It's all about the glory and the medal!
This weekend I competed in the 7th Annual That Takes the Cake contest here in town. I started competing in it last year at the beginner level and this year I competed in the intermediate level, confections category and I took home the third place medal. I am so pumped about it. I've been baking ever since I was a kid, and it wasn't until Billa was born that I really took it seriously as a hobby.
Out of all the cookies I made for the competition, these two were my favorite!
Last year I felt like my category and skill level was over saturated with entries, so I chose confections this year, especially since I've been on sugar cookie kick for awhile. I toyed with all sorts of ideas in my head and even debated NOT entering when at the last minute, I saw some Dia de los Muertos cookies on a baking blog I follow. It had been one of my original ideas and seeing Sugar Belle's cookies inspired me to jump on that train. Apparently, I wasn't the only one as there were several Day of the Dead themed entries in the entire contest! That and peacocks, which was also another one of my ideas.
This was a real challenge for me as a baker, because I'm usually known for the flavor and design of my cakes and not my piping skills, which are seriously lacking. It was a huge trial in patience to pipe the different colors and then wait for them to dry before going back over some of them. I'm so glad I did, though, because that hard work paid off! I've decided that I really should take some time this year to improve my piping and finally take a Wilton class. I also want to do gumpaste flowers, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms!
My college buddy and fellow baking aficionado, Brianna, joined me in the contest this year and she came home with a first prize again. Brianna, aka Twinkie, is AMAZING when it comes to piping. Sometimes I wish I could hate her for it, but she is one of the sweetest people I know and she's incredibly humble, so it makes it really hard. Seriously though, she's got skills, and I am always amazed at what she can do with buttercream icing. We certainly set the bar for one another!
Brianna used stringwork and the Lambeth method to score her win! Her piping is so neat and mine is usually, well, NOT.
All in all, I had fun looking at all the cakes and decorating my cookies and getting some super ideas for stuff I want to try. Brianna's convinced me to compete in October at the Oklahoma show, OSSAS and I'm getting pumped up for that one. We'll see what happens!
Winningly yours,
Kelly
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