Brown Butter Texas Sheet Cake

Brown Butter Texas Sheet Cake - made August 23, 2021 from Bake or Break 

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

6 to 8 tablespoons sour cream

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, stirring until butter melts and foams and brown bits form on the bottom. Stir to prevent burning. Cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan (or a 15" x 10" jelly roll pan for thinner cake) with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Add the cooled brown butter, water, buttermilk, vanilla and eggs. Stir until smooth.
5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes for 9 x 13 pan or 15-18 minutes for jelly roll pan or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
6. Frosting: Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and 6 tablespoons sour cream. Beat until smooth. Add the remaining sour cream, one tablespoon at a time, if necessary, to achieve desired spreadable consistency.
7. Spread frosting evenly over cake. 

I've been having trouble sleeping lately. Actually, I can fall asleep and I can sleep but it's been a challenge lately to stay asleep. Meaning it isn't unheard of for me to wake up at 1:30 am or 2 am, despite only having been asleep for 3-4 hours. I make a futile attempt to go back to sleep but my brain decides it wants to get active and think a whole bunch of stuff, all in an effort to prevent me from falling asleep again. My brain can be an ass.

I usually lose all hope of falling asleep again after an hour or two. By 4 am, I've given into the inevitable, get out of bed and start my day. Even if I have an 8 am meeting, hey, that's a whole 4 hours ahead of me. Exercising, showering and getting ready for that long commute between my kitchen to my desk off the kitchen only takes a little more than an hour.

So of course I fill the time by baking. And, in the case of this Texas sheet cake, it was pre-dawn, sleep-deprived time well spent. OMG, this cake was delicious. Fluffy, light, amazing. And I ate two pieces to prove how good it is. Usually I can get by with one taste test piece, sometimes even just a taste test sliver. Nope. Two pieces. Sorry, waistband, but it was worth it.

My better angel did prevail (eventually) and I packaged up the rest of the cake and put them in my freezer as part of the week's donation to the food distribution to the local houseless population. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.