Toronzo Cannon shares his mommas recipe for Sock It To Me Cake

CAKE INGREDIENTS
3 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening or butter
2 cups white sugar
6 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

FILLING INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons of the dry cake mix above
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 ounces of chopped pecans

GLAZE INGREDIENTS
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bundt pan with pan release spray or grease and flour pan. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Set aside 3 tablespoons of mix for filling.

Cream shortening and sugar with electric mixer set on medium. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Next, stir in the sour cream and the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Adjust the mixer to a low speed and add in the flour mixture a little at a time and beat until it is mixed well.

Fill bundt pan with half of batter. Mix up the filling ingredients and sprinkle into batter in pan. Add the rest of the batter over the filling.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately one hour. When a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, take the cake out of the oven and let it rest in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then turn it out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

When it is cool, mix up the glaze and drizzle over cake.

Growing up in the shadows Chicago's blues mecca, Theresa's Lounge, had a lasting effect on Toronzo Cannon. As a kid, Toronzo would listen to the raw, soulful sounds of legends like Junior Wells, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. "It wasn't just the music that got me, but the effect on the people. I knew right then, that was what I was gonna do." These experiences led him to pick up his first guitar as a teenager and begin to learn to sing and play the sounds he heard. Inspired by the three Kings (Freddie, B.B. and Albert), a little Hendrix and some 70's R&B/Soul, Toronzo soon developed his own sound. "If I wasn’t gigging I was hitting every jam session I could find. I couldn’t get enough." It was during this time that he developed his own powerful, gospel-flavored vocal style and electrifying stage presence.


After playing rhythm guitar with local artists like Wayne Baker Brooks and Joanna Connor, Toronzo decided to form his own band, The Cannonball Express. He immediately was in demand, playing some of Chicago’s greatest blues venues like Buddy Guy’s Legends, Kingston Mines, B.L.U.E.S, and Blue Chicago as well as shows from Kentucky to Delaware and Iowa to Indiana. He also became a popular festival attraction, playing The Chicago Blues Festival and the 2008 San Jose Blues Festival with other local young guns Chico Banks and Mike Wheeler. Internationally, Toronzo has been flown into Latvia as a featured solo artist three times over the past few years.
The wide stylistic range on 2006’s MY WOMAN, Toronzo’s second recording as a front man, merely hints at the unpredictable, explosive nature of his live shows. Says Toronzo, "I like to bring that energy to the stage. It goes back to the shows I had spied on as a kid at Theresa’s. Those cats would play some smokin’ music and put on a great show at the same time.” Since the release of MY WOMAN, Toronzo and his band have been tearing up stages and exciting crowds from Chicago to the Balkans. At the core of Toronzo's appeal is his heartfelt love for the music and his respect for the audience. His feeling is if he doesn't leave them sweatin' and smilin', he hasn't done his job.

SO GET ON BOARD, TORONZO'S CANNONBALL EXPRESS HAS JUST BEGUN TO PICK UP STEAM, AND THERE'S NO END IN SIGHT!

If you want to see Toronzo perform in person, check out his myspace.com calendar

Booking Information:
1(773)744-0018
toronzocannon@mac.com or
toronzocannon@sbcglobal.net