I have tried my hand at baking. Dessert is my favorite course of any meal. I once read that the body needs something sweet at the end of every meal to know it’s time to stop eating and start digesting. That’s all the motivation I need to give a hearty “Yes!” every time a waiter asks if I’d like to see the dessert menu. And since I’m on a confessional kick I’ll also tell you that yes, I have had dessert for dinner and no, I am not ashamed of that.
I have fantasies of impressing my friends with sugary baked goodness, inviting me to dinner parties purely because they just cannot get enough of my baking skills. In these fantasies, my friends often say things like, “Oh, Christa, can you please bring that incredible double chocolate souffle that everyone raved about last time. I’m having dreams about it!” Of course, this never happens because I never bring dessert to a dinner party unless I buy it or it’s fruit.
In my year of new beginnings, I decided that this was going to be the year I learned how to bake. Witness exhibit A above – my attempt to make a recipe entitled “Easy Pumpkin Pie”. Easy for Recipes.com to say. The evidence speaks for itself. Have you ever seen a pumpkin pie with a dome? Despite my painstaking attention to detail, measuring every single ingredient to supreme accuracy, and following all of the instructions down to the letter, I must admit that no, I can’t bake. That new beginning has been put to bed.
Looking at my “Easy Pumpkin Pie” I was a bit sad. Why can’t I bake?! Why is this skill that I want so much eluding me? In the process, I broke a glass bowl (Whoops! that one wasn’t meant to melt butter in a microwave) and spent more money on ingredients than I would have spent buying a picture perfect, tummy satisfying pie from my local Whole Foods.So I did what any self-respecting girl with a little tear in her eye and a propensity for sweets would do – I got out a fork and ate the pie filling. It was delicious, or at least edible.
(And then I started thinking about how this burned pie might lead to some creative spark in my writing. I came up with the idea for a collection of essays with titles like: I Burned the Pie, and Other Confessions of a Modern American Girl and I Don’t Bake, Other Things You Should Know Before You Fall in Love With Me, or We Won’t Be Eating Cake, and Other Helpful Hints for My Husband To-Be. What do you think?)
I cook well, but when it comes to baking I didn’t get the genes for it. I will continue to be marveled by those who can somehow whip up the perfect dessert with barely a speck of flour on their faces. From now on, I’ll happily buy my dessert and fully understand the value of its price. Crumbs, here I come!
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
7 thoughts on “Beginning: I Don’t Bake”
Don’t give up after just one try! It could have been the recipe, but like any skill, it takes time and practice to learn.
Thanks, Kate! Unfortunately this was only the latest in a long string of baking mishaps this year. I even took a baking class, but it didn’t help. However, your encouragement makes me think I should keep giving it a try. Maybe I need to go as simple as possible and build my baking confidence from there!
Oh don’t give up yet. Didn’t you just have lots of fun at a cupcake class? Baking isn’t genetics, it’s chemistry. And why assume it was you? Were your ingredients the freshest? Was your oven actually the right temp? (most are off, get an oven thermometer and check so you can adjust) Maybe the recipe was wrong. For darned near failsafe pumpkin pie, follow the recipe on the Libby’s pumpkin purée can. Buy frozen or refrigerated crust to start.
Check out the HUGE book Baking Illustrated by Cook’s Illustrated. Fascinating, filled with recipes AND details of all the trials, failures and tweaks it took them to reach THE recipe. It also explains and teaches the why behind the what and gives technique tips. I gave mine away or I’d send it to you.
Had to reply, your post bugged me all the way to work. If you don’t care about baking much or just don’t want to, then sure, put the idea aside. Not like you don’t have plenty to do in your spare time. 🙂 But it sounds like this is something you’ve wanted, so maybe don’t throw in the towel just yet. What would you advise if a student cane to you with a similar situation?
Oh dear! It bugged you all the way to work?? I really wrote it more as a humorous piece. My failed attempts in baking are really quite funny – as you can tell from the photograph! I did have fun at that cupcake baking class but we didn’t bake the cupcakes. Mostly they told us exactly what to do when and we spent most of our time frosting – which was actually a lot of fun! I also realized that I don’t like the “exactness” of baking. It doesn’t feel good to me. I like cooking – how creative you can get by adding a bit of this and a bit of that on the fly. It’s more my style.
Very good question on how I would advise a student. And if a student came to me with this kind of issue – they were trying to get good at something they really didn’t like doing – I’d advise them to spend their time on doing something they love, which for me is straight-up cooking. 🙂
Thanks so much for your insightful comment and questions – as usual. And hope this reply makes you better!
Christa Avampato 
Don’t give up after just one try! It could have been the recipe, but like any skill, it takes time and practice to learn.
Keep at it and you’ll get there!
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Thanks, Kate! Unfortunately this was only the latest in a long string of baking mishaps this year. I even took a baking class, but it didn’t help. However, your encouragement makes me think I should keep giving it a try. Maybe I need to go as simple as possible and build my baking confidence from there!
LikeLike
Oh don’t give up yet. Didn’t you just have lots of fun at a cupcake class? Baking isn’t genetics, it’s chemistry. And why assume it was you? Were your ingredients the freshest? Was your oven actually the right temp? (most are off, get an oven thermometer and check so you can adjust) Maybe the recipe was wrong. For darned near failsafe pumpkin pie, follow the recipe on the Libby’s pumpkin purée can. Buy frozen or refrigerated crust to start.
Check out the HUGE book Baking Illustrated by Cook’s Illustrated. Fascinating, filled with recipes AND details of all the trials, failures and tweaks it took them to reach THE recipe. It also explains and teaches the why behind the what and gives technique tips. I gave mine away or I’d send it to you.
Had to reply, your post bugged me all the way to work. If you don’t care about baking much or just don’t want to, then sure, put the idea aside. Not like you don’t have plenty to do in your spare time. 🙂 But it sounds like this is something you’ve wanted, so maybe don’t throw in the towel just yet. What would you advise if a student cane to you with a similar situation?
Best wishes on this Monday
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Oh dear! It bugged you all the way to work?? I really wrote it more as a humorous piece. My failed attempts in baking are really quite funny – as you can tell from the photograph! I did have fun at that cupcake baking class but we didn’t bake the cupcakes. Mostly they told us exactly what to do when and we spent most of our time frosting – which was actually a lot of fun! I also realized that I don’t like the “exactness” of baking. It doesn’t feel good to me. I like cooking – how creative you can get by adding a bit of this and a bit of that on the fly. It’s more my style.
Very good question on how I would advise a student. And if a student came to me with this kind of issue – they were trying to get good at something they really didn’t like doing – I’d advise them to spend their time on doing something they love, which for me is straight-up cooking. 🙂
Thanks so much for your insightful comment and questions – as usual. And hope this reply makes you better!
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