Make the cake. Cool. Return to the oven and turn it into croutons. Layer those banana cake croutons into banana-infused Greek yogurt for a parfait. This sounds like a lot of work, but when Jerrelle Guy writes about the process, somehow it feels effortless, healing even. Black Girl Baking is a thoroughly modern guide to the kitchen, employing coconut oils, oat milks and nut flours with vegan and gluten-free options.
Chocolate chip cookies can thank pureed silken tofu for its crispy edges; macadamia nuts, cashews, oat flour and brown butter whip into a no-bake cookie dough stacked inside an ice cream cone; and charcoal powder and cacao nibs supply the trend-factor in an updated banana bread. Guy, a photographer and stylist, holds a master’s in gastronomy and writes the blog Chocolate for Basil. With her first cookbook, Black Girl Baking reflects on Guy’s overweight childhood and vegan teen years and displays the transformation to a confident and experimental baker. Including tributes to her family—her dad is Southern, her mom is from Guam and she grew up in Palm Beach County, Florida—Guy reinterpreted childhood joys for today’s wellness-and-comfort sensibilities.
