The Emasculated Male bakes "The Man Catcher"

As a matter of full disclosure, I did not bake the cake to the left. I didn't manage to get a picture of my cake before it was devoured. But I'm sure we all find it very probable that mine looked very similar. Sure...

As mentioned previously, the first cake in the book was titled "The Man Catcher." Yep, the first cake I ever baked was beyond sissy. But I have to say, it was delicious! Just look at the picture. Mine wasn't too far off.

The thing I like about this cookbook is that it assumes I know nothing about baking. (Of course I know nothing. That's the whole point!) So the instructions are incredibly detailed. A full three paragraphs are devoted to the methodology for creaming the butter and sugar. Previous to reading the book I would have just dumped three frozen sticks of butter into the bowl along with 3 cups of sugar and turned the blender on High. Apparently there's a better way. The proper method involves putting the butter and eggs out on the counter a full hour before mixing so they will reach room temperature. And then the butter is cut into pats and put in the bowl. You mix just the butter for a while and then add in the sugar a half cup at a time, mixing for a full two minutes between each half cup. It seriously took me about 45 minutes just to cream the butter and sugar. But it was worth it. It came out whipped and dreamy. I'll get pictures for my next cake.

So the cake came out delectable. I took it in to work and everyone was justifiably skeptical. "You made a cake?!" (Cake is a very foreign subject for a team of borderline nerd engineers) But after trying it, I got many wonderful praises. The responses ranged from "Yep, it tastes just like I expected a lemon cake to taste" to "George! This is the best cake I've ever had!!" Consequently, the first individual will not be receiving any invitations to partake of my future cakes.