Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

I know the thought of buttermilk in cake sounds weird, but trust me on this one. This cake is delicious. My parents left us with a carton of buttermilk a few weeks ago, and of course the only thing I could think to use it for was pancakes. Luckily we found this awesome recipe on allrecipes.com when we had to make a dessert for something.

     2 cups white sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup butter

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup milk

3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup butter or margarine, 1/3 cup cocoa, and water. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted.
2. In a large mixing bowl stir together sugar, flour, soda, and cinnamon. Add cocoa mixture to flour mixture, and blend. Beat together eggs and buttermilk, and blend into batter thoroughly. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour batter into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan.
3. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. To Make Frosting: Five minutes before cake is done, combine 1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup cocoa, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and simmer about 3 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla, blending until smooth. Spread immediately over hot cake in pan.