Baking therapy

 I like to bake.
There is something in following a recipe that makes me happy, that makes me find my inner peace. Do not ask me to cook, this only applies to baking. No 'season to taste', 'a pinch of ' or 'add more if..' in baking recipes. It is down to a science. A science that says if you follow the steps, you will end up with a perfectly good end product, no need for prior experience (although preferred!). If nothing else is going the way it should, the certainty of following a recipe and getting exactly what the picture shows could be therapy in itself.

Harvest fruit pie

A lot of people ask me where I learned how to bake. Well, it helps that my mom baked for fun too. I grew up in a kitchen smelling of vanilla and flour. I've seen my share of baking casualties, I have had a few myself. But mostly, watching my mom bake over the years, I necessarily picked up a few tricks and tips. Some things which makes sense to me but not necessarily obvious to others. I realize how much I know about baking when I bake with my cousin. In any other way, she has shown me how to live, how to save, how to make the best of everything, from folding a fitted sheet, to the best way to store tupperwares. But baking is my domain.

Chocolate cheesecake, chocolate mousse and sprinkle cupcakes

The one thing that my mom and I do differently is that she would stick to a good recipe when she finds one. I'm more of an experimental baker. I would repeat a recipe but only if I've got rave reviews about it and if I need to bake something that is a 100% reliable. Reliability in this case is based on whether I have done something successfully on the first try or not.

Buttermilk scones

Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing

Triple chocolate mousse cake

Raspberry Coffee log

 Sometimes I pick a recipe for the challenge, but mostly I pick recipes based on whether I would like to eat it or not. Although most times, I end up not eating what I bake. My coworkers though, have tried most of the things I've baked over the years. I have been using recipes from Decadent Desserts, the Magnolia Bakery book, Kraft Canada magazines and from random internet recipe websites.

Chocolate orange mousse cake

Double chocolate chip cookies

White Chocolate orange cake