Chocolate Buttermilk Squares

Sweater weather Wednesday for the first time. Set the Table at New Birth Saturday morning. Six girls. We did baked chicken.

Daddy in his apartment in the back. I brought him his coffee and his medication this morning. He grumbled. The grumble was the love. Marcus, 21, studying for finals at Alabama.

Baked mac and cheese. Three cheeses. Brown crust. Brenda's recipe with extra sharp cheddar.

Jasmine, 19, home from Howard for the weekend. Isaiah, 18, called from Charlotte — coaching season starting.

Sunday dinner held. The table was full. The food was right.

Darnell sent a photo from Clarksville. The garden is producing. He grew tomatoes the size of softballs. I sent him back a photo of my sweet potato casserole. We are competitive about food now in our middle age.

Daddy sat in his chair after dinner watching the news. He fell asleep before the third quarter. Standard.

Thursday I made cornbread for a sister at church whose husband had surgery. I dropped it off at the hospital. She cried at the door. I told her, eat the cornbread, baby. The food is the saying.

Tuesday evening I sat at the kitchen table with my composition notebook and worked on the cookbook. From Brenda's Kitchen — that's the working title. I cannot write the introduction without crying yet.

Andre called from LA. He told the Kevin Hart story again. Twenty-some years and that boy is still telling that story. Everyone in this family is going to hear about Kevin Hart at our funerals.

The neighbors had a Friday cookout this week. I brought my mac and cheese. They have come to expect this. I have come to expect this. The block is the block.

Miss Ernestine called Tuesday. She's ninety-something and sharp as ever. She told me my potato salad still needs more mustard.

I drove to the Walmart on Camp Creek Saturday morning. The kind of grocery run that takes two hours because you run into three people you know. Sister Patrice caught me in the produce. We talked about her grandbaby for fifteen minutes.

The kids were home for the weekend. The house was loud the way it should be.

The blood pressure check was Wednesday. The numbers were borderline. The doctor wants me to walk more. I am walking more.

I had a hard counseling case at school this week. A seventh-grade girl whose mama lost her job. We talked. I gave her my number. I told her she could call.

I read for an hour Sunday night before bed. Some novel about a Black woman in 1960s Alabama. Mama would have liked it.

Wednesday Bible study at the church. We read through Proverbs. The women in my row argued about whether wisdom is built or born. I said both. They agreed, sort of.

I made a casserole for the church potluck. The pan came back empty. That is the only review I trust.

Sunday service at New Birth this morning. The choir sang. I sang soprano in the second alto row. Pastor preached about Naomi and Ruth. The congregation said amen. I said amen.

Pastor preached about the prodigal son again. He preaches about that boy at least three times a year. The text is the text but every preaching is different. I cried in the second service this time. Don't ask me why.

Saturday morning I had Set the Table at the Cascade Heights center. Twelve young women. We did baked chicken. One of them — Imani, sixteen — was so afraid of seasoning that she barely shook the salt. I stood next to her and put my hand over hers and said, baby, you cannot be afraid of food. We seasoned the chicken. The chicken came out right. She glowed.

The mac and cheese gets the glory — three cheeses, brown crust, Brenda’s recipe — but when I need something to carry out the door for a potluck or a cookout, something that travels clean and feeds a crowd and disappears before you even find a seat, I bring these Chocolate Buttermilk Squares. The neighbors have come to expect the mac. The church ladies have come to expect these. I made a pan for the potluck this week and, like I said, the only review I trust is an empty pan — and that pan came back spotless.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 24 squares

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tbsp buttermilk
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions

Preheat & prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 15x10-inch rimmed baking sheet (jelly roll pan) and set aside.
Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until combined.
Make the chocolate base. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, cocoa powder, and water. Bring to a boil, stirring until the butter is fully melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
Combine. Pour the hot cocoa mixture over the flour mixture and stir well. Add the buttermilk, beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Mix until the batter is smooth and uniform.
Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top looks set.
Make the frosting. About 5 minutes before the cake comes out of the oven, combine butter, cocoa powder, and buttermilk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla until the frosting is smooth.
Frost while hot. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the warm frosting evenly over the top. Sprinkle with chopped pecans if using. The frosting will settle into the cake as it cools.
Cool & cut. Let the pan cool completely at room temperature — at least 1 hour — before cutting into squares. They firm up as they cool and slice cleaner when fully set.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chocolate Buttermilk Squares — The Pan That Always Comes Back Empty