Texas Sheet Cake in a Cupcake

 
Thanks to Si at A Bountiful Kitchen for posting this recipe. (If you haven't ever been to Si's blog, you should. Her recipes are always great!)

These cupcakes reminded me of the "brownie" recipe that Jeff's grandma used to make. I've come to realize that the "brownies" were actually Texas Sheet Cake in a 9x13 pan. Grandma would put whole pecans on the top of the cooled brownies and then pour the warm frosting over the top. She would make them ahead of time and then freeze them. Once in awhile, she would forget to take them out in time for them to thaw all the way before a family dinner. She would lament, but the rest of us loved the partially frozen brownies. While I ate my cupcake, I kept thinking about how good they'd be frozen. Next time...

The frosting I halved in the interest of having only about 2 cups of powdered sugar left in the pantry...but you know what? It was still plenty of frosting. With a diabetic (Jared) and a frosting non-lover in the house (Jeff), the whole recipe would have been too much frosting for us. Which would have been okay. I would have frosted the cupcakes the same amount and had leftover frosting for graham cracker sandwiches. Mmmm.

Texas Sheet Cake Cupcakes
adapted from A Bountiful Kitchen 

For the cupcakes:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 heaping T. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 sticks unsalted butter (I used salted)
1/3 cup boiling water
1 cup buttermilk (or use sour milk by putting 1 T. lemon juice in the bottom of your measuring cup and then adding milk to the top. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using)
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda


Preheat the oven to 350. Line muffin cups with paper liners. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add boiling water and cocoa powder. Whisk well, and then pour mixture into the flour mixture. Whisk until combined. Mix in the buttermilk (or sour milk), eggs, vanilla and baking soda until well mixed. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched with your finger. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Frost. Makes 24 cupcakes.

For frosting
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
4 heaping T. unsweeted cocoa powder
4-6 T. milk for thinning
1 t. vanilla
dash of salt
4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

In mixer, combine melted butter and cocoa powder. Add vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar, salt and about 4 T. of the milk, whipping until light and fluffy. Add more milk as needed to thin the frosting.