The aroma of the cooked icing for this sheet cake is irresistible, so don’t be surprised if you sneak a taste while spreading it onto the cake. Skipping the usual chocolate addition helps Texas pecans shine in this crowd-pleasing dessert.

Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Icing
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups loosely packed brown sugar
1/2 cup half-and-half
4 cups unsifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped

1. Cake Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a deep 18-by-13-inch baking sheet or jelly roll pan.

2. In a small saucepan, combine butter and water and bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugars and baking soda. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla and eggs; mixture will be thick and sticky. Carefully mix in the butter-water mixture and stir until smooth.

4. Pour batter onto prepared baking sheet and spread evenly to edges. Bake 20 minutes, until golden brown.

5. Icing In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring to melt evenly. Boil 2 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and bring back to a boil, then remove from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar until melted and icing is thick and creamy. Fold in vanilla and pecans. While cake and icing are still warm, pour icing on cake and spread to edges. Let cool before serving.

Serves 24.