Food writer Lindsey Nair

• lindsey.nair@roanoke.com | (540) 981-3343

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I got this recipe from a former co-worker, Nancy Caldwell, who made it for a potluck at The Roanoke Times. I am not sure where Nancy first found it.

It is a dense, rich cake with delicious, fudgy icing.

-- Lindsey Nair

Cake:

2 cups plain flour

2 cups sugar

1 stick margarine

¹₂ cup Crisco shortening

4 Tbsp. cocoa (not Dutch)

1 cup water

¹₂ cup buttermilk

1 tsp. baking soda, stirred into buttermilk

2 eggs, unbeaten

1 tsp. vanilla

Icing:

1 stick margarine

4 Tbsp. cocoa (not Dutch)

6 Tbsp. buttermilk

1 box confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Sift together flour and sugar. In a medium saucepan, melt one stick of margarine, Crisco, cocoa and water. Bring to a boil. Pour over flour and sugar and mix well. Add the rest of the cake ingredients and mix well.

3. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 45 minutes. Prepare the icing while the cake is baking. Ice cake in pan while cake is still hot.

4. For icing: In saucepan, melt margarine. Add cocoa and buttermilk. Bring to a boil. Pour over sifted confectioner's sugar and beat well. Add vanilla and nuts.