Sophomore Cora Martin is active in volleyball and track. She takes interest in baking, babysits often, and hangs out with her friends. 

As the new school year begins, new friendships are made by bonding over similar activities. A unique activity is how Martin bakes with her friends. Though she does other activities during the week, Martin uses her free time on the weekend and invites her friends to bake with her and they keep the goods to eat throughout the week. Martin started this hobby years ago when she was inspired by her grandmother to start baking and has continued her hobby. 

Martin’s cake-pop making journey started when she first tried cake-pops at her favorite and popular coffee chain Starbucks. Once Martin got into baking, she realized she could make the cake-pops herself, “I really like cake-pops from Starbucks,” Martin stated. “I’ve been trying to make mine similar to theirs.” When making cake-pops, mistakes can happen often as cake-pops can easily burn. You need the precise temperature for the cake and the chocolate coating, even heat distribution, and rotate the cake-pops to heat up both sides. Martin however, is determined to keep trying to perfect her cake-pops.

Martin’s advice for new bakers is to “Try new things and find something that you would like to bake,” Martin said. “Though you might make mistakes, keep improving for a better outcome ” Along with cake-pops, Martin enjoys making cookies, brownies, and cakes. She gets her ideas from Pinterest and searches up plans in her free time, and recently she’s looked up information about cheesecakes. 

Even though Martin loves baking, she doesn’t see herself turning baking into a career. “I think it’s a good skill to have, something that everyone should know how to do.” Martin does want to continue baking as it’s a part of her weekend lifestyle.