Write about your most epic baking or cooking fail.

I once baked a loaf of bread that turned completely black.

The golden dream I imagined came out as a heavy lesson.

Later, I tried a coffee cake.

I poured in plenty of real coffee powder,

yet what came out carried no fragrance—only a quiet bitterness.

Some suggested adding flavoring, to make it smell right.

I didn’t reject the idea,

but I chose to stay with what was real.

Perhaps that’s what baking reminds me of:

it’s not about perfection,

but about finding the taste I’m willing to keep

between the black and the faint.

Not every loaf needs to be golden, not every cake needs to smell perfect.

What matters is the taste you choose to keep.