I love baking – mostly because I love eating what I bake, but also because there is something so satisfying about creating food that really tastes as good as it looks. I suppose the fact that I have a sweet tooth would explain my preference for baking over cooking. While I enjoy cooking, the rewards of a savoury dish are never quite as delectable as those of a sweet treat – well, not for me anyway.

The beauty of baking is that it’s so much more than flour, sugar, milk, butter and eggs. Yes, these may be the basic ingredients of most recipes, but that’s just where the fun begins. You can take the ordinary to the extraordinary by combining them with other ingredients and techniques to create a whole array of delightful possibilities. If you sift, shake, stir, mix, whip, cream, fold, blend, boil, knead or melt, you will produce a different tantalising result. Each dessert has its own texture and vibrant colours with a creamy, crunchy or sticky element – and, preferably, a combination of all three. Yum!

Not to mention that puddings always look so pretty! This is where the baker becomes a food artist. With a bit of garnish, a dusting of icing sugar, a drizzle of glossy sauce, a sprinkle of decoration and a swirl and swish of your magical spoon, a confectionery masterpiece is made.

If I sit and think of my favourites, I can’t help picturing puffy chocolate éclairs with a creamy custard filling, crunchy, caramelized apple crumble with cinnamon, sticky baked pudding and caramel sauce, gooey condensed milk tart, moist carrot cake with the perfect cream cheese icing, and lemon cheesecake with a slightly sour topping that just cuts through the sweetness and makes your taste buds tingle at the thought of another bite. Sure, it’s not MasterChef standards by any means, but it’s certainly the type of desserts that make you want to go back for more.

Of course, the downside to any type of cooking or baking is always the dishes – unless you have a dishwasher in either a mechanical or human form. However, I have to say that doing the dishes can be a pleasurable experience when you bake. Why? Simply because you get to lick the bowl (or bowls if there’s more than one). And you really should lick the bowl, as you only live once. As the saying goes, “Life is short, make it sweet”.

While it’s common knowledge that we initially eat with our eyes, food is about so much more than what is put on the plate. Food has the ability to connect with our emotions in so many different ways. What’s more, many relationships are forged and fostered over the sharing of food whether it’s a family dinner, tea and cake with friends, or a celebratory event such as a birthday or wedding.

When I was younger, someone told me that you should cook with love and I really believe that makes all the difference. The emotion, which you put into your cooking and baking, always comes through in your food. I like to think that there’s a little bit of indescribable magic happening in the kitchen where you are not just adding sugar or spice, but seasoning from the soul.

A kitchen should be a place where you can find comfort and joy in both the cooking and the eating – and that’s what baking does for me. So, bake someone happy – even if it’s just for yourself!

© 2019 Audrey Whyte   All Rights Reserved