In hard times, we need something to take solace in. Personally, I believe in the power of cake.
I think most of us have been through some tough financial straits in our lives, especially while young. (I remember pumping exactly $2.73 cents worth of gas once as a teenager, because that was all I had, and I needed to get home!)
But if you're fortunate enough to have a basic level of financial security, with a roof over your head and enough money for groceries, then baking is always within your reach.
In the 1960s, Statistics Canada found that the average household spent 19 per cent of their total income on food. That's down to 10.7 per cent as of 2024. We've cut that cost almost in half. Modern farm equipment, refrigeration, and transportation have made food staggeringly cheap by historical standards.
That means that even if we hit financial turbulence and find we have to cut back on something 鈥� vacations, a new car, 274 sci-fi novels 鈥� we can always bake.
A lot of us discovered this during the pandemic.
In our house, we didn't go the sourdough route (although a number of people offered me starter). Instead, we went straight for the sweet stuff.
There were a number of experiments with cookies. Most of these were highly successful, and have been repeated at intervals ever since, just to make sure we were right about them the first time.
A few worked out less well.
There was one particular chocolate cookie recipe that tasted great, but the dough was incredibly gooey and sticky. Getting it from the bowl onto the tray made the kitchen look like a tar pit had exploded.
There was also a great deal of cake. Cupcakes, layer cakes, sheet cakes. Do you know how long it takes for even a mediocre baker (like me!) to make and ice a sheet cake? You can do it after work and have cake that same evening. This is not the answer to all of life's problems, but it makes them easier to take in stride.
There have been other recipes over the years 鈥� we recently rediscovered one for a cornmeal breakfast cake that has dollops of seedless raspberry jam pressed into the dough before baking, which I need to make again, soon. We have made carrot cakes so moist I was surprised we didn't have a row of rabbits with their noses pressed up against the windows.
I've been trying to eat healthier lately. Less processed food, more fruits and vegetables, that sort of thing.
But I am not giving up cake.
The point of being healthy, of exercising and taking your doctor's advice and getting plenty of sleep, is so that you can live a longer, healthier life. But is living to 150 worth it, if you never have butter cream frosting again?
The most important part of baking, however, isn't the recipes nor expertise in the kitchen. It's the word 'we.'
There are a lot of paths to a happy life, but learning to bake, and sharing what you bake with someone, is one of the best.
