Samantha Kerstetter has a baking tale to tell. It's a story that links the past to the present, one that provides an update on one of our culture's oldest and most beloved household labors of love.

A 38-year-old resident of New Holland, Kerstetter has been the general manager of Cake and Cup Bake Shoppe, 12 W. Newport Road, Lititz, for 15 years. She knows her way around a kitchen and its refrigerator, its blender and its oven.

"What I've seen over the holiday seasons is that people are not baking at home as much," said Kerstetter. "People are getting desserts outsourced. It's definitely because of busyness and the pursuit of convenience. To (bake at home) requires a lot of patience, but we have so many other things to busy our lives with."

From a few basic, readily available ingredients - flour, milk, butter, sugar, eggs, salt and baking powder - industrious bakers can create thousands of varieties of baked goods. Bakers are limited only by their experiences, their recipe lists and their creativity.

"Everyone loves desserts," said Kerstetter. "I do think there's such a fulfilling feeling that comes from baking at home. You start with all these raw ingredients, and it brings all this joy. When you are really in the flow of baking and you have a passion for baking, it's wonderful to see the joy a person gets from eating a sugar cookie. Those small things can really impact someone's day."

Kerstetter earned a degree in baking and pastry arts from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. While education is always important, she acknowledged that are certain elements of intuition and repetition that also go into becoming a successful baker.

"It's not like just throwing things together and hoping it turns out," said Kerstetter. "You have to be detail oriented to be in this field. I don't think people understand how labor intensive it is. It's a lot of late nights and early mornings. In a physical way, it can be very taxing. It requires patience and a passion. There's a real kind of agility and finesse to doing baking on a larger scale. You need thoughtfulness and thoroughness."

Kerstetter can remember baking at an early age. But for her, the fire was stoked more by curiosity and exploration than something being passed on from a previous generation.

"One of my first recollections is being at the kitchen counter at my parents' home," said Kerstetter. "My mom didn't like to bake, but she was like 'You can have full rein. You can do whatever you want.' My mom had an old Mennonite cookbook, and I'd look up recipes. That was kind of my start. I just kind of fell in love with it."