Baking is more than a hobby for administrative clerk Carman See, it is therapy.
Her interest in baking, which started when she was 16, culminated in the launch of her home-based business, Therapeutic Bake, in October last year.
On Instagram and Promonade.sg, a portal for home-based businesses, the 22-year-old sells items such as Swiss rolls customised with hand-drawn artwork, including cartoons such as Pikachu and characters from the Among Us online game.
In March 2014 - the year she sat her N-level examinations - she began experiencing abdominal pain, which caused her to miss a lot of school.
For months, repeated visits to various clinics and hospitals failed to shed light on her malady, which doctors pinned on gastric issues.
Eventually, it was discovered that she had an ovarian cyst and torsion, a potential medical emergency where the ovary becomes twisted. She was wheeled into surgery almost immediately.
After her operation in July that year, the 16-year-old was instructed to take things easy and not engage in vigorous activity. "I couldn't move around a lot, or laugh, cough and sneeze in case of a tear. I stayed at home and baked," she recounts.
After her surgery, she found she enjoyed watching competitive baking shows and experimenting with macarons, tiramisu and chocolate lava cake.
"Baking was quite therapeutic. When I bake, I don't think about anything else. I focus on the process, the next step, and whether the macarons will turn out well or not," she says.
Little did she know that baking would once again ease her sorrows six years later, when she became a mother for the first time.
Ms See, who is married to a 26-year-old IT professional, gave birth in March last year.
Her son, Dyan Chia, was born with severe jaundice and had to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. She herself had to use a catheter for a week after the birth.
She was saddened that she could not bring her newborn home quickly. Her family suggested that she turn to baking again, especially since she could not go out much during the pandemic.
She sees her home-based business as a means of spreading the word about the benefits of baking.
"Instead of thinking about why I am sad, I just focus on baking. It's a good way to help other people," she says.
