Texas Sheet Cake (with sour cream)

Texas Sheet Cake - made April 26, 2014 from Beurrista

I should probably start numbering the Texas Fudge Cakes I make since they're getting to be a regular feature. I can't help it. Every time I need to fill multiple goodie bags or have baked goods on hand, this is the go-to cake, albeit I try a different recipe every time. This time I needed something to bring on my Vegas trip to my sister's and her boyfriend likes things "plain" so this was a good fit. I had been running low on Pernigotti cocoa so I took the plunge to order the larger size from amazon. Can't have too much of the good stuff, I say.

This particular Texas Cake recipe is actually not as simple and easy to throw together as the other ones. You do still combine liquid ingredients, bring to a boil and add to the dry ingredients. But in this case, you also have to melt the chocolate with the liquid ingredients and that's a little more time-consuming. It isn't hard to do, just that there's the extra step of chopping the chocolate then melting it with the butter, oil, water and cocoa. Whenever you melt chocolate, you have to stir it constantly to prevent it from burning. You don't want your heat too high either or the butter will separate out. Again, not hard, but not as easy and straightforward as other recipes without that step.

The batter for this cake was also thicker than the other Texas Fudge/Sheet Cakes. Usually the batter is more liquid and you know it's going to bake up into a moist cake. I started to get leery of this cake as it was baking because it formed a crust on top. Like the kind of crust you see on brownies from a box mix. Not the film part but a crust crust. Um, no one likes a crust on a cake, especially not me. I'm making a cake, not a pie. But I told myself to chill out because I knew I'd be pouring warm frosting over a hot cake when it was done and that should take care of any crust issues.

And so it did. The frosting was more flowing than the frosting from the last Texas cake I had made so it didn't set to fudge consistency. It wasn't too sweet either like the last one. I ended up liking this cake. The texture was just slightly more dense than the other Texas cakes so it was almost halfway between a cake and a brownie. The flavor was good since I used the good chocolate and, of course, the Pernigotti.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs plus 2 yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Chocolate Icing
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray (you can also use a sheet pan for a thinner cake and adjust baking time accordingly).
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk eggs, yolks, vanilla and sour cream until smooth.
3. Heat chocolate, butter, oil, water and cocoa powder in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until incorporated. Whisk egg mixture into the batter, then pour into prepared baking pan. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes for sheet pan, longer for 9 x 13 pan. Set on wire rack.
4. About 5 minutes before cake is done, heat butter, cream, cocoa and corn syrup in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Off heat, whisk in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Spread warm icing evenly over hot cake. Let cake cool to room temperature on wire rack, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until icing is set, about 1 hour longer. Cut into squares and serve.