Chocolate Pecan Sheet Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 C white sugar
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 C water
• ½ C vegetable shortening
• ½ C margarine
• 3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ C buttermilk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing

• 16 oz confectioners' sugar
• 3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ C butter
• 6 tbs milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 C chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat: Heat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13" pan.
2. Mix Dry: In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, and salt.
3. Make Cocoa Mixture: In a saucepan, combine water, shortening, margarine, and cocoa. Bring to a boil while stirring.
4. Combine: Pour hot cocoa mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Add Wet Ingredients: Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk. Add eggs and vanilla, then mix into the batter until smooth.
6. Bake: Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until set, about 25-30 minutes.
7. Make Icing: In the saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, vanilla, and pecans. Heat until warm, stirring frequently.
8. Finish: Pour icing over the hot cake immediately after baking.
9. Cool & Serve: Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

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