Beaman Family, Dessert
Cake:
2 c. sugar
2 c. White Lily flour
1/4 t. salt
1 stick margarine
1 c. water
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1/2 c. buttermilk
l t. vanilla extract
2 eggs, at room temperature, slightly beaten
Frosting:
1 stick margarine
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1/3 c. buttermilk
1 pound powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. salt
1 c. chopped pecans
Cake:
Grease a rectangular baking pan, approximately 15 X 11 X 2 inches.
(Jean often used a jellyroll pan.) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Sift together the sugar, flour, and salt into a large bowl.
Melt the margarine with the water and cocoa in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat, stirring and bringing just to a boil.
Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well either in a mixer at low speed or by hand.
Stir the baking soda and vanilla into the buttermilk to dissolve.
Add to the cocoa mixture, mixing to blend.
Add the eggs, mixing them in.
Do not overbeat.
Pour the mixture into the pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let it stand for 10 minutes, then spread the frosting evenly over the cake.
Let it cool completely in the pan.
While the cake is baking, prepare the following frosting:
Combine the margarine, cocoa, and buttermilk in a large heavy saucepan.
(Jean would use the same one she used in the cake recipe-- she said that it saved some washing up.)
Bring just to a boil, stirring to blend evenly.
Remove from heat and add the sugar, vanilla, and salt.
Beat until smooth, then stir in the pecans.
This is not the exact recipe Jean Beaman Walker used, but it is very close. Jean would often bake it in a large shallow pan and make a double recipe of the icing, since she maintained that the icing was better than the cake.