When my husband, Jesus, and I traveled to San Francisco for our honeymoon, almost twenty-five years ago, I had no idea that the Bay Area would become my home.
After we got married, I would often make cakes because I thought it was silly to buy desserts. As my family grew, I didn’t have the time to bake from scratch, plus by then we lived in Berkeley, where there are so many wonderful bakeries. When my son, Jose, was six years old, he was doing homework one day and asked me, “What is the most beautiful thing you do?” I responded with, “I bake.” Confused, Jose asked, “Then how come you never bake for me?” I felt awful. His birthday was approaching, so I was determined I’d make something for him. The last time I baked, we were living in Mexico, so I found it confusing, converting everything from Celsius to Fahrenheit and grams to spoons. I used a Bundt cake mold and made a chocolate cake. When I presented it to Jose, he said, “Mom, you made a tire!” He loved cars, so I felt happy. We all still laugh at that memory. That tire cake was the spark that reignited the passion in my heart from baking for Jesus so many years ago. Soon I enrolled in classes and learned all about baking and cake decorating. I worked to incorporate some of the flavors available in the Bay Area with the techniques my mom used, like adding freshly squeezed orange or carrot juices and sometimes using thick cream instead of butter. Over time, I developed some really delicious cakes that tasted just as beautiful as they looked. At first, it was just a hobby, but now I know I just needed more confidence.
