For the cake, you need about two cups of plain flour, one and a half cups of sugar, half a cup of cocoa powder, a teaspoon each of baking soda and baking powder, a pinch of salt, one cup of buttermilk or curd thinned with water, half a cup of oil or melted butter, two eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla. For the frosting, keep ready a can of evaporated milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks, desiccated coconut and chopped pecans. Walnuts make a good substitute if pecans are hard to find.