The Best Cake by Jenn Webster

How do you make a cake as special to honor someone who baked it to begin with? A father and daughter are about to find out...

(Illustration by Jenn Webster) 

Douglas had been starting to take up the hobby of baking ever since the pandemic began; there have been times when he had made good cupcakes, other times he would just make a mistake and just burned the cupcakes. Nevertheless, Douglas seemed to have been enjoying his hobby for the past few months…
At first, he had considered taking up the opportunity of having a bake sale, but he became skeptical of the idea. Then one Saturday, he and his daughter went to a neighbor’s garage sale and asked the neighbor how he could have a great bake sale; the neighbor obliged, and then he shared with him the secrets of putting on a great outdoor sale event such as a bake sale.
And so, a few weeks later, Douglas and his daughter began to put on a bake sale, just so that he could have enough money to store away. A month later, he and his daughter put on another bake sale, but this time, it was to raise money to help those who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It felt good for Douglas for him to do this special bake sale to raise money to help people. Who would have thought that someone who is as smart as Douglas would use the talent of his hobby of baking to do something very special?

Now, the time came when his neighborhood put on a baking contest; Douglas asked his daughter if she could help him out with the recipe of Red Velvet cake, made from scratch…well, at least they tried to make it from scratch, but then they got the ingredients all wrong. Just then, Douglas and his daughter began to remember that if they want to make something from scratch, they will have to follow a cookbook.
So, the two went and looked for that cookbook that would show people how to bake things from scratch; they have looked everywhere, and soon enough, they have finally found that book. Douglas told his daughter that this happened to be his wife’s and her mother’s favorite “from scratch” cookbook, and she would enjoy using it, following every recipe that would make any occasion special…until the day that she died. Both Douglas and his daughter miss her, as well as the wonderful things that she would bake from that cookbook. And then, they decided to make something to honor her memory; so, with that, they looked for a recipe for a cake that would be made from scratch. They had looked throughout the book, and sure enough, Douglas and his daughter had finally found that cake-made-from-scratch recipe. They would then follow it, using the ingredients that he would normally use for Red Velvet cake…

The following weekend was the neighborhood baking contest; everyone around the neighborhood have done their best in creating the very best baking delights, especially Douglas and his daughter. When they were next in the line of contestants, one of the judges sampled the Red Velvet cake, and then proclaimed that it was downright delicious! Douglas and his daughter just could not believe their eyes! Their “from scratch” Red Velvet cake had turned out to be such a hit that later, they were both awarded first prize! Now, that story ended on a SWEET note! (yuk, yuk, yuk)

However, the real true moral is that when it is time to honor someone for the things they have done, then you have got to do so with honor, as well as love.

©2020 Jenn Webster 

Author's Note

What do you think of my wonderful story about baking with love?