I walked past Famous Amos the other day, and as usual, I shamelessly stole the sweet wafting smells of its cookies and brownies. But what was different this time was the realization that I now know how to bake cookies like the ones that were sitting invitingly in the display cabinet. It might seem and it probably is an easy to make dessert for seasoned bakers or people who bake but it was a huge feel good moment for me.

I am a late bloomer in the kitchen department. I have never cooked or baked until about a year ago. I never needed to and I had no interest in either. I love desserts, and I have invested many hours watching all the dessert offerings on TV. From Cake Boss, Just Desserts, The Great British Bake Off to donut, cake and chocolate challenges and competitions, I have watched them all. My show-kitchen, as I call it, saw no action except for the occasional use of the microwave to warm up food and drinks.

Out of the blue, I decided to bake an apple crumble for my husband’s birthday. I wanted to do something personalised instead of presenting him with a store bought slice of cake like I have always done. I had no clue how my first attempt with a crumble would turn out but not wanting my crumble to crumble I did my homework the best I could. I read several versions of the same recipe, then decided on the simplest one with the least ingredients and minimal steps to overcome. All these I did stealthily because if I did mess-up, no one would be the wiser. My plan B, a carrot slice, was ready in the fridge waiting to be served up.

Retrospectively, kicking off my foray into baking with a crumble was a good strategy on many levels. I chose a crumble primarily because my husband has always enjoyed eating apple pies. But an apple pie was a stretch for me at that time. I didn’t know anything about making a crust or lattice designs or that sort of thing. I also didn’t know much about presentation. Still don’t. The crumble gave me a wide berth to camouflage mistakes as the crumbly top, thankfully, by design, looked a little messy without much help from me. I pulled it off. The target audience loved it. My husband couldn’t believe that I had actually baked, let alone a crumble and a pretty decent tasting one at that. He said it looked rustic. A description he has since used many, many times to describe my bakes. Translated – not visually pleasing but edible.

Encouraged by the unexpected success and a ready and willing one-man market, I have been baking since. Monday is my designated baking day. Why? To rid the blues associated with Monday, and make the start of the week, a look forward to Fun day. I check out recipes over the weekend, and mull over my choices. I didn’t realize learning about the ingredients and process could be enjoyable. In the past, I looked and salivated at pictures of all kinds of desserts, and never bothered reading the recipes as baking didn’t interest me. Also, I thought it was beyond my capabilities. Now, I read recipes and experiment with ingredients. This is the bit about baking that I like best. I mix-and-match different ingredients that I think might work well together. I enjoy giving my cake, tart or cookie a little tweak. I add a little bit of crystallized ginger here and a handful of coconut flakes or peanuts there. I do the same with my no-churn ice cream, whisking coconut cream and whipping cream to stiff peaks. I half my ingredients for my bake and no-bake recipes as they are only for my husband and me. I try to salvage duds (the experiments don’t always work) by improvising with my go-to rescue items in the pantry; sugar, coconut oil, honey and chocolate, which help a little.

To-date, my favorites have been my own version of the mocha-mud pie (my favourite dessert is back on TGIF’s menu), chocolate peanut butter cake and no-churn chocolate ice-cream with loads of chocolate bits, coffee biscuits and cashew nuts. I also liked how my dark chocolate coffee tart, coconut-ginger-white chocolate cookies and no bake lemon cheesecake turned out.

I enjoy the baking process. From picking recipes, modifying recipes, licking the mixing bowl, baking in the oven or no-baking in the fridge, and eating the end product.  I get an almost instant gratification because I can see, taste and enjoy my own little effort from start to finish. And, it’s a happy way to begin the week for this novice baker.

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