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| What You Need: |
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CAKE
1 tablespoon butter, softened, plus ½ pound butter, cut into ¼-inch bits
2 tablespoons plus 2 cups unsifted flour
2 cups granulated sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
½ cup water
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FROSTING
3½ cups confectioners' sugar
½ cup finely chopped pecans
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
10 tablespoons light cream
8 tablespoons (1 quarter-pound stick) butter, cut into ¼-inch bits
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 400. With a pastry brush, spread the tablespoon of softened butter over the bottom and sides of a 16-by-11-inch jelly-roll pan. it evenly. Invert the pan and rap the bottom sharply to remove the excess flour. Set the pan aside.
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2. Combine the remaining 2 cups of flour and the granulated sugar and sift them into a deep bowl. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the ¼ cup of cocoa with the water and stir with a wire whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add the ½ pound of butter bits, place the pan over moderate heat and whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and the butter is completely melted.
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3. Remove the pan from the heat and let the cocoa mixture cool for 2 or 3 minutes. Then, stirring constantly with the whisk, pour the cocoa mixture over the flour-and-sugar mixture in a slow, thin stream. When the batter is smooth, stir in the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
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4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set it aside in the pan.
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5. To prepare the frosting, mix the confectioners' sugar and pecans together in a bowl. Combine ¼ cup of cocoa and the light cream in a small heavy saucepan and stir vigorously with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add the 8 tablespoons of butter bits, place the pan over moderate heat, and whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and the butter is completely melted.
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6. Stirring constantly with. the whisk, immediately pour the boiling cocoa mixture over the sugar-and-pecan mixture in a slow, thin stream. When the frosting is smooth, beat in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Pour the frosting over the hot cake and spread it smooth with a rubber spatula. Let the cake cool completely to room temperature before cutting it into squares or rectangles for serving.
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| Serving Size: 16-by-11-inch cake |
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