Texas Sheet Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 15×10 inch jelly roll pan.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon (if using) in a large mixing bowl and set aside.Melt butter in a medium size saucepan. Stir in the cocoa powder and water and bring to a boil.

Pour the boiling cocoa mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until blended.In a second bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and baking soda.

Add the egg mixture to the cocoa mixture and stir until blended – do no overbeat. Just do your best to blend the ingredients.

Pour batter into the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. As soon as you pull the cake from the oven, start the icing. To get a head start, you might want to sift the sugar while the cake bakes.Icing: Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a mixing bowl and set aside. You can skip the sifting step if you must, but sifting helps it to blend easier and the icing will be smoother.Melt the butter in a saucepan set over medium heat. When butter is almost melted, add the 4 tablespoons cocoa and 7 tablespoons milk and bring just to a boil. As soon as the mixture reaches a good boil, remove from heat.

Pour the hot boiling cocoa mixture into the bowl of sifted confectioners’ sugar.

Add the vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Work quickly so that icing won’t start to set in the bowl.

Pour over the cake and let sit until firm