Baking is therapeutic, in ways one cannot elucidate enough.
There is a strange euphoric feel, to the moment a fresh bake is pulled out from the oven. The warm whiff of air filled with the aroma of the fresh bake, as the oven door opens, sends a tingling sensation through your entire existence. What lies in front of you is a product born out of love. Even the cracks on the surface bring immense joy! I am stressing on love because love is the soul of baking. What is a cake without love? Well, what is a body devoid of its soul? Nothing!!
In baking every step of every recipe requires sensitivity and patience. The coming together of different ingredients, each carrying a world of unique flavors exclusive only to them is what a match made in heaven looks like; the absence of any one of them would cause irreparable damage to the outcome. You will be amazed to know the world of difference, a pinch of salt or a few drops of lemon juice or half a teaspoon of coffee, could bring about in your recipe! God truly lies in those details!!
Unlike traditional cooking where we can take our chances with the methods and the condiments and yet think of redemption even at the end in case the dish goes a little awry. But not in baking. In baking, what is done cannot be undone! All we can do is hover around the oven with a toothpick!!
And after giving you something to ruminate on, I shall hand out the why. Last evening, I baked a cake. No plaudits for this normal culinary endeavor of mine sought! This is more like a goof up confession.
An overblown rhetoric regarding my baking skills by my generous mother in front of my relatives (Much to my embarrassment) led to this little baking escapade of mine, last evening.
So, with few items from the kitchen pantry, a little time at my hand and lots of love, I donned the baker’s hat to create a decadent chocolate dessert for a dear one. Like a pro I got all the ingredients together following all the steps meticulously and with precision. And once I placed the cake tin in the oven and set the timer, I did a little jig, twerking to be honest! Love does that to you, I guess.
I waited with the toothpick in my hand, and music in my heart.
As soon as the oven beeped, I opened the oven door and inserted a tooth pick inside to check if it came out clean or not. It did.
Satisfied with what I had achieved within the confines of a kitchen, I left the cake to cool down. An hour later I marched back into the kitchen to check on the cake. As I flipped the cake on the serving plate, I sensed a kind of slow depression setting in, right at the center of the cake!!! For a second, I froze…my worst fears had come true! The center of the cake was gooey, and it sank taking my heart along.
When you have followed a recipe to the T and yet it comes out unsavory, you experience heart break at some level. It took me a while to accept the fact that the damage had been done and there was no way I could salvage the heart of the cake.
I took a deep breath and stared at my almost doomed love. And then it struck me… How about a Bundt cake? I scooped out the sunken part from the center, levelled the inside edges with a knife, spread a generous coating of ganache and threw in a hand full of colorful cake sprinklers at the top. Voila!! There it was… my gorgeous Bundt cake. And just like that, I was twerking again!! As I stood there, my eyes glued in admiration to the beautiful hollow of the cake, I was suddenly transported to the past, reminding me of somebody.
I once knew a girl, free spirited and young. I have yet to see a more guileless pair of brown eyes. One day cupid struck and before she knew it, she was in love. Truly madly deeply. That is also one of the many things about first love; when it is happening, you find your heart slipping at an uncontrollable, impossible speed. And there is nothing you can do about it. When you land after the slip, you find yourself wrapped in the sweet nectar of your beloved and you think…This is it. There is nothing more to this world and life.
While she had been immersed in that sea of love, she began to sink. Unfortunately, the sea of love was nothing more than a swamp. The nectar that once seemed sweet, was muddy water that choked her. Her heart heavy with the mud, sank. She struggled and dragged herself out of that swamp. She tended her heart until it was ready to embrace more love. She loves her life and smiles often, looking back. Her heart even with the hollow, is full of love.
This girl could be me. This girl could be you. But that is not why I wrote this.
I wrote this so that you can acknowledge and celebrate your moment of survival. Despite giving in your hundred percent, sometimes love does not come about. That is also a story not many people want to hear. Of all the stories of love that exist in this world, a few arise from a heart that sank in love. They are just as beautiful, for even the hollow that they carry, was once filled with love.
So, the next time, the heart of your cake sinks, make a Bundt out of it, and redecorate it. It will taste heavenly. It will still carry love, because baking a Bundt is nothing but a story of love.
Picture Credits : Unsplash.com