About the Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup total)
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
For the Icing:
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup total)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
~1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar (or more depending on your desired sweetness and consistency)
Preparation
For the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Combine the sugar and flour in a mixing bowl, set aside.
In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, and water. Bring to a boil, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
Pour the liquid mixture over the sugar and flour.
Add the buttermilk, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until combined. The batter will be fairly thin.
Grease and flour a 13x9 pan. Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake about 30 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.
Set aside to cool.
For the icing:
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Add the cocoa powder and milk. Stir to combine well and remove from heat.
Add the vanilla and stir.
Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, stirring as you go. You can add more sugar than the recipe calls for if you prefer a thicker and sweeter icing. This recipe, with 1 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, creates a fairly thin and moderately sweet icing.
Pour the icing over cake. Set aside for about 20 minutes to let the frosting set.
Serve and enjoy!