No Baking Zone

“One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.”
Jane Austen

“Charity begins at home, is the voice of the world.”
Thomas Browne

Our oven has to be the least frequently used appliance in our home. I am a cook, not a baker. This is a shame really, considering how I come from a long line of bakers on my maternal side and live in a country where baking is still a housewifery art form, which is expected of every proper housewife. Store-bought goods, no matter how tasty, are considered inferior in every way. On some occasions, noticeably birthdays and anniversaries, to serve bought goods to guests is bordering on rudeness.

It is expected of every woman that she bake her own cakes on her birthday. Since you celebrate your birthday with your colleagues at the office, at home with family, and again with friends … you are talking about a lot of cakes!

The children celebrate their birthdays at home with close family and adult friends, at school with their classmates, at their day care, and on the weekend with other children. There are usually 10-15 relatives and friends at the first party, 20-25 children at in their classroom, 15-20 children in their day care group, and 10-12 children at their weekend party. I’ll leave it up to you to add up how many pieces of cake I am talking about here.

It’s not that I am trying to drum up your sympathy, rather just illustrate the extent of the cake baking logistics. It is also expected that the wives, girlfriends, and even mothers do the baking for their male counterparts. Having said all this, I have to confess that I don’t bake at all. Not for anyone.

All early attempts to acquire even the most rudimentary baking skill proved disastrous. The condescending looks at my failed projects, the all-you-have-to-do-is-follow-a-recipe advise from well-meaning friends (did they think I decided to make up the concoction out of my head?), the ever increasing number of baking books in my bookshelves, have yielded no encouraging improvement. So, I’ve adopted an I-don’t-do-that attitude and try to look ever so superior when a situation arises.