Why Being a Writer Made me a Better Baker
By: Jordan
Does anyone else get the same satisfaction from taking a bite of delicious cake and hearing a perfectly crafted sentence? No, just me?
Well, I know I’m not the only one obsessed with cake these days. From the Netflix show Is it Cake? to the TikTok trend where people decorate cakes to look exactly like other objects, creators are pushing the boundary with their edible expression.
I’m nowhere close to making a cake resemble a raw chicken breast (and probably never will!), but I have felt inspired to tackle this once intimidating culinary craft. Like so many people, I stepped up my cooking game over the pandemic. A dash of this, a sprinkle of that—coloring outside the lines is A-OK in cooking, and we love a margin for error when learning something new. But baking? Baking is science. Baking is practice, patience, and labor. It’s also thoughtfulness and creativity, exercised out of care for those who will consume it. A lot like… writing.
As I worked my way up from a single-layer orange blossom almond cake to a three-layer blackberry lavender cake, I couldn’t help but notice: the imagination, intentionality, and attention to detail I put into my cakes are all skills I developed as a content writer.
So, for all the cake-crazed content consumers out there, here are three ways my writing process supported my cake-baking journey.
Precision and process take the cake.
I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true: you really do need to level off your flour with a knife. Hastily scooping your measuring cup like it’s a bucket of sand won’t get you the results you’re hoping for.
Precision separates the great cakes from the good ones, and the same goes for writing. Great content pops off the page with well-placed punctuation. It communicates so clearly you couldn’t miss the message if you tried. And with one carefully chosen verb, a writer can paint an entire picture. Those meticulous details help to earn the reader’s trust and make sure the content isn’t half-baked, or worse, dry.
In both baking and writing, precision comes with process. Respecting the steps, rather than rushing through them, makes all the difference. Just like you need to mix your wet and dry ingredients separately before combining them, taking the time to write an outline can ensure the final product comes together. It’s hard to turn jumbled messaging into clean content, and you can’t put frosting on a still-warm cake and expect good outcomes. It’s just that simple.
Aesthetic isn’t everything, but it’s important.
Writing and baking may be processes, but reading and eating are experiences. That’s why a cake has aesthetic and writing has style, and both can make your heart jump when done beautifully.
Cakes are celebratory in nature. They’re conceived to entice, invite, excite! Whether a cheery upside-down apricot cake, an elegantly piped wedding cake, or a glossy ganache-covered cheesecake, your mouth should water on sight. With writing, style is how you welcome the reader into the piece, show who you are, build trust and create connection. How much more fun is it to read content when you like the writer’s voice? And how disappointing is it when you bite into a pretty cake that tastes like cardboard (the original clickbait)?
That may have flown in the mid-2000s when the Cake Boss covered all his outrageous creations in fondant (which doesn’t taste great), but today’s consumers—especially Gen Z and Millennials—want authenticity, even to the point of anti-aesthetic. For that audience, a rustic cake with a simple glaze, or an article written with approachable language, may be best. Just remember that achieving “effortlessness” still takes intention. Simple, not sloppy.
It’s gotta be worth it.
Just like people are paying more attention to their sugar intake, content consumers are watching their screen time. Our task as writers and bakers is to rise to the occasion and earn the investment of more discerning audiences (who always deserve indulgence and a good read!).
Ironically, cake blogs are some of the worst offenders. Who else has opened a blog post, not clicked “jump to recipe” and scrolled through 2,000 words of SEO-infused jarble before getting to any helpful information? If I’m going to give content my time, I want a story. I want to learn how your whipped ricotta frosting was inspired by summers spent with your Italian grandmother. Or how you accidentally swapped cinnamon for cardamom and it changed your life.
How do you make cake and content “worth it”? Make it enjoyable. Show you care. For writing, create a resource that delivers value to the reader, whether it’s information, inspiration, or a good laugh! Go back to your notes to find that small, specific detail that brings the whole piece to life. The secret ingredient is always love, so put your heart into it.
It’s been a treat to see one of my passions fuel another, especially since creative crossover is one of the joys of working in communications. We get to explore so many lanes—from media relations to digital marketing to social media—and collaborating with fellow creatives is definitely the icing on the cake (sorry, I had to!).