Black men dont bake- Guest Blogger

In the past year my entire outlook on men has changed drastically, i used to think men never gave cooking the time of the day, black men especially, well dont blame me, most of the men i had come across didnt know how to properly boil indomie, talk less of properly pull off an entire meal by themselves in a well furnished kitchen.
Lately though that notion seems to have flown out the window, the best cooks i've met this past year have been men, most of the TV personalities that inspire my cooking journey are men, This particular post was written by a welcome surprise........
Enjoy

Cookies Cake and Icecream

Most of you don’t know who I am, and we would love to keep it that way. The only thing I would say is yes I am a guy and I LOVE cooking and baking. Now that we have gotten over your shock; I started baking a little over a year ago as a way to pass time and mainly because I was too cheap to always buy cake when I felt like eating it.

Baking is a very precise “art” and it was a challenge at first to keep to the measurements, because I don’t cook like that. The two recipes below are in a way very easy if you know what you are doing, but then again, who knows what they are doing in the kitchen. 

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is an unmodified recipe straight from one of the many books I bake from. It takes about 30 minutes, including prep and baking time, and makes about 30 cookies.

• Ø  ¼ Cup of Shortening
• Ø  ¼ Cup of Butter
• Ø  1¼ Cup of All-purpose Flour
• Ø  ½ Cup of Packed Brown Sugar( I use light brown sugar)
• Ø  ¼ Cup of Sugar
• Ø  1 Egg
• Ø  ½ teaspoon of vanilla (preferably pure vanilla extract)
• Ø   ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
• Ø  1 Cup of Chocolate pieces (I use Ghirardelli white chocolate pieces )
• Ø  ½ Cup of whatever nuts you want (I don’t use nuts)   

 In a mixing bowl beat the shortening and butter at medium to high speed till combined (about 45 Seconds) depending on how strong your mixer is. Add half the flour, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla and baking soda and beat on medium till combined (about 5 minutes). Now beat in the rest of the flour till combined also and finally mix in the chocolate pieces and nuts (optional). Drop the dough using a rounded teaspoon  or by hand about 2 inches apart onto an un-greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375^oC for about 9 minutes depending on how brown you want them( Please don’t burn them). Remove from oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes. 

      Hot Milk Sponge Cake (with Coffee)

      

      This was the first thing I ever baked, not because I knew what it tasted like but simply because it is easy and seemed very appealing at that time. With time, and the more I got into baking I started to put my spin on it. Nowadays, I make it almost every week or every other week switching ingredients around. 

•      2 Cups All purpose flour
• Ø  2 teaspoons baking powder
• Ø  4 Eggs
• Ø  2 Cups of Sugar
• Ø  1 Cup of milk
• Ø  4 tablespoons of Butter
• Ø  2 tablespoons of coffee crystals
• Ø  1 ½ teaspons of vanilla (pure vanilla extract)

     

In a bowl mix the flour and baking powder properly and set aside.  Beat the eggs with a mixer on high for about 5 minutes or till its thick. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and gradually add the sugar, ¼ Cup at a time and let it thoroughly combine before adding another cup, till the whole mixture has a fluffy and light texture. Now add the Flour and baking powder mixture ¼ Cup at a time( this is very important), DO NOT  add another cup til the initial cup has been thoroughly combined with the batter . Mix the coffee crystals into the milk and in saucepan or small pot,  heat up the milk mixture and butter on medium heat till the butter melts completely and just before the milk starts to boil. Fold the milk and butter mixture into the flour mixture and mix it till combined. Add the vanilla and fold it into the rest of the mixture.

Pour into a lightly greased baking tin and bake at 350^oC for about 35-40 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

      One more thing about this cake, it’s only nice if consumed within about 2/3 days..but I doubt it will last that long anyway. Enjoy!!