Texas Sheet Cake and Tupperware...A Mother's Day Tribute

Growing up, we were communal.  My aunt and uncle lived one door up from us (for awhile) with my three cousins. 


My grandparents lived about 20 minutes away. We saw them about five times a week. 


When I was maybe in second grade, my uncle installed an inground pool in his backyard.  This was a big deal in Pittsburgh, PA because you literally only had 13 weeks, if that, of swimming weather.  Most folks had above ground pool for this reason.  My Uncle B went Big.


And so, every picnic, birthday or celebration, was held at my aunt and uncle's house.  We swam, ate, played kickball or Redrover (cause you had that bullshit hour of letting your food digest) and then swam more.


Most families eat to live, ours lived to eat.  And with every celebration, the matriarchs brought out their best culinary treats.


My aunt Judy made the potato salad, served in the a big Tupperware bowl and the best canned dilled pickles you could ever imagine.   Ever. 


 My Uncle B. was the grill master.


My mamaw brought pies.  Ruth Ball, no doubt, made the best pies ever.  Seven-Up.  That was her secret.  She used Seven-Up in her pie dough.  She loved baking pies.  Coconut Cream was her specialty.  "You know why everyone loves my Coconut Cream Pie Stephanie, cause it has coconut in it.  Lots of it.  You buy a piece of Coconut Cream Pie at a diner and it is like a crow flew over the pie and dropped the coconut on it.  There is none.  You need to learn how to bake a pie or you are never going to get a man."  And there you have it.  Dating 101.  My grandfather made her a wooden box to transport her pies in "cause she didn't want them swerving all of the floor of the car."


And mamaw made the best baked beans.  Gobs.  And stuffing.  She put yellow food coloring in her stuffing so it looked "happy and not so drab."


My mom made the deviled eggs, delivered in the Tupperware deviled egg tray that had the handle, macaroni salad (best ever) and the strawberry jello salad with the cream cheese topping and nuts that giggled in a Tupperware 9x11. 


My mom was born with a sweet tooth the size of Texas.  She had a drawer, the middle one, closest to the wall, always with chocolate.  Ever Monday she started a diet.  Every Monday.
One day I came home and at 10am she was eating a hot fudge Sundae.  Whoooaa even a bit much for my mom.
"Mom, thought you started a diet today?'"
"I did.  I didn't put as much hot fudge on as usual."




My mom loves chocolate on chocolate.  And she loves to bake.


 Always, at these gatherings, somebody would  show up with a new menu item and you would hear, "I need the recipe."


Somewhere down the line, my mom discovered Texas Sheet cake.  I remember my Great Grandma Emma, my mamaw and my mom talking about the recipe and one of them said, "If a recipe has three sticks of butter and a cup of buttermilk, it is a good one.  "Buttermilk.  Moist." They were not into complete sentences.


And so, my mom's love affair with Texas Sheet Cake began.  She would cut up the sheet cake into squares and place them on her Tupperware whatever.


I can still see her now carrying the Tupperware container, proudly, around the corner of my aunt and uncle's house.  Who doesn't like 8 tablespoons of cocoa, 3 sticks of butter, one cup of buttermilk, one pound of confectioner's sugar, two cups of sugar and some flour?


A few years ago, when the Pioneer Woman became popular, my girlfriend said, "OMG, you need to bake this Texas Sheet Cake."
I responded, "do I look like I have never eaten Texas Sheet Cake?  Yes, was raised on it"
 
But if you love to bake, you need something to store your baked goods in.
I can remember my mom, Aunt Judy, mamaw and even Great Grandma Emma and their love affair with Tupperware.  They were in love with Tupperware for two reasons, it got them out of the house for a night with the girls  and they used it.  They coveted the Tupperware.  The four of them should have been the test marketers. 


Years ago, my mom gave me a Tupperware measuring cup.  The numbers were worn off and that is probably the reason she gave it to me.  But  I use it.

Today, I was making the Texas Sheet Cake and   I  could hear her say, "Texas Sheet cake is good for a function cause it makes a ton."  I am calling bs on that mom, I think she made it cause it is truly the best icing ever and you make it while the cake part is in the oven and you can sneak a bit if you want.  And I do, every time. 

Today, while I was waiting for the timer to go off, I breezed through social media.  I saw an unusual amount of posts about getting through Mother's Day without your mom.

I am fortunate.  I have my mom and my Aunt Judy.  There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about my mamaw or my great grandmother, not one.  I cannot imagine what it is like to not have your mom. 


I remember after the "button's" accident, I showed up in his hospital room, and he tilted his little head a bit and asked, "why are you here?" 
I sat down and looked at him and said, "if I were you, and I was scared, I would want my mom.  She would no doubt drive me crazy fifteen minutes after she arrived, but I would want my mom."


He looked at me with his big, frightened blue eyes and said, "was trying to be a man, but yes, I wanted my mom.'"


I can still see my mom walking with that Tupperware, proud, carrying something in each hand.  Proudly sitting her culinary skills on the picnic table.  Her macaroni salad always had thinly sliced hard boiled eggs on the top, sprinkled with paprika.  Always.


Her Texas Sheet Cake, the icing was always "as smooth as a baby's ass" she would say.


It is funny to me, as a mom, I do all this stuff for me kids.  All of it.  Just like my mom did for me.  Just like my mamaw did for my mom. And it is never the big things that seem to matter, it is the little things, like carrying a Texas sheet cake in Tupperware that you remember. 


Some things I have forgotten.  Some things are so fresh in my memory.  And the same things still crack me up. 


As I iced my Texas Sheet Cake  I kept thinking about my mom walking with her Tupperware.  She was proud and I am proud of her.  It was her job to raise my brother and me and her greatest skill set was herself.  Her recipe for our success was herself, and two sticks of butter.   She did a good job.  I don't tell her enough,  none of us do.  And ironically enough, the woman who drilled me like a Marine Captain, and the person I was so afraid I would become, I became.  Don't we all?


And to all of those celebrating mother's day without your mom, take a moment sit back, and just think of the "one" thing that you remember most about your mom.  You won't be able too...there will be too many wonderful things and I bet some include buttermilk.


Texas Sheet Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• 2 sticks of Butter
• 4 TSBP Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 cup Buttermilk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Texas Sheet Cake Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 stick Butter
• 4 TBSP Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 7 TBSP Buttermilk
• 1 pound Confectioners Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Classic Texas Sheet Cake Directions:

• To Make The Cake:

• Preheat oven to 375°
• Spray a 15″x10″ jelly roll pan with a non-stick spray.
• In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar; set aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in baking 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.

Add the egg mixture to the cocoa mixture and stir until blended.

 Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Frosting Instructions:

 Sift confectioners sugar into a large bowl, set aside.

 Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add the 4 tablespoons cocoa powder and 7 tablespoons buttermilk. Bring to a low (barely there) boil.

Pour the liquid cocoa mixture into the bowl of sifted confectioners sugar and whisk together until smooth.

• Make certain you work quickly so that the frosting does set up in the bowl.

 Once the frosting is smooth, pour the frosting over the warm cake.

Once the frosting is smooth, pour the frosting over the warm cake.