March 2026 SOLC–Day 13
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Outside, the day is drawing to a close, shadows deepening, and the sun sinking slowly behind the trees. Inside, I pull the ingredients from the fridge and cupboard, and set them on the kitchen island. Butter, sugar, salt, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, eggs, sour cream, chocolate. I set the oven to preheat and prepare a pan. Pulling the measuring spoons and cups from the drawer, I feel the day settle. The ever-present worries and stresses fade into the background.
Baking comforts me and connects me.
When I bake, I remember my mom and grandmother. I remember lavish baking sessions with childhood friends. I remember the bright sprinkle and sugar crystal abundance of holiday baking with my children. I think back to those years of early baking hours when I baked from home for a restaurant, and I remember the way-too-early-to-be-up pitter patter of little feet and my middle child, all sleepy-eyed and tousle-haired, joining me in the kitchen. I smile now, misty-eyed, remembering how she would climb on the step stool my husband made for her and contentedly watch me work. All these memories and more swirl about me.
I dump butter and sugar into the bowl of the mixer and turn it on. Its motor starts with a satisfying whirr. I watch the blade rotate and the two ingredients cream into a homogeneous mixture. I add the egg yolks and vanilla, and the batter turns to a deep yellow, testament to the gift of “home-grown” eggs from a friend.
I whisk dry ingredients together, sifting the clumps from the baking soda. Then I alternatively mix that and heaping spoonfuls of sour cream into the mixture. Next, I whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, small mountains of foam, and then fold them gently into the batter. I layer half the batter in the prepared pan then top it with clouds of cinnamon sugar and generous handfuls of chocolate chips. I repeat the process, then place the pan in the oven. After setting the timer, I clean up. There’s satisfaction here as well. Simple steps to create order from chaos.
Soon the air is rich with the scent of chocolate and cinnamon. My mind still lingers with memories.
Tonight, making this new-to-me coffee cake grounds me. When I bake I feel competent and capable. Even when working with a new recipe, I know I can bake. I have decades of experience. I speak the language, and my hands know what to do, moving smoothly and deftly. There is little ambiguity to baking, not too much decision making, but still, there’s room for improvisation. I know there’s science behind it all. I could research and learn about that, and I’d probably be a better baker for it. But I prefer to let the sheen of magic linger.
Tomorrow, I’ll bring this cake to school to share with colleagues at our Lattes and Lit group. We meet monthly to essentially buzz about books. There’s no required reading or assigned book. We just share what we’ve been enjoying, often bringing the books with us to loan out. I usually bring something I’ve baked, too. Making it is a gift to myself and sharing it is a gift to them.
Baking comforts me and connects me.
Nix the comfort zone 
I love your description of baking. It sounds so rhythmic and calming. I also baked last night for a meeting I have this am, but mine would have been described differently. I was so achy and worn down I just wanted to sit, but I had a teacher requests snacks at the meeting so I felt compelled to bake some cookies 🙂 I love the name of your group and the focus of book sharing! Enjoy your time with colleagues today!
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Our book group is the best! I hope you enjoyed your treats even if you didn’t enjoy making them. (been there, done that!)
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The recipe sounds delicious as I read this with my morning coffee. Was it as good as it sounds? Worth sharing the recipe?
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To be honest, Patty, I actually didn’t try it. Kurt says my go to sour cream coffee cake is still the winner. I’m happy to share that recipe, but if you want to check this one out, it’s at Smitten Kitchen–a great, entertaining recipe site!
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Molly,When I read your writing, I’m there with you is all I can say. I feel the textures, see the rooms and people, smell the food or air or sea. You are gifted
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Thanks so much, Judith! You are the queen of all writing that is food related, so this compliment means so much!
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You buried the lede! “I think back to those years of early baking hours when I baked from home for a restaurant.” Got to be a future Slice about this time in your life! I love this phrasing “I know I can bake. I have decades of experience. I speak the language,” Bake on!
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Hopefully I can bring something baked down to your neck of the woods this spring.
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This slice is filled with so many great crafting examples (as all of yours are). I’m probably noticing them even more because I just finished teaching about crafting sentences.
1 Great sentence used as object placement: “Baking comforts me and connects me.”
2 Using single word fragments for your ingredients makes me stop briefly and consider each one; that would not happen in a sentence with a long list.
3 I like your use of time to transition with ties to the past and present and future: “Outside, the day is drawing to a close … I remember (3 X, great parallelism ) … remembering… All these memories … Tonight … Tomorrow … ”
4 And the contrast in you opening paragraph is superb: “Outside,… Inside… I feel the day settle… fade into the background.” Wish I had a slice of the coffeecake
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Alice, I really appreciate the thoughtful feedback. A couple of the things you mentioned were things that I revised, so I’m especially happy to know that those revisions worked for you. Thanks!
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This post makes me want to gather ingredients and bake something. I can imagine all the scents and how they strongly connect to your memory. Your friends are in for a real homemade treat!
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Sharing baked goods is a great way to win people over 🙂
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Such beautiful descriptions. As I was reading, I thought for sure a picture would be at the end! 😉
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That’s so funny, Leigh Anne! My instinct was to include a photo, but I resisted. I feel like sometimes I lean too heavily on them, and I’ve included a lot of photos recently.
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beautifully layered slice – the memories, the calming, the giving, the connecting. I completely agree that, even with baking, there’s room for improvisation – that might be my favorite part about cooking vs baking — making it up as I go!
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I’m much more of a baker than a cook. I’ve never been great at making it up as I go and love a recipe in hand. It just occurred to me that it’s kind of like having a mentor text!
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Molly – share that recipe! I got so hungry reading your description. I love the Latte and Lit group idea and will steal it! Thanks for sharing! I will give you all the credit! I am dying for a slice of that coffee cake!
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Lattes and Lit is the best! No pressure and lots of book talk. The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, which is a thoroughly enjoyable site. (My resident expert coffee cake eater says my old go-to sour cream coffee cake still wins though. )
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I love your description of how baking makes you feel–my husband describes baking in much the same way…all that comfort and connection. Your coffee cake sounds delicious…and the book sharing, even better!
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The book sharing is the best! We started this last year because we realized we were always trying to talk books in fits and snatches in the halls. This has been a joy!
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Your descriptive writing made me feel like I was in the kitchen with you… and now I really have a craving for coffee cake! Thanks for sharing!
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Coffee cake is always a treat 🙂
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Wow…your descriptions here are divine. I felt like I was right there with you. I, too, love baking, but I don’t do it as often as I would like. My favorite phrase was “sugar crystal abundance of holiday baking.” I have been thinking of starting a book club as you described, where we get together to talk about books we have read, awapping our favorites with one another. What a lovely day!
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I bake much less than I used to, now that my kids are no longer at home. I love bringing baked goods to work and sharing them there every once in a while. Baking really does ground me.
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Did I write this story? I do believe we are kindred spirits. Baking comforts and grounds me, too. But I discovered baking (inspired by Home Ec. in high school) and delved in on my own. My memories go forward, baking with my kids and then grand kids. And your last sentence is exactly what I think when I bake and share. I love how you wove the steps in with your thoughts. And adding fluffy egg whites to a coffee cake-that must be a light, fluffy cake!
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I’ve never separated eggs for a coffee cake before! I was a little concerned about the batter’s texture. I actually didn’t end up trying any of the cake. My husband said it was good, but that my old go-to recipe is still the best.
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Interesting! The old faithfuls are often the best.
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