Whisking Through Chaos: My First Leap into Baking During COVID

It all started with a Zoom baking lesson, led by a godly, patient woman who was teaching all of us eager young women how to bake. Everyone was armed with their whisks, spatulas, and ingredients—except me. I was feeding my 2-month-old baby, who was born in the midst of COVID chaos. While others were fully focused on their batter, my eyes were glued to the "baking queen." Her hands moved like a magician’s, precise and confident, and I hung on to her every word. 

She warned us not to panic when things didn’t go as expected. “For example,” she said, “when you add the eggs to the creamed butter and it curdles, you’ll think you’ve ruined everything. But don’t worry—this is just the butter and eggs working it out, thanks to the magic of emulsification.” I had no clue what she meant, but I nodded along like I did. 

Later that night, on a whim and with zero tools—armed with nothing but a fork—I decided to take a leap of faith and bake a carrot cake. How hard could it be, right? I thought it was as simple as tossing in some carrots and calling it "healthy" for my diabetic mother, who just happens to have a sweet tooth that no amount of insulin can resist. She’ll start with “just a small piece,” but soon enough, it’s “Oh, I’ll just have another slice” —and you can’t say no to her!