Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Recipe Wednesday - M.E. Kemp



A warm welcome to M.E. Kemp today author of Death of a Bawdy Belle with a yummy chocolate cake recipe.




M. E. Kemp was born in Oxford, MA, the town her ancestors settled in 1713, although family roots go back to Salem in 1636. Because of a strong sense of family history Kemp decided to write a series set in Colonial America with two nosy Puritans as detectives. She lives in Saratoga Springs, NY with husband Jack and two kitties but she frequently travels back to her hometown where her family still reside in the family home




ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. Flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsn baking powder
1 tsn baking soda
1/4 tsn salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (mix in 1/4 tsn vinegar to make buttermilk)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsn vegetable oil
1 tsn vanilla
1/2 cup hot strong black coffee


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 inch pan with oil/spray and line pan with a circle of waxed paper. Whisk flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, egg, oil and vanilla. Beat with mixer for 2 mins. – Add hot coffee and beat to blend. (Mixture will be thin.) Pour batter into pan and bake until center is firm, 30 – 35 mins. Cool in pan for 10 mins.; remove from pan, peel off paper backing and cool completely. Dust with confectioners sugar when cool. (Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.)






Book Blurb: When the beautiful Arabella Edwards, mistress of the Royal Secretary of the Provinces, is found as an extra corpse hanging from the Salem gallows it’s up to wealthy widow Hetty Henry and young minister Creasy Cotton to comb through a host of suspects – Arabella shared her favors – and to uncover a clever killer while themselves escaping from the witchcraft hysteria of Salem, 1692.


2 comments:

Maryannwrites said...

Thanks for sharing that great cake recipe. Made my mouth water just to read the directions.

Isn't it great to trace your ancestry back so far in the U.S.? My ancestors came over with William Penn and settled in the PA area. That always makes me feel so much more connected to this country than if the family had more recently arrived.

Mary Kennedy said...

What a terrific recipe! I bet the coffee kicks it up a little, I can't wait to try it. Your book sounds fascinating, love books with an historical slant.