake

I recently had one of those perfect lazy Sunday afternoon’s — you know, one of those days that makes you pause and think “life is so good.”  The California sun was bright and the breeze was crisp. The guys tossed around a baseball in front of the house, surely reminiscing about high school championships past. I putted around the house in my polka dot pajamas and sock monkey slippers, passing the hours by pouring over old community cookbooks, stopping to linger over each page. Yes, an exciting life I lead.

After everybody worked up an appetite (reading is so exhausting, you know), Walt, aka the boyfriend, cooked up some of Miss Dot’s famous fried chicken in my getting-well-seasoned cast iron skillet. We served it up with a heaping mound of Velveeta Shells & Cheese. No shame here.  With full plates, we all piled onto the front porch and watched the hot pink sun slowly slip into the horizon. Nobody said much. Nobody had to. Sometimes perfection needs no description. The only sound to break the silence was the crack of my Crush strawberry soda opening. Seriously. I found it in the fridge and thought it seemed only fitting.

But the best part was knowing what came next: a fresh-from-the-oven Texas sheet cake, in honor of my friend Garrett’s birthday. This was always my mother’s go-to cake recipe. My next door neighbor (and childhood crush) Jeremy loved it so much that she would call him right as she pulled it from the oven. He would arrive in a flash, ready to eat with the hunger of a growing athlete. Sometimes she would make one just for him, and send it to school with me, all wrapped up in a casserole dish with a little note scribbled on top. I could never quite figure out why she never did this for me. Oh well, he was like the son she never had. Whenever I make this cake I still think of him fondly.

This cake is a real Southern treat. Enjoy it with a tall glass of milk!

JEREMY’S TEXAS SHEET CAKE

Source: Candlelight and Wisteria, the Lee-Scott Academy cookbook

2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks butter or margarine
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift together sugar and flour in a large bowl; set aside.

Combine butter and next 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until butter and shortening melt. Remove from heat, and pour over sugar mixture, stirring until dissolved. Cool slightly.

Stir in buttermilk and next 3 ingredients. Pour into a greased and lightly floured 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. (Cake will have a fudgelike texture.) Spread warm cake with Chocolate Icing.

CHOCOLATE ICING

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine butter, cocoa, and milk in medium saucepan. Cook over low heat 5 minutes or until margarine melts. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar and vanilla. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth and sugar dissolves. Add pecans. Immediately pour over warm sheet cake.