T's Texas Sheet Cake - Half Sheet Size

I loved eating this cake growing up and have recreated it to fit into a half sheet pan to be able to serve a lot of people (or eat a lot!). It freezes really well also.  The recipe includes pecans as an option, but you can see by the picture I used sprinkles that add fun to any cake! (If you would prefer to make a smaller size cake, I have a post for a jelly roll pan size of this also.)

Ingredients 

Cake:

1 ½ cups butter        

1 cup water

½ cup coffee   

1/3 cup cocoa powder    

3 cups sugar

3 cups flour       

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda      

¾ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

¾ cup buttermilk      

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla                    

Frosting:                                                

½ cup butter    

¼ cup cocoa powder

6 tablespoons milk    

1 lb. powdered sugar       

1 teaspoon vanilla
Garnish: (optional)
1 ½ cups pecans, dry-roasted or
Sprinkles

Directions 

Cake: Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a half sheet pan. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, water, coffee and cocoa powder to a boil, stirring constantly, over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and mix well. Add the cocoa mixture and blend well. Spread evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Prepare the frosting.

Frosting: In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the butter, cocoa powder and milk to a boil. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; mix until smooth. Spread over warm cake. If using garnish, sprinkle with pecans or sprinkles and lightly press into frosting.