Sweet aromas waft through Newcomb Hall every other Friday afternoon, carrying the delicious scent of the Baking Club's freshly made cakes and cookies from the dining hall's kitchens.
This club mainly specializes in desserts, concocting an assortment of scrumptious breads, pies and other treats. Still, its members aim for a little creativity.
"We try to shy away from things like just basic chocolate chip cookies and brownies," Co-President Jessica Butler said.
Some of the more "exotic" recipes chosen through the club's e-mail thread have been a variety of cakes, pies, quick breads, bar cookies and biscotti from their cookbooks, Butler said, adding that the club usually tries to bake something seasonal, such as red velvet cake on Valentine's Day or pumpkin bread in the fall. Any member can contribute to the suggestions thread, which has chosen to feature fruit tarts on its menu.
Butler said she feels the club is a great way to meet people of different years who share a common interest in baking. She and third-year College student Carrie Bauer decided to start the Baking Club last spring because they disliked the fact that there was no outlet for avid bakers such as themselves on Grounds. There was once a Baking and Pastry Arts Association that satisfied the sweet cravings of many a baker, but it disbanded when the founders graduated. The Baking Club formed to fill this void.
Most of the members are experienced bakers looking for a way to continue baking at college and to meet new people in the process. Nevertheless, there are some first-time bakers in the group, Bauer said. For these learners, the club does not specify or demonstrate how an item should be baked, Bauer said. Instead, club members give participants a recipe and ingredients and figure out the process from that point.
"It's definitely best to learn firsthand," Bauer said.
Currently the club has about 300 people on its e-mail list, but 20 students on average attend meetings because spaces are limited in the kitchens. Meetings are held every second Friday for two hours in the Newcomb kitchens, Butler said. Members are allowed to use the kitchen's equipment and all ingredients are free.
Unfortunately, the size of the kitchens is a downside to baking in Newcomb. All equipment is industrial-sized, which can make individual baking more difficult, Bauer said.
Nevertheless, the club makes do with what it has, and members appreciate how the space accommodates all of them.
"The workers are really nice to let us be in there," first-year College student Sophia Urban said.
Urban decided to join the Baking Club because it was a "perfect combination" of two of her favorite things: baking and eating sweets. In addition, the absence of kitchens in her dormitory also encouraged her to participate in the club. Even Butler was motivated by this reality of first-year housing, as she joined the BPAA in her first year because she knew she would miss baking otherwise.
Butler and Bauer hope the club continues to provide this resource for students. They are graduating next year, meaning that new presidents will be elected, and Butler hopes the Baking Club will be able to avoid the BPAA's fate.
"It brings me back to childhood when my mother and I would bake something in the kitchen Sunday afternoon," Butler said. "[Baking] makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside"
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