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JAMAICAN TOTO – bulla’s cousin.

One of the most common Jamaican snacks is the Bulla Cake. And everyone likes to boast about which bulla tastes better. However, bullas take a back seat to its cousin, Toto, in every way.

First of all Toto has a smoother bite than bulla, and more ingredients. I do agree that the added ingredients make Toto a bit more expensive, but it’s worth it.

You see, Toto is the kind of pastry that you cannot change or adjust too much or it will not have that authentic taste. On the other hand, bullas can be made with all sorts of ingredients to make it “upscale” or “downscale.” In the past, I have had bullas made with a chocolate powder drink call Milo.

Not so with Toto, this pastry has remained the same for some time now.

All right, if you feel like changing Toto’s taste in the future, go right ahead. But for now, make it the way I show you, and then experiment. You may be the one person who will bring many of us to our senses about Toto.

So here goes:

Toto

1 cup Sugar

1 tsp. Jamaica Browning

2 Eggs

4 oz. Butter

¾ lb. Baking Flour

3 tsp. Baking Powder

8 oz. Grated Coconut (packaged)

2 oz. Milk

Method:

Mix the sugar, baking powder, and flour together in a mixing bowl. Meanwhile melt the butter in a small pot. Now add the browning to the melted butter and stir.

Beat the eggs until they are smooth. You can use a blender if you feel like, but sometimes the blender makes the eggs a little frothy. It’s your choice.

Add the melted butter mixture, the eggs, and the milk to the flour mix. Use a fork and mix ingredients together until smooth. Now fold in the grated coconut. Make sure the mixture is well smooth.

Set the oven temperature at 375 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a greased cake pan and bake for an hour.

Remove the toto from the oven and stick a knife into the middle and remove it slowly. If anything comes up on the knife then the toto is not ready, put back into the oven for another fifteen minutes and check again. Repeat until the toto is baked. Let it cool down before cutting the toto, about 20 minutes.

Yah Mon!

Cooking Tip:

Do you want to make home-made browning for your meat or fish? Heat half a pound of brown sugar in a skillet and allow it to caramelize. Use it to make brown gravies.