My love of baking has to have come from my mother - she baked throughout my childhood and I spent a good part of that time in the kitchen alongside her. There was a warmth and a magic in that room that I was instantly drawn toone I hope I recreate when I bake in my own kitchen, with her words in my head and some of her cookbooks and recipes at my fingertips. She was also one of the inspirations behind my own site, The Domestic Goddess which I started as a way of keeping track of the recipes she was passing along to me over the years.

One vivid memory is of making éclairs when I was twelve. The way the flour, water, eggs and butter miraculously changed into an elastic, succulent dough utterly amazed me. I was also captivated with the sight and texture of the rather decadent custard that went in the middle. As I decanted the shimmering emulsion into the piping bag, I couldn't help but to comment aloud, "Now this is incredible". There was puzzled look from my brother at the time, who just wanted to eat the sticky, sweet stuff, but if I recall correctly, my mother did give a tiny, perceptive smile.

Regardless of when you eat it, dessert is the centerpiece to the ultimate meal. I happen to think that sweet treats are much more than just treats - they are baked with love and a desire to make someone smile, to make someone happy. I suppose it is appropriate that since I adore sugary delights and also created the food-blogging event Sugar High Fridays, I will be focusing primarily on the sweeter aspects of the food blogging world.