Sweet Treat Tuesday-PWs Chocolate Cake

This is the first of my Thanksgiving meal posts for the week! We are having our dinner tonight, so you guys can reap the benefits by having the recipes early! I'm starting off with dessert, because it's the only thing I have made so far!

I made this cake for the first time this summer. I followed the directions without changing anything. The original recipe calls for you to bake it in a jellyroll pan, and to incorporate pecans in the icing. It was absolutely delicious this way, and you would be just fine making it this way. But I decided to make it for our Thanksgiving meal a little different. I omitted the pecans and baked it in a 9x13 cake pan instead. This made the cake thicker and even better. My husband prefers the thicker cake, so I'll probably continue to make it in that from now on. Either way, you are going to love this cake. How could you not love something with so much sugar, butter, and chocolate?

PWs Chocolate Cake
slightly adapted PW Cooks

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
2 sticks Butter
1 cup Boiling Water
½ cups Buttermilk
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla

For frosting:
½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans (optional, I have done with and without.)
1 and ¾ stick Butter
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
6 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.

Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into jellyroll pan or 9x13 cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes for jellyroll pan and 23-25 for cake pan.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely, if you're using them. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake. Try to pour it evenly, you'll want to limit spreading the icing after pouring it onto the cake.