Marble Texas Sheet Cake from 'Grandbaby Cakes'
Every week, Yahoo Food spotlights a cookbook that stands out from all the rest. This week’s cookbook is Grandbaby Cakes by Jocelyn Delk Adams. Read more about Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week here.
Photograph by Jocelyn Delk Adams
Marble Texas Sheet Cake
Serve 20–24
The traditional Texas Sheet Cake is about “as old as Methuselah,” a saying I heard quite a bit growing up from my mom and Big Mama. It basically means something’s old as dirt. I also heard “if a bulldog had hip pockets, it wouldn’t have to tuck its tail and run.” I still have no clue what that means, but I digress—back to Texas sheet cake.
I love when a classic like this never goes out of style and is always on trend whenever you make it. The traditional recipe is made with all chocolate and melts like butter when you taste it. This rendition has the same tender result but swirls in some vanilla flavor, too. The dramatic marbled effect is not only gorgeous but just plain delicious. With this cake you’ll never have to choose between vanilla and chocolate, because now you can have it all!
Grandbaby Note:
The icing can be difficult to work with if you let it sit too long. Make sure you swirl it right away after cooking, or you will have to reheat it a little to liquefy it again.
Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Icing
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
⅓ cup buttermilk, room temperature
3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
For the Cake
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Liberally prepare an 11 × 17-inch baking pan with the nonstick method of your choice.
In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the butter, water, and oil to a boil. Once the mixture starts to boil, remove from the heat and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt on low speed. Carefully add the hot butter mixture, increase the speed to medium, and mix for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the buttermilk and baking soda. Mix the batter until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Turn off your mixer and transfer ½ of the batter to a medium bowl. To this bowl, add the cocoa powder and whisk until well combined.
Pour ½ of this chocolate batter into the prepared pan. Follow with ½ of the vanilla batter still in your stand mixer bowl. Using a skewer or butter knife, carefully swirl the two batters together, creating a marble pattern. Repeat this step with the remaining 2 halves of batter. (This process doesn’t have to be perfect. Have fun with it!)
Bake for 16 to 21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature. Lightly cover the cake with foil or plastic wrap so it does not dry out.
For the Icing
While the cake cools, immediately begin the icing.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the butter and buttermilk to a boil.
Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract. Stir well and remove from the heat.
Transfer ½ of the icing to a small bowl. To this bowl, add the cocoa powder and whisk until well combined.
To Assemble
Moving quickly, before the icing thickens, alternate adding spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate icing onto the cake. Using a skewer or butter knife, create swirls in the icing like you did with the cake batter. Let the cake cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve at room temperature.
Reprinted with permission from Grandbaby Cakes by Jocelyn Delk Adams (Agate Surrey, 2015).
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