• Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a jelly-roll pan.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, butter, and cocoa powder and bring to a boil
• Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
• In another small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.
• Add the buttermilk/egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
• Once the chocolate mixture in the saucepan comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and pour it into the batter. Mix until combined and no lumps remain.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula to make sure it is dispersed in an even layer.
• Bake in a preheated oven for 15-25 minutes or until set (mine is usually done around 15 minutes).
• When the cake is about half-way through cooking, prepare the frosting.

Frosting:

• In a saucepan, combine the milk, cocoa, and butter and bring to a boil.
• Once boiling, remove it from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar.

  *Make sure there are no lumps because they will remain when the frosting is poured on the cake. Beating with an electric mixer helps remove them.

  *The frosting should be a thinnish sauce but thicker than juice. It will harden as it cools on the cake.
• Stir in the pecans.
• When the cake is finished baking, remove from the oven and immediately pour the hot frosting over the hot cake. Use a spatula to spread it evenly over the cake.
• Allow the cake to cool before serving.