There are many ways we resemble our mothers, from having the same smile to being the same height.

Then there are the other traits that are passed along, like sharing a love of cooking and baking for the family.

Naperville resident Kim Neppl recalls watching her mom whip up meals for her eight children on the family cotton farm in Missouri.

“She was wonderful in the kitchen. We all just sort of stood back and watched,” Neppl said. “I think my favorite meal that she made was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and homemade biscuits. She also made a homemade chocolate cake with a frosting that was more like fudge. Everyone asked her to bring that cake to events.”

Getting a recipe from her mom was challenging because most of the time she cooked from experience without any written instructions. But by watching her mom and writing things down, Neppl managed to compile a spiral notebook filled with her mom’s specialties.

“When she passed away, I wrote up the recipes that I had and then collected some from other family members and made everyone a recipe book filled with her recipes to give as gifts on the first Christmas after she passed away,” Neppl said.

Baking is a passion that Neppl, 56, shared with her mom. “When I was about 13, my oldest sister bought me a set of cake decorating tips and a decorating book for Christmas. I think I started using them the very next day.”

She baked all sorts of cakes and established herself as a dessert expert.

“In the South, where I am from, you can eat cake any time,” Neppl said with a smile.

She remembers that when her daughter was young and had a bad day, the two would team up and have dessert for lunch to sweeten life’s troubles. She affirms her dessert devotion is affirmed with a sign in her kitchen that proclaims, “Life is short. Eat dessert first.”

Neppl makes all her baked goods from scratch, including a carrot cake that her daughter adores. “She wanted to have carrot cake every year on her birthday,” Neppl said.

In recent years, Neppl has joined in the cupcake craze and enjoys making interesting combinations.

“I recently made a lemon cake with blueberries in it that was really good. I swirled on some buttercream frosting and put a blueberry on top,” she said. “Another combination that is good is vanilla cupcakes with almond frosting. For St. Paddy’s Day, I did a chocolate Bailey’s Irish Cream cupcake with a buttercream frosting that had Bailey’s in it. I piped a little shamrock on top of each one.”

The St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes were for a Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors event. Although she has lived in Naperville for more than 20 years, she recently joined the group.

“I became an empty nester who was looking for things to do and there were so many options with Naperville Newcomers and Neighbors. I have gone to bunco, potluck dinners, a dinner dance. They really have something for everyone to try. Each newsletter has four pages of activities to choose from. They have a coffee in October, which is a good way to find out about the different activities.”

Neppl sometimes fills cupcake orders for friends and has found that the silicone cupcake pans work very well. “I put the silicone pan on a baking sheet to hold it steady. The cupcakes really come out nicely from the silicone pans. I was skeptical at first but now I use them all of the time for cupcakes, corn muffins and individual quiches or frittatas. I was sure to get ones that are BPA-free.”

When the holidays roll around in December, Neppl spends many hours in the kitchen making a variety of cookies and candies. “I make toffee, chocolate-covered cherries and chocolate-covered nuts. I like the dark chocolate and found that Trader Joe’s dark chocolate works really well for candy,” she said.

Although she likes desserts with complex flavors, she admits that sometimes a simple dessert such as a honey bun cake brings just the right amount of sweetness and comfort to life. She shares her recipe for carrot cake that requires a little bit of work to make as well as her simple but delicious recipe for honey bun cake.

Judy Buchenot is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.