Betsy Crocker

Elizabeth MebaneStaff Writer From jolly winter evenings spent inventing gumdrop adorned gingerbread men to sporadic desires for a plate of warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies, baking has long been a comfort for children and adults in need of some sugar-loaded, calorie-filled therapy. Baking has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was one year old, my family moved from Nashville, Tenn. to Los Angeles. Overwhelmed by this great, big new city, my mom, sister and I would spend every single day baking chocolate chip cookies in our small apartment in LA. This created an atmosphere of relaxation and ease despite the stress of job searches and unpacking boxes. One of the earliest and best memories I have is of baking chocolate chip toffee cookies with my grandmother, mom and sister in Texas. Baking is universally appreciated for the warmth and happiness it brings, even to literary greats like Pablo Neruda in his “Ode to Bread,” and Emily Dickinson in her free time. Ada Campagna (’13) started baking because cooking constantly surrounded her family, as well as for the enjoyment of  concocting original and delicious baked goods. “My family centers itself around food so cooking has always been a big part of my life, but I started baking because I love the creativity and fun involved in making baked creations,” Campagna said. “I think I like making cupcakes more than other baked goods because they allow much more creativity than other desserts. For example, making banana cream pie cupcakes or s’mores cupcakes allows me to break down the flavors of one dessert and create a new one, which is a lot of fun.” Juan Jose (’14) started baking as a young boy with his grandfather, who was a bread baker. Jose was also influenced to bake by his uncle because he is a pastry chef. Katey Hobkirk (’13) has memories of baking with her family when she was young. After a while, she memorized the recipes to make them by herself. “I distinctly remember making soda bread with my mom and chocolate chip muffins with my sister,” Hobkirk said. “My dad and I would make cookies every so often. We often had a giant cookbook that my sister and I would pick recipes from.” Many precious memories are tied to baking. One of Campagna’s best memories is of baking with her grandmother in Mich. as a young child. “My brother and I were playing outside and found bushes full of blackberries, blueberries and raspberries,” Campagna said. “We ran inside, got two buckets and spent the afternoon picking berries. When we had picked enough, we came inside and went to our grandma to show her all the berries we had picked. She took us into the kitchen and told us she would teach us how to make berry pies. We made the dough together and helped her roll it out. We filled the crust with our hand-picked berry mixture, covered it and put it in the oven. To this day I have never made or tasted a pie that good.” Aside from traditions, baking brings out a creative spark that many people don’t know they possessed. Megan Edwards (’13) has been baking her whole life, inspired by her mother’s creativity. “My mom is super crafty and so I grew up making a lot of things, from random art projects to baking all the time,” Edwards said. “We used to go to my grandma’s house and I would spend the day with my sisters and cousins baking Armenian food. My favorite [were] these little bread rolls that we would literally make from scratch.” I too, pride myself when I bake things completely from scratch. When I was in seventh grade, my older sister, who was then a freshman in high school, made cupcakes and cakes for her friends on their birthdays. Being a little sister, I was completely captivated with anything she did. I began slaving away in the kitchen just like she did, baking up various concoctions. Because of this inspiration my sister gave me, I have continued to bake all throughout high school and acquired a job at a culinary school called The Gourmandise School in The Market in the Santa Monica Mall. I will spend all day baking in the kitchen, being on my feet for hours until whatever I am making has been perfected and pleases me. Campagna also tries to bake as much as she can, baking everything from pies to cookies to cakes to cupcakes. “Baking is just something that makes me happy,” Campagna said. “I bake whenever I have a good enough excuse, so every holiday, birthday or special event you will see me holding something sweet. But I also bake randomly, like the other day, I felt like [eating] pie so I made a homemade crust, found some apples in my fridge and made apple pie.” Not only did I begin to bring my friends sweet treats for their birthdays or on holidays, I also loved to bring goodies if I knew a friend had a bad day and needed to have that delicious smile sprinkled across their face. One of the sole reasons I bake as much I as do is to see these smiles from the unexpected surprise of a swirly, frosted cake of delight.  Baking is one of the many ways I show my friends that I care for them and will do anything to make them smile. “I find that baking tends to only hold positive memories,” Hobkirk said. “When a friend is sad or stressed and I show up with cookies or fudge or something, their face lights up, making me really happy. It’s something for me to do that makes something delicious that I can share with other people and make them happy.” Not only does it bring happiness, baking is also a way to let go of stress. “I like baking because it soothes me,” Edwards said. “I always bake when I’m stressed and need some ‘me time.’ It calms me and makes me feel relaxed.” Hobkirk thinks back to when she was younger, and her parents had just gotten into a big fight. “It was a Sunday morning, the day after the fight, and my sister woke me up,” Hobkirk said. “My sister wanted to make breakfast for Mom and Dad and she wanted me to make muffins. She made eggs and toast while I made the first batch of muffins I had ever attempted. When we brought them the breakfast, everyone loved the muffins. It was a good memory because it seemed like even though the day before was pretty awful, everything just got a lot better and everyone was happy.” One of the beautiful things about baking is that it allows you to lose track of time and be completely captivated by the activity. This past summer, my boss asked me to stay late after my shift to help her make a few items for the bakery. We made six loaves of pumpkin-cranberry bread, a hazelnut cake with dried, candied pears and creme fraiche caramel, a pistachio cream cake and a double batch of muffin batter. We ended up finishing cleaning up at three in the morning! Needless to say, my parents were not too pleased, but they were understanding, due to my obvious passion for the art. Hobkirk realized that she loved baking when she started to bake with her friends and loved to see the reactions of others from the delicious tastes. “I like baking in general but it’s always nice to make something with a friend,” Hobkirk said. “I started trying new recipes and inviting people over to help out and eat with me. I realized baking was awesome when I made my first lemon meringue pie — to this day my favorite thing to make — it just tasted heavenly. I would give away some slices and see how people would go back for more and how happy it made them.” One of Jose’s fondest memories of baking is when he and his friend made red velvet cupcakes for a Spanish cooking video project. “My partner knew nothing about baking which made it hilarious,” Jose said. “He didn’t even know how to crack an egg [properly].” Baking and cooking have become some of my hobbies and my definite passion. I have begun to research culinary schools to attend after college and my plan is to become a pastry chef and own my own business involved with baking. No matter what happens, I know that baking will always be a part of my life, whether I teach classes at a culinary school, run my own bakery or simply make my family and friends treats galore. Campagna has also considered a future in baking, however, she is open to many possibilities. “All of my friends want me to open up a bakery,” Campagna said. “After I gave a cupcake to my science teacher, Ms. Song, on Valentine’s Day, she actually came up to me and told me I should seriously consider opening a bakery. But I have big ambitions and I don’t know if baking [will] fit in with my goals. But, you never know, maybe to earn some money in college I might open up an online store. But right now, baking is just a pleasant hobby.” Edwards would love to bake as a career, however she doesn’t take the activity too seriously — she just bakes for the fun of it. “I have this secret dream that I’ll own my own little cupcake shop,” Edwards said. “In reality, I think that [baking as a career] would make it too much of a job, and I like to bake because it takes my stress away — I don’t need it to be what I stress about.” Hobkirk considered baking as a potential career, however she decided for the time being that she couldn’t see herself only pursuing baking. Still, she wants to take baking classes and would like to join a baking or cooking club in college. No matter her future with baking, Hobkirk has always felt a strong love of baking and will continue to bake throughout her life. “Baking has always made me happy,” Hobkirk said. “It gives me something to do, something sweet to eat, something sweet to share and shows me that I’m able to make something out of nothing.”emebane@thesamohi.com Cappuccino Chip CupcakesIngredients:24 paper liners for cupcake pans1/3 cup water4 teaspoons instant coffee granules2 cups all-purpose flour1 tablespoon baking powder1 package vanilla instant pudding mix1 1/2 cups granulated sugar1/2 cup butter, softened4 large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla3/4 cup whole milk1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or cracked roasted cocoa beans for garnishDirections:Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners and set these pans aside.Place the water and instant coffee in a small glass liquid measuring cup and microwave on high power for 40 seconds. Remove and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Set aside to cool for five minutes.Cream the sugar and butter in an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring between each one. Once completely combined, add the vanilla and stir until mixed. Sift the flour, baking powder and vanilla instant pudding mix together in a large separate bowl.  Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk into the electric mixer and combine. Then add the remaining flour mixture and milk. Mix until smooth. Fold in one cup of the miniature semisweet chocolate chips.Spoon or scoop batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Place pans in the oven and bake for about 18 to 20 minutes. Once baked, remove pans from the oven and let cool for five minutes. Take the cupcakes out of the pan and let cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes before frosting.Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and frost to desired perfection. Garnish with miniature semisweet chocolate chips or cracked roasted cocoa beans. Serve and enjoy! Mocha Buttercream FrostingIngredients:1/4 cup milk1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee granules8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter at room temperature2 ounces (1/2 bar) German’s sweet chocolate, grated3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted1 tablespoon water, if neededDirections:Place the milk and instant coffee in a small glass liquid measuring cup. Place the microwave oven on high power until the milk is hot enough to dissolve the instant coffee, 30-40 seconds. Remove and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Set aside to cool.Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and add the coffee and grated chocolate. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture has softened, about 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners’ sugar. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, about one minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about one minute more. Blend in up to one tablespoon water if the frosting seems too stiff.Irish Soda BreadIngredients:2 cups sifted all-purpose flour1 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon sugar1/4 cup chilled shortening1 beaten egg2/3 cup buttermilk Directions:Preheat oven to 375° F.Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl.Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal.In a separate bowl, mix together egg and buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients and stir well.Knead briefly and place into a greased eight inch round pan or a greased nine inch by five inch bread pan.Press down so the dough fills the pan, cut a slit or many slits in the top so the bread will not crack.Brush the top with milk.Bake 35-40 minutes. Chocolate Chip Toffee CookiesIngredients:2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon salt1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter3/4 cup granulated sugar3/4 cup packed brown sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 eggs2 cups chocolate chips1 cup toffee piecesDirections:Preheat the oven to 375° F.Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy.Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.Gradually beat in flour mixture.Stir in chocolate chips and toffee.Using an ice cream scooper or spoon, place dough in balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.Bake for 10 minutes and let cool for two minutes.