The Farmhouse Kitchen: Kicking off for a sweet summer
May 2026
Serves 12 to 24, depending on how you bake it
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 stick butter
- ½ cup shortening
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon soda
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Frosting
- 1 stick butter
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Directions
Cake
Mix together flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. In a saucepan, mix butter, shortening, cocoa powder, and water together. Bring to a boil and pour over flour/sugar mixture. Stir in buttermilk, soda, eggs, and vanilla. Pour onto a sprayed baking sheet (or a 9 x 13 baking pan). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (check after 25 minutes).
Frosting
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to
a boil when cake is almost done. When cake
comes out of the oven, immediately pour frosting
over it and spread with a spatula to the edges. Do this quickly, as frosting sets quickly.
