Introduction:
The warmth emanating from the oven as you watch the dessert within rise and become a perfect golden brown. The heavy, nearly palpable smell of sugar lingering in the air. The anticipation of finally taking your first bite of the sweet treat. From cakes to cookies to bread, baking is a hobby that I have been involved in for years. Although I am far from professional, my simple desserts are often found at friends’ birthday parties, family gatherings, and class potlucks.
Overview:
You are likely already familiar with baking from watching your relatives or binging shows like Sugar Rush, Nailed it!, and The Great British Bake Off. Many consider baking an art due to the creative flair involved in assembling and decorating aesthetically pleasing desserts. It can simultaneously be viewed as a science because of the precision needed to calculate the correct amount of each ingredient. Add too much of an ingredient like baking powder, for instance, and the dessert’s taste and texture will be manipulated. Thus, baking requires a great amount of skill, especially on a professional level.
Personal Thoughts:
For my family and many others, baking has served as a means of coming together and creating something delicious that we can all enjoy after a meal. I inherited a love of baking from my mother, who would always make desserts for family gatherings before I adopted the responsibility. Furthermore, baking is an enjoyable and even therapeutic activity that allows me to unwind on the weekends after a stressful week of school.
How to Get Started:
There are countless recipes on websites and social media platforms such as Pinterest, Tiktok, and YouTube. One recipe that my family constantly requests is the Kentucky Butter Cake (recipe linked here), a moist pound cake that is both delicious and extremely easy to make.
Furthermore, I often use recipes from the website, Joy of Baking, which contains countless desserts ranging from cakes to muffins to pies to bread. I recently made a carrot cake from this website for my mother’s birthday, and it was a hit at her party. The sweetness of the carrots, spice of the cinnamon, and crunch of pecans all complemented the tangy cream cheese frosting. I would recommend this recipe and the many others found on the Joy of Baking website.
I understand that it may be difficult to bake when living in the dorms. However, there are alternatives that you may want to consider, such as mug cakes that can be made in the microwave. Although I have never made them myself, I’ve linked some from Tasty, a helpful website that features a variety of recipes and videos. Happy baking!
Your friendly neighborhood Undeclared major,
Sabrina