Baked With Love…

TCH-TerriGeneral

We all have something that helps us to relax and unwind. An outlet where you can get lost in the joy of what you are doing. A hobby provides small moments in one’s life that allows you to be you. A hobby reveals the passion in a person. For me, this is baking.

My fixation with baking began in third grade. I came home from school to find the Fairy tale world of Hansel and Gretel in the form of a cake. This was my birthday cake. It had a graham cracker house held together with icing and candy cane posts. The roof was covered with candy and a gumdrop chimney. There were licorice lined windows and a brown sugar path leading to the house. This was the greatest thing my nine year old eyes had ever seen. I knew then that one day I would make my own sweet creations.

I learned all I could from my mother and family members that were willing to put up with me. I continued to bake as I grew older. I helped my mother make cakes, pies, cookies and candies. But my passion lies in cakes. There is no limit to what you can do with a simple cake recipe and a few extra ingredients. I think of a cake as my canvas and icing my paint. I am no “Ace of Cakes”, but I enjoy the building and creativity of making a cake. I have made cakes for baby showers, weddings, anniversaries, retirement, birthdays and other occasions. It is an unexplainable feeling to know that you have contributed to someone’s special day.

I recently made a cake for my Daughter’s softball opening day. I made a baseball diamond in the center of the cake. I then placed four Marzipan cover Styrofoam balls on each corner. These were made to resemble softballs. Each girls name was written on the cake. The cakes were auctioned off to help the league with regular maintenance of the field. I was so excited when my cake went for $175.00. The team was overly excited when the gentleman who purchased the cake returned it to them. We were all able to enjoy the cake.

My son’s birthday was this last weekend and of course, I had to pull out the cake pan.  He loves John Deere tractors. I was able to find a small John Deere toy tractor to build a cake around. I air brushed the grass on the cake and placed a fence and trees on this area. The rest of the cake was covered with brown sugar and combed to resemble plowed field. The tractor was placed in the field.