Ingredients:
3 sticks butter (1 1⁄2 cups), softened
3 cups white sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. instant espresso dissolved into 1⁄4 cup Hot water
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare tube pan.
Mix together dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Set aside.
In mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and slowly incorporate. Add vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients with buttermilk and espresso until all together. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan on wire rack 20 minutes before turning it out.
NOTE: If using a decorative tube pan, it may not require all of batter. But, don’t waste, make miniature cake.
About Layne Prescott
Layne was born in South Carolina to Air Force parents. She lived in the Azores two different times (a total of 6 years) before settling permanently in Arcadia when her father retired. Arcadia is her mother’s home town.She is fifth generation Floridian. Layne married Mike in 1979, moved to Wauchula and had three children.
Layne comes from a long line of great southern cooks, married into a family of great cooks and loves to prepare all kinds of food (regional specialties include guava cobbler, chicken & dumplings, chicken & yellow rice). Her mother had to learn ‘Cajun cooking as her father was from Louisiana, but doesn’t get much chance to cook her childhood favorites because her husband does not like spicy food.
Even though she doesn’t get a chance to vary her menus very often at home, she loves to explore and experiment with new techniques and recipes. However, if a recipe starts out with “day before” or is longer than 2 inches/2 paragraphs long, she skips it and goes on. If she was to summarize her cooking “style” it would be simple southern comfort food.
