Today January 27 is “National Chocolate Cake Day”.  I woke up planning on making my friend Kathy P’s recipe for Texas Sheet Cake and then decided I would make it as well as a 3 layered Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake.

The Texas Sheet Cake is a very simple and fast cake to make.  Making it brought back many memories of seeing this chocolate cake with its creamy icing and nuts at recent family gatherings and reunions. The thin layer of chocolate cake is finger licking good and easy to eat right from your hand no fork needed!

For the second cake you need to plan on a little extra time to make the delicious caramel filling and fudgy icing, it is worth the extra time.  I got this recipe from a food blogger I have been following for years, Annie’s Eats.  She has some of the best recipes I have ever tried so go check her blog out.  I think she helped inspire me to start my food blog.

Cake
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill white flour
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup butter
1 cup water
4 tablespoon cocoa

Icing
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup walnuts (use hazelnuts to give it a Fresh From Oregon taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12 x 18 x 1 inch baking sheet, set aside.

For the cake, mix together the flour, eggs, sugar, salt, baking soda and sour cream in the bowl of a stand mixer.  In medium saucepan bring to a boil the butter, water and cocoa.  Add all at once to the mixer and beat until combined about 30 seconds.  Pour cake batter into the baking sheet and spread out evenly. Bake for 20 minutes.  Make the icing while the cake is baking, you need to spread it on the cake while it is still warm.

To make the icing bring to boil in a medium saucepan the butter, cocoa and milk.  Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla and nuts and mix to combine.  Spread over the warm cake evenly.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake from Annie’s Eats