Channeling the Dump Cake Diva

The cherries aren't visible in this photo, but they're in there somewhere.

I did the most bizarre thing today, or at least something that was very much out of character for me. i went into my parents' pantry, plucked a few ingredients, and produced a dump cake. I didn't eat it because it looked positively disgusting to e, but my brother, cousin, dad, and mom liked it.

I will now channel my friend Katie's friend Voula and will tell you exactly how I made my prize dump cake even though it's arguably the last thing on the planet anyone wants to know.

I started with a basic brownie mix. It was about as basic as brownie mixes go; in fact, it was a store-brand  brownie mix. I poured it into a mixing bowl with one quarter cup of oil, one, egg, and one half can of Pepsi, and the juice from two jars of maraschino cherries. I mixed it all lightly for about ninety seconds.  Into a 9" by 12" Pyrex baking dish, which I lightly sprayed with cooking spray,  I scattered the two jars of maraschino cherries. Then I poured the batter over the cherries in the Pyrex baking dish. I baked the concoction for 37 minutes at 350 degrees. Actually I baked it at 315 degrees because my mom's oven runs about 10% too warm.

I used the Texas Sheet Cake recipe for frosting, which involved bringing 1/4/ cup butter, 3  tbsp cocoa, and 3 tbsp buttermilk to a boil, then stirring in just over 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. The recipe calls for nuts in the frosting, but my family doesn't like nuts in their frosting. They're nutty enough as it is, I suppose. The frosting took longer than the cake, but it made the cake much better, according to those who ate it.

Anyway, it's all gone now, so someone thought it was good.

I still don't know what possessed me to do that. My dad said next time iI should try pouring brandy on top of it before I frost it. I'm not sure that would be an improvement.