Taste one of Ron's cakes today!

How Ron Became a Baker

Baking, for me, is like being onstage. The mixing and flouring and adding ingredients is a performance, which gets better with repetition. Flipping a cake from a cake pan onto a plate is taking my bow. And the "oohs" and "ahhhs" about the aromas and tastes I've cooked up are my standing ovation.

Family and friends have enjoyed my baking for years. It's as familiar to them as my singing, writing, and performing. My kids Sara and Simeon tell me my cakes are da bomb! and require birthday cakes that I make and their mother decorates.

My wife Natalie praises my pound cake capabilities as a definite plus when I proposed marriage. One evening after dinner at my home when we were dating, I pulled a "Family Favorite" Pound Cake out of the oven, sliced it warm and served it with vanilla ice cream. She says she filed away the moment, the taste, and the occasion as a "there's-definitely-something-special-about-this-one" memory. Her gift request for her last birthday was for a cake like the one I'd pulled from the oven 18 years ago. She said it added just the right touch of "rich sweet goodness" she wanted to share with her guests at a birthday brunch she'd whipped up.

Whenever my niece Tracey from Atlanta visits Beaufort, she calls and asks slowly and sweetly, "Uncle Ronnie, what you got in your oven...?" Pineapple upside down cake had been her preference until my Cream Cheese Pound Cake touched her palette this Christmas. She had to carry one back to Atlanta.

Customers attending special events at Ms. Natalie's Workshop, my wife's and my specialty crafts and gift shop on St. Helena Island, have delighted in my brownies and cakes since its opening. And each December, friends begin dropping by our home and sniffing. Or they call and inquire, "Has Ron started his holiday baking yet?"

This past season, I moved things up a notch. I curtailed my Christmastime cake and cookie gifts and started Mr. Ron's "Gullahlicious" Pound Cakes. My "Cream Cheese," "Chocolate Chip," and "Family Favorite" Pound Cakes have received "thumbs up!" responses. Patrons tell me they hid my cakes from family members or doled out a few small slices only. Another took a bite and immediately touched her heart, while gasping, "Oh, yes!" Their comments have been Emmy Award nominations for my baking performances. I've smiled and said "Thank you!" graciously, but inwardly I've taken a deep bow.

I started baking at age 7. I'm the last of nine children born to Kathleen and the late Henry Daise, Sr., in the Cedar Grove community of St. Helena Island. Having so many mouths to feed and needs to attend to, my mother tired of my almost constant plea for her to "bake another sweetbread, Mama. Please!"

She told me once, "Do it yourself. I don't have time, Son." So she walked me through what I needed to do, and afterwards I was on my own. Baking has been a favorite pastime since.

In addition to baking cakes and pies, Mama also made biscuits each Sunday morning. That tradition continues in my home, too. For me, it's a "get-up-get-going-it's-time-to-praise-the-Lord" smell. Each parent passed on to me an aspect of Gullah heritage that I continue. Gullah people take pride in our food. My Dad cooked a little. He'd catch fish and shrimp, oysters and conch. He'd fry them and make gravy and eat them with rice or grits. But Mom did the desserts. My imitating the joy and passion each used in preparing foods for their family are vital ingredients that I add to Mr. Ron's "Gullahlicious" Pound Cakes.

My mother once tasted one of my pound cakes and said, "Umpf! Now, Ron, you really put the zizz in this one!" I can't readily explain what the expression means. But for me, it was a high compliment, coming from the Queen of Zizz herself.

Becoming a diabetic at age 29, I bake but seldom partake. Nevertheless, I find baking a calming activity. Perhaps it's because I like order and quality and guaranteed outcomes. When I'm stressed or in need of accomplishing something with immediate results, I grab my mixer and turn on the oven. I've solved the problems of the world or composed songs or focused on numerous other good and wonderful things while I've mixed up batter from scratch. Before beginning, I pray that this gift of my hands will be pleasing to those who receive it. Then my performance begins. And, yes, I'm always ready for an encore!

Order Ron's Gullahlicious Cakes!