Tidwell's Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake w/Claire's Raspberry Sauce

This is the cake that I made myself to celebrate my birthday, it's amazing, if I do say so myself...

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup Crisco or oil
  
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
  
• 
  ICING:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 4 tablespoons baking cocoa
• 3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• In a large saucepan, bring butter, Crisco, water and cocoa just to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda; add to cocoa mixture. Stir in the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
• Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 16-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• In a saucepan, melt butter; add milk and cocoa. Bring to a boil.
• Remove from the heat. Whisk in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pour over warm cake. Cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: 15 servings.

Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients-

Psst: might need to decrease the water and increase the cornstarch

• 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1-3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

• In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, 1-3/4 cups water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Mash raspberry mixture and strain through a fine sieve into a 2-cup measuring cup; discard seeds. Add water if needed to make 2 cups puree. Return to the saucepan.
• Combine cornstarch and remaining water until smooth; gradually stir into raspberry mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; cool. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 cups.