Why I Bake

Basic Cranberry-Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband says me baking is "seasonal".  Unlike cooking, which I do almost everyday, I would find myself baking for a week or two weeks straight.  And then I'd stop and not bake for months. Then I'd do it again.  It really just depends on my mood.  Sometimes it comes out of inspirations from something we eat at a restaurant or when a colleague brings something to share at work.  But when I really like something, I find myself trying the hardest to learn about how to make it myself. 

Foccacia

In our family, I was probably the least interested in baking among us women.  My mother baked a lot and she was still is so good at it.  We always had home-baked chiffon or angel food cake at home (I remember getting tired of it once), we never bought birthday cakes--my mom would just make them.  And at one time, she even took orders for wedding cakes.  Now she's learning how to make fondant wedding cakes. Sadly, ready-to-roll fondant is not readily available back home.  You really have to make it from scratch.

My sister was the one who took that after her. She baked a lot too!  I remember her rainbow cake, which was layers of cake with different flavors in each layer and filled with mixed fruit.  It was so time-consuming to make, but so good and never lasted more than a day. It was not only very colorful, but it certainly was yummy!  We would eat it all in one sitting.

Tiramisu

As for me, I didn't cook nor bake back home.  I knew how to cook, but I would only do so when I didn't have a choice--like back in college when my brother and I shared an apartment and I had to cook for the both of us. When I came to the US, cooking became a must. I had to do it.

But now that I have a family of my own, I have a different appreciation for cooking.  I have learned to love doing it and I continuously challenge myself to try dishes that are not so easy to make.  My husband would often say that my mom is such a good cook, but I am an adventurous cook--willing and able to try anything just to come up with something new.  I like that he noticed.

Ube Macapuno Cake

But other than cooking, I have also learned to love baking.  And my mom couldn't be any prouder.  When I post a photo of something I baked, she would call me and say "Gwapaha sa imong cake, Dai uy!"  I hope one day she will get to taste them and realize that they're not only "gwapa", but they also taste good.  After all, she got me into this. When she came to visit us here a few years ago, she couldn't believe I didn't have any pans and baking tools.  She then bought me majority of what I have now--a mixer, baking pans, sifter, measuring cups and spoons, spatula and some liners.  Without them, I would not even have anything to get started with.

After my mom left, I also stopped baking. I didn't think I was good with it. Besides, I thought "why spend all this time baking when I can just grab anything I want from the bakery or grocery store, and they're very inexpensive?" But I find that doing it myself and doing it from scratch has given me a sense of fulfillment that I don't get from cooking.  It allows me to make adjustments and substitutions so the finished product tastes just the way I and my family like it.  It allows me to be creative.  It allows me to feel that I'm a real housewife, the woman of the house. It allows me to be myself.

Almond Red Velvet Roll

I started getting serious about baking right before Halloween last year and until now I still love doing it. There is so much more I haven't tried and I want to try them all.  Yes, I failed so many times but the more I do it, the more successful I've been at first try.

I'm not sure I have proven my husband wrong--that baking for me is "seasonal".  But it's been months now and I still don't feel like stopping.  I guess the trick that did it for me is not to do it all the time.  Give it a few days after the last cake is gone.  I allow myself to miss it and then I'll feel like baking again.