Texas Sheet Cake and Banana Pudding kind of friday...

When it's gloomy here in Seattle, which is obviously a common occurrence, there's nothing more enjoyable for me than listening to the rain from inside my little kitchen. Today was one of those days. With non stop rain and no class to get in my way I decided to pull out some more family recipes. This texas sheet cake from my mom and grandma is what I opted for and it is TO DIE FOR. I know I say this a lot but there really isn't another recipe that's as good. Seriously, when I try someone else's sheet cake there's a little voice int he back of my mind holding me back from saying "psssh, you call this sheet cake? Mine's way better!" So, in order to put those voices in my head to sleep I decided to make it and show off this delicious cake to my roomies, without bragging of course. I decided to add a little drama to it and sprinkle the top of the frosted sheet cake with powdered sugar (the picture here is of the cake before I frosted it).
My next recipe was one of my childhood favorites, Banana Pudding with Vanilla Wafers. Now, I don't actually use Banana pudding. I use Vanilla cook and serve Jello pudding mix and layer the bananas between the pudding and the wafers. I could eat this all day everyday because it fits every season. When it's hot outside you can chill it more so it's cool and refreshing, or in the winter you can eat it when it's still warm and comforting. Enjoy!
TEXAS SHEET CAKE WITH FROSTING


Cake Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 stick butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt


Frosting Ingredients:
About 3 tbsp butter
5 tbsp buttermilk
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 box of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla


Directions for the cake:
Preheat oven @ 350* and grease a 9*13 pan
- Combine flour/sugar and set aside
- In medium saucepan, heat water, butter and cocoa powder (bring to a boil)
- Stir in flour mix
-Add everything else and pour into pan
-Let cool slightly before frosting (Not all the way!)
Directions for frosting:
- Stir together in a small saucepan the buttermilk, cocoa powder, and butter
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla
-Let cool slightly then spread over cake by slowly pouring over
* You can add anything to top it (I usually add walnuts or powdered sugar but fruit could work too)

BANANA PUDDING

-Just follow the box directions for Jello Vanilla Pudding Cook and Serve (NOT the instant kind!)
- layer wafers in the bottom of the pan or bowl that you're using and pour a layer of the thickened pudding over it (it can be warm still).
- layer more bananas and finish off the last layer of pudding.
-Top with more wafers/bananas!