Basic Buttermilk Cake
2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 nine-inch , round cake pans with wax paper. Sift and measure flour; sift again with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Add vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients in 3 portions, alternating with buttermilk; beat well after each addition. When all ingredients have been added, beat at medium speed 1 minute. Pour into prepared pans. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out dry. Cool on racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely before frosting. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Vanilla Frosting
1 stick of butter
½ cup butter-flavored Crisco
3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (or more )
Dash of salt
Powdered sugar (generic is best as it’s not as sweet)
Whip butter and Crisco until light and fluffy. Add milk, vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar until you get consistency you need. (For 1 batch of frosting, I add about 1.5 pounds.)
Nicaragua has a rich back-story and is full of myths and legends, with deep culture and amazing language abilities. However, they are the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Its history and stories are flooring, and their culinary successes add to this, that even though they may not have much, they are not anything to be sniffed at.