It isn't the early mornings.

It isn't weighing ingredients.

It isn't even when a recipe decides to behave differently for absolutely no reason.

It is the cleaning.

I love looking at a clean kitchen before I start baking.

I love the part where everything is measured out and lined up.

Then I start.

And somehow, by the time the cake is ready, my kitchen looks like a small storm has passed through it.

Bowls everywhere.

Spatulas.

Whisks.

Measuring cups.

Cream on things that definitely didn't need cream on them.

And then there is the part nobody really thinks about when they order a cake.

You have to clean all of it.

Sometimes I have finished an order and just stood in the kitchen for a minute thinking, I really have to wash all of this now?

But I do.

Because tomorrow there will be another cake, and I cannot start with yesterday's mess.

I think this is one of those things people don't see when they look at a home bakery.

They see the cake.

They don't see the sink full of dishes afterwards.

And while cleaning is still my least favourite part of baking, I have accepted that it comes with the territory.

Bake.

Decorate.

Pack.

Clean.

Repeat.

The cake gets all the attention.

The sink quietly gets none.