It’s no secret that when people get stressed they eat. As finals draw closer and workloads begin to grow, students can be seen munching on Doritos over their Kant reading, or sneaking full meals from Hutch into the Reg. Forgive me for quoting an old song, but I really have to wonder if we’re not just “looking for love in all the wrong places”.
There is, fortunately an alternative to the cheap chips and greasy campus junk-food. The next time you’re bracing yourself for an all-nighter in Harper, say goodbye to low-quality sugar fixes and order some delicious homemade cupcakes from fellow UChicago student Aneesa Sonawalla.
Photo by Hannah Fullmer
With only a week’s notice this first-year physics major will bake and deliver homemade cupcakes, prepared to your flavor specifications. Aneesa does her baking completely from scratch and makes her culinary magic in Crown House’s communal kitchen in the South Campus dorm. Anybody on campus looking for a sweet treat can visit her website and conveniently order a batch of her cupcakes online.
Aneesa began baking almost four years while in high school because she was always asked to bake for fundraisers. Having grown tired of making boxed brownies, Aneesa decided to branch out and start making more interesting confections. Eventually, this passion grew and after almost a year of thinking about it, Aneesa started a food blog called “Tender Love and Cupcakes”. On the page she posts every Friday describing a new dessert recipe she’s tried out. Recipes on the site range from chocolate peppermint cupcakes to clementine cake.
Crown house took notice of her blog and after Aneesa made a study break for Crown, Aneesa’s housemates began urging her to take orders. “They said that my cupcakes tasted so good I could sell them. So I decided, ‘Why not?’” Aneesa began taking orders about a month and a half ago and has mostly been serving members of the South Campus dorm. But if you live elsewhere, don’t worry; cupcakes can be delivered cross-campus. “I hope it will keep growing and growing,” Sonawalla laughs. “Who knows, maybe I could even recruit an assistant!”
Currently, Aneesa’s cupcakes can be commissioned as orders of a half dozen, one dozen or two dozen cupcakes. The cake itself can be vanilla or chocolate, frosted with vanilla, chocolate-vanilla or chocolate cream cheese frosting. Individuals with food allergies or a special request can write a comment with their order and Aneesa can contact you to arrange for accommodations.
So as you settle in to the library for finals week, check out Aneesa’s website to sate your cupcake craving. Instead of soggy fries under the fluorescent lights of the stacks, imagine taking a quick mental break from studying, stepping outside the library and greeting a dozen fresh, homemade cupcakes with your name on them.
For pricing information and to place an order, visit: http://tenderloveandcupcakes.com/orders