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If your Instagram feed is anything like mine, it’s all about banana bread right now. I’ve never seen so much banana bread in my life! It’s a relatively easy recipe to make—with a delicious outcome, no less—so I understand its popularity; it’s not only a comfort food, but it also gives us something to do as many of us continue sheltering in place. There seems to be a real resurgence of baking in general right now—so much so that many groceries stores are selling out of basics such as flour and yeast.
I have never been one to find solace in the kitchen. I’ve lived in New York for over five years and my oven has scarcely been used (except as shoe storage). In high school, I even set my parents’ oven on fire attempting to make a pizza! Let’s just say I am no Julia Child. But due to current circumstances, the days of me going out to eat are over. While cooking is still of no interest to me—I will simply eat a bowl of cereal and call it a day—baking, however, has suddenly piqued my interest.
Every Friday, out of boredom, I’ve taken up baking as a project. I will attempt a new recipe every week, something I have been doing for just over a month now. There’s something about the simple art of following steps and mixing ingredients that brings me a sense of relaxation—a soothing distraction from the daily news and my own spiraling thoughts. Unlike cooking, there’s no guesswork or improvisation in baking: simply read the rules and you’re likely to birth a successful dessert. That’s a kitchen M.O. I can get on board with. Don’t get me wrong: baking is still labor-intensive. But when time seems to be all we have, there lies a fun challenge in undertaking an endless list of steps.
I decided my first baking attempt would be a humble chocolate cake, a recipe from Bon Appetit (it’s literally called the “easiest chocolate cake”). If I was going to start somewhere, it was going to be with a basic. Armed with my new Therma Kota apron—15 percent of its proceeds go towards providing meal services to at-risk indigenous communities—I got to work, and the end result was perfectly moist and chocolatey but not too chocolatey. Feeing confident, I took on a carrot cake the following week, from Canadian Living; my cream cheese frosting was so good I may or may not have had a few spoonfuls of it on its own. I had gotten texture and taste down pat: what was next?
After nailing the two cakes, I was ready for a challenge: I decided to bake two blueberry pies from scratch, crust included. (I followed my grandma’s recipe, as I have tasted her delicious pies my entire life.) Pie crust is notoriously one of the most difficult things to master in the kitchen, so to improve my chances, I followed Tenderflake’s classic recipe. The end result—to my delight—didn’t crumble, and it baked to perfection. When I later dropped off one of the pies to my grandma’s house (at her door step, from a distance) even she, a tough critic, raved about it.
My latest creation, made just last week, was Balthazar’s pineapple upside down cake, a sweet dish that has loads of retro appeal. Next up, I’m thinking cinnamon rolls, a galette, or even possibly pavlova. For Mother’s Day, I will also be baking my mom something special (but shh: don’t tell her). And while it may not be pro-level Baked Alaska, whatever I whip up will be cooked with love and—finally—confidence.
Below, all the baking essentials you’ll need to get started.
