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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Pat's Cinnamon Chocolate Sheet Cake

This was my birthday cake I made. Many would think it is a shame that I would make my own birthday cake. Hardly. It's the one time a year I get to make a cake of my choice. I am pretty accommodating to others culinary desires. I am to my own, but making a cake for no reason is hard for me to justify. This cake is one of my absolute favorites.

I had the most awesome neighbor back in Rancho Cucamonga. Pat lived in the next building over and she also went to the same church as us. She lived with her wiener dog Rusty and made me treats all the time.

"Hey Whitney, bring Jack over. I have some peanut butter fudge for you and I want Jack to help me make sugar cookies."

Do you have a neighbor like that? I did. One General Conference Sunday, she thought my pregnant self needed some cinnamon rolls. Sounds like a plan.

This cake recipe is hers. Her two boys love this cake. She recently visited her oldest in Louisiana and I asked her if she made him a cinnamon chocolate sheet cake. She replied, "Yes. Two of them". It's just that good.




2 cup flour
2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup water
1/4 cup shortening
1 stick butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 small Hershey chocolate bar, for chocolate shaving garnish

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 15x10x1 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk until well combined. Set aside. Combine the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine the water, shortening, butter and cocoa powder. Melt and stir until combined. Remove from heat. Using a rubber scraper, pour the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture. Add the eggs and buttermilk mixture and mix using a hand mixer. Mix until well combined. Pour into the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top springs back when touched.

Pour frosting on while the cake is still hot. Tilt the pan so the frosting spreads evenly. Cool completely and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Cinnamon Chocolate Frosting:
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 16 oz bag powdered sugar

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine cocoa powder, butter, buttermilk and cinnamon. Melt and stir until combined. Remove from heat. Pour powdered sugar into a large bowl and add chocolate mixture. Using a hand mixer, mix until smooth. Spread over warm cake. Once cooled, garnish with chocolate shavings.

Rookie's Notes: For chocolate shavings, you can do two things. Either use a vegetable peeler or one of those nifty cheese graters that have a hand crank. When doing chocolate shavings, put a plate in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Take it out of the freezer and shave the chocolate right onto the plate. Keep the chocolate shavings plate in the freezer until you are ready to garnish.

3 comments:

Shanicherie said...

Sounds so good! Speaking of cinnamon rolls though...do you have a good recipe for them? I haven't ever been able to find one that anyone can recommend! Thanks!
Shannon P

Ashley Thalman said...

I want to go to there.

tara said...

I made this and it is FANTABULOUS! Thank you thank you