-1 cup butter or margarine

-2 1/2 cups of sugar

-5 eggs

-2 cups flour

-1 cup cocoa

-1/2 teaspoon soda

-1 cup buttermilk

-2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

Cream butter. Add sugar. Cream. Add eggs one at a time. Beat each addition. Sift flour, cocoa and butter together. Alternately add flour and milk to butter egg mixture beating after each addition, and ending with milk. Add vanilla flavoring and mix. Bake in four eight or nine inch pans that have been greased and floured at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

Ingredients for filling

-3 tablespoons cocoa

-2 tablespoons flour

-1 cup butter

-3 cups sugar

-1 cup milk

In a heavy sauce pan combine cocoa and flour. Then add milk slowly, stirring as you add. Add butter, and bring to a full rolling boil. Then reduce heat to low and cook to the soft-boil stage. (Do not over cook) Remove from heat and beat until thick and filling starts to lose its gloss. Ice cooled cake. (At this point you will need to work quickly. If filling becomes firm too quickly dipping your spatula in hot water will help to spread the filling.) This cake freezes well.

NOTE: The filling recipe can be used to make a coconut cake that can be frozen. Use a white layer cake recipe. Omit the cocoa from the filling. After the filling has been spread on the cake, sprinkle with a generous amount of fresh coconut. My mother uses real fresh hand grated coconut. I use frozen.