It's Chocolate Time

lots of links and some possible oversharing

Not Quite Texas Sheet Cake from Snacking Bakes

Thank you all for your patience as I navigated some cross country travel and subsequent family illness, but I’m back! And I’ll be in your inbox twice this week!

Today, with this roundup of some of my favorite chocolate recipes, and I’ll have an all new recipe for you this weekend. I am enjoying writing this newsletter to/for you all so much and I think I have found a good rhythm so I am going to be switching my post day to Tuesdays from here on out. I will still be sending at least one recipe per week and at least one free recipe per month. Any requests?

Let’s get to the good stuff.

It’s chocolate season. Something about this time of year has me craving chocolate. Is it the cold? Is it the fact that fresh summer fruit feels so far away? Do we all need a little comfort after the mess that was January 2025? All of the above?

I was lucky enough to write a little chocolate story for NYT Food for Valentine’s Day 2023. I even got to style the photos at the photoshoot which is always a thrill. I had just found out that I was pregnant and felt like hot garbage, truly the hottest garbage and had never been less interested in food in my entire life.

I played it cool all day long and the shoot went great, but the minute I got in the car to go home I burst into tears. Not only did I feel physically horrible, but I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to do my job for the next 9ish months. It was strange to feel so disconnected from food which was and is a huge part of my identity. This doesn’t really have anything to do with the recipes, but the two things are forever connected in my mind. It took until months after the baby was born to get back into the swing of things. It was a lesson in having some patience and giving myself some grace.

So anyway, Happy Valentines/Galentines Day?

With love from me to you, here is a slew of GIFT LINKS to some of my chocolatey faves on NYT Cooking, including a couple from that chocolate story. You can access the recipes even if you don’t have a subscription to Cooking. At the end you’ll also find my recipe for Not Quite Texas Sheet Cake from Snacking Bakes. Its the cake at the top of this post.

It’s a deeply chocolatey, but still fluffy chocolate cake with a fudgy cocoa glaze (that you put on while the cake is still warm) and lots of toasted pecans. It tastes great for a few days at room temperature or cold from the fridge, depending on the texture that you prefer.

Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake creamy, dreamy and not too sweet

Chocolate Souffle Cake for big time chocolate lovers, rich and decadent

Chocolate Pound Cake a big ol cake for a crowd that gets better as it sits

Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sundae it’s all there in the title. if you make this you will absolutely sneak bites of hot or cold fudge out of the jar.

Not Quite Texas Sheet Cake

from Snacking Bakes

Yield one 8 × 8-inch cake

Time: 60 minutes

While I am not from Texas, I do have a strong appreciation for sheet cakes. Texas sheet cake is its own category: usually a light, thin chocolate cake topped with a cooked gooey chocolate icing and lots of chopped pecans. It is certainly a party cake and most often baked in a large sheet pan. This cake celebrates all of those same flavors in a slightly smaller and pudgier format. Toast the pecans for the topping in the oven while you bake the cake to save yourself a little prep time.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (165g) buttermilk

1/2 cup (95g) neutral oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup (45g) Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups (160g) all-purpose flour

Chocolate Pecan Topping

6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (23g) Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/4 cups (125g) powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup (55g) chopped toasted pecans

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Coat an 8 × 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray or brush with oil. Line the pan with a strip of parchment paper that hangs over two of the edges.

Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and salt and whisk until smooth and emulsified.

Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Whisk in the baking powder and baking soda. Fold in the flour with a silicone spatula and mix until a few streaks of flour remain.

Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake until puffed and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for about 15 minutes, then use the parchment paper to lift the cake out and onto the rack to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, make the topping: While the cake is cooling, in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth.

Pour the topping over the cake in the pan—it’s okay if it is slightly warm—and sprinkle the pecans over the top. Enjoy it right away for maximum gooeyness or let cool until the topping is set, about 20 more minutes, before serving. Store loosely covered at room temperature or in the fridge for about 3 days.

Use Another Pan

Round: Bake in a 9-inch round pan until puffed and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Sheet: Make a double batch of both the batter and topping; double the amount of pecans. Bake the cake in a 9 × 13-inch pan until puffed and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.