Why I don't bake

It's no secret that I don't bake. I never contribute to the school bake sale, if you ask me to bring dessert to a dinner party it will most likely be ice cream, my book club is used to those little frozen eclairs when I host, and the annual Christmas cookie exchange at work used to make me sweaty and anxious.

But sometimes, especially if it's been a while since my last baking experiment, I forget my fears and get obsessed with the idea of baking. I envy people who effortlessly produce beautiful cakes, cookies and other goodies ... and sometimes I want to be just like them. I was in that kind of mood this past weekend when we were having dinner with friends and I decided to bake a cake. In the oven: a Grapefruit Pound Cake from Cooking Light. Thank goodness my family has a lot of patience.

My latest adventure in baking started off well but quickly went downhill when I realized I had forgotten an ingredient. Text to my husband: Can you pick up some cream cheese while you're out? And can you bring it home, like, NOW?

I then got bogged down by some of the measurements and instructions. 9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups) ... about 2 cups?? I thought the whole key to baking (and the reason many of my attempts fail) is that you have to be precise, so what the heck does about 2 cups mean. And how was I supposed to know what 6 ounces cream cheese looks like, when it's a 250 gram package. And is it okay if I have one large egg and one extra large egg, when the recipe calls for two large eggs? And isn't beat until light and fluffy a bit subjective - my light and fluffy might be different from your light and fluffy.

I was also reminded of the mess of baking. I can get a balanced, yummy, hot dinner on the table using only a cutting board, knife, frying pan and a wooden spoon. But by the time the cake made it into the oven, I had dirtied five measuring cups, three measuring spoons, two mixing bowls, two beaters, a spatula, three knives and countless spoons. And I hadn't even made the icing yet.

The good news is that the cake actually turned out (except the icing, but nobody really noticed) and even kind of looked like the picture in the magazine. I hope everyone enjoyed it because I've satisfied my latest urge to bake and it's going to be a while before the electric mixer comes out of the cupboard again.