I notice that a lot of people land on this blog searching for "brownies" or "chocolate recipes". So in order to spread even more happiness, let me share with you another chocolate recipe, one that has proved an old favourite for years now. It's the Texas Fudge cake. And when I ask my friends...OK choose a cake for Christmas, the invariably say, Texas Fudge.
I found this recipe years ago (somewhere in the late 90s) in my Chicken Soup for the Soul Cookbook. Each recipe was accompanied by a heartwarming story and almost always, both proved equally delicious. So here is the recipe for Grandmother Whitehead's Famous Texas Fudge Cake. Use it carefully. Has been known to induce love and joy.
Ingredients for Cake
1/3 cup cocoa
2 sticks (I cup) butter or margarine
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar (I use less sugar and it usually tastes better, experiment with this)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream or buttermilk (sour cream is richer)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Icing
3/4 stick butter or margarine (for those who do not live in the US, a stick of butter is about one fourth of the usual slab we buy at the supermarket)
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons cocoa
3/4 box powdered sugar
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts of your choice (I always use almonds, but here too, feel free to experiment)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 11 by 15-inch pan. Put cocoa in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Add butter or margarine and let melt. Set aside.
2. Sift together onto wax paper the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; add to the hot mixture. Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the mixture along with sour cream and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until it feels firm in the center.
3. While the cake is baking, prepare the icing. In a saucepan, combine butter or margarine, milk and cocoa; bring to a boil. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add chopped nuts and vanilla. Spread over the hot cake. Cool before cutting.
Mmmm! Three cheers for Texas grandmothers, and grandmothers of all stripes! That looks so good...
ReplyDeleteI keep forgetting that you're a Texan. Please, please, please do make this cake and tell me what you think...it's a firm favourite in this part of the world among the people who know me...
ReplyDeleteHow many cups equal 3/4 box????? I buy it in the bag.
DeleteI'm a Texan and my mother used to make this when I was a child. Seeing this recipe make me miss her a lot. Thanks for sharing. I had forgotten about it.
DeleteAbout 1 1/2 c of powdered sugar. 1 c is still bitter
DeleteI use three fourths of a cup and that usually works...you do it like that at first - then modify it...actually three fourths of a cup is too sweet and I usually use half a cup.
ReplyDeleteMade this several times now. We love this recipe. As a Texan, grew up with chocolate sheet cakes at all family gatherings. I did cut sugar by 1/4 cup. Also a box of powdered sugar is 16 oz. So 12oz would be 3/4 of box. Came out great both times. I used pecans.
ReplyDeleteI wish you had left your name. I made this for a dinner with my friends this Christmas, on the 28th. I used less sugar (as usual) and it turned out great. They loved it and scoffed up the leftovers to take home.
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