Why Do I Bake?

This is such a simple, and complicated, question all at once...and one that I get asked a lot! People wonder why I bake when I could just go to any grocery store and buy a dozen cupcakes. They also ask me why I bake from scratch. Boxed cake mix is "just as good," right? Pffft! No, but that's only a very small part of why I bake.

Baking isn't very glamorous, and if I'm being honest, there's not a lot of riches to be made. It's long hours and hard work.

So why do I bake?

I bake because it brings a simple joy. Seeing the eyes of a child light up when you hand them a brownie as big as their head. The smell of cookies in the oven.

I bake because it's a combination of art and science. Some of the ratios have to be perfect, others are open for interpretation. I get to be messy and be a perfectionist. I get to follow the rules and be creative.

I bake because I love having fresh baked goods at home. I love the smell, I love the taste and I love the satisfaction of having made something beautiful. And, if I bake while I'm home alone, nobody needs to know if I baked 12 and ate one, or baked 15 and ate 4. If I buy a box of Oreo's, everyone knows how many are gone.

I bake because I get to control my ingredients and I believe that high quality ingredients produce a better product. Why would I want artificial strawberry flavouring when I can use real strawberries? Why use shortening when butter tastes better and does a better job?

I bake because people come to me with a vision in their head and I get to turn their cake dreams into cake reality.

I bake because I remember baking with my mom and my sister as a girl. I remember my grandmother teaching me to bake her much-loved apple pie. Using the recipes passed down through generations makes me feel close to them.

Those are some of the more complicated reasons that I bake. Yet the one that that rings most true, is always the simplest.

I bake because I can't imagine anything I would rather do.