The chaos of college life can have many students searching for ways to relax. For Cypris Wilkinson, a junior mass communication major at the University of Montevallo, that escape comes in the kitchen.

“I have swim, class, [and] work,” she said, “and baking is the time I have for myself to unwind and relax.”

Wilkinson

Wilkinson’s love for baking came from her grandmother, and it was something they enjoyed doing together. “I was very young when she passed,” she said, “but she used to bake and cook all the time.”

Since baking is her time to herself, she usually does it alone without any help. “Nobody really helps me bake because when I do bake, I like to do it alone,” Wilkinson said. She has a few friends back in her hometown that will bake with her if there is something they want to make together. They are her sous chef or simply help do the dishes.

Just like any hobby, there can be a few challenges that come up along the way. For baking, it is important to have a big enough space to prep, bake and cleanup. There are different appliances needed such as a mixer, bowls, an oven and sometimes more than that. When she first moved to campus, Wilkinson said she had not been baking as much in her dorm room since there was not a sufficient kitchen.

Wilkinson has since moved residence halls and now has a much more adequate place to bake. Her suite has a bigger kitchen to prep everything and clean, along with a short walk down the hall to the oven. She has already been able to bake more this school year compared to last because of her new living arrangement. “Even though it is more expensive, it is worth it for the enjoyment,” she said.

Wilkinson tries to bake at least one weekend every month. She did not purchase a meal plan which, is rare for most college students. She enjoys cooking all her meals with her roommate. 

“I like to make mixture of things,” Wilkinson said, “but recently I have been making a lot of breads, especially beer breads.” Beer bread is like regular bread, but you do not have to use packaged yeast. Instead, it is flour, sugar and a few other ingredients, including a 12 ounce beer that is mixed in before putting it in the oven. 

While Wilkinson enjoys eating what she bakes, she loves sharing it even more. “I do like making it and eating it, but most of the time I do end up giving it out because I love when people try my stuff and they like it,” Wilkinson said. She shares with her roommates, friends and anyone that wants to try her homemade creations.

This question was followed by asking what her favorite food to bake is.

“One of my favorite things would probably just be cookies because I love that you can make so many different types.”

Wilkinson

Her favorite cookie recently has been M&M cookies. 

If someone is wanting to get into baking, Wilkinson advised “perfecting your chocolate chip cookie first. There are so many recipes online that claim to be the best chocolate chip cookie. Everyone has a different preference on how they like their cookies, so it is important to find the one that you like best.

Wilkinson loves to show off her amazing baking talent and to do this she started a Instagram account based on baking and different types of deserts. To see some of her work, visit her Instagram.