Description
Light and airy chocolate sheet cake topped with a crackly chocolate icing and lots of toasted pecans.
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- ¼ cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 cup Water
- 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature, Cut Into Small Pieces, Plus More For Pan
- 1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
- ½ cups Buttermilk
- 2 whole Large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- FOR THE ICING:
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature, Cut Into Small Pieces
- ¼ cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ½ cups Buttermilk
- 3-¾ cups Confectioners’ Sugar, Sifted (about 1 Pound)
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Pecans, Toasted And Chopped, Divided
Preparation
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring cocoa powder and water to a boil. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter and mayonnaise.
In a medium bowl, whisk granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until well combined. Add cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. Transfer to prepared pan and spread to edges. Bake until cake sprigs back when lightly pressed and pulls away from sides of pan, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes.
For the icing:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in cocoa powder and buttermilk; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Stir in half of pecans. Spread icing over cake while warm, then sprinkle with remaining pecans. Let cool completely.
