Sunday, February 27, 2011

Cake Show 2011

I am on Cloud Nine...I placed at the cake show!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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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