I don't bake anymore but I agree that baking requires exact measurements and ingredients.
I do recipe improvisations all the time, not that my cooking repertoire is all that extensive anymore. Every once in awhile I Google a recipe but mostly I make a few tried and true recipes for myself, throwing in "this and that" depending on what I have on hand. I don't mind leftovers or eating repetitively for a couple of days. When I retire 2014 I have a fantasy of inviting a few (ex) co-workers for dinner maybe Thursdays right after work a few times a year as I live close to the office (so they can see how the other half lives!). I will have some competition on these occasions from my once-removed, very particular ex-boss who likes to cook and likes to be in charge and has very definite preferences, and is really a very accomplished French chef (French ancestry once removed in her case). I guess I will have to yield some ground to her on these occasions so it is a good thing I like her so much. I have been pushed out of the kitchen a couple of times by her so I know my place!