I told myself I wasn't going to enter anything in the fair this year. I entered a few things last year and completely struck out. Not even an honorable mention. Then this year came around and I caved in. BUT, I only entered one item. It was all or nothing. It was the special contest sponsored by King Arthur Flour. I love King Arthur and after having visited them earlier this year, I felt it only right to submit an entry and try to win even more money to spend with them.
I decided to combine two of my favorite cake options. For the interior, I'd use a stunning Red Velvet cake recipe, a family tradition from my wife's side. Then for the outside I thought I'd use my chocolate ribbons from one of my post popular cakes. The combination of the bright red interior with the stunning chocolate ribbons would be sure to win something, right??
I dropped off the cake at the fairgrounds early on a Sunday morning before the fair opened. Surprisingly I got a voice mail from someone the next day telling me that I needed to call them back as soon as possible. Sure that I had messed something up, I reluctantly called them back and was told that my cake had won third place among all the entries! Although I was sure this was a first place cake, I knew how competitive this fair was and was pretty excited to take a ribbon!
She told me that they loved the cake and in particular the chocolate ribbons. She asked if I would be willing to do a couple news segments showing off the cake and demonstrating how to make the chocolate ribbons. So we headed back to the fairgrounds for two segments with local news stations. It was a blast hanging out with them and being able to show off the cakes.
Here's a link to one of the segments where I did a short demonstration of the ribbons:
KARE 11 News
And here are the original recipes:
Red Velvet Cake
Chocolate Ribbons
It was also fun to see the pictures that people took of the cake on display as they visited the fair!
Thanks everyone and I look forward to next year!
Congratulations on the cake. I watched one of the news interviews, and I agree with you that fondant tastes like garbage. I don't think it even tastes as good as Playdoh, and I'm not even a big Playdoh fan. That's awesome that you're introducing an edible substitute.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I think your cake should have taken first place. Those other two with ribbons on them look like they came from a High School Home-Ec class. They aren't nearly at the level of your cake. But one of them did have a horse on it. You'll have to remember that for next year.
Awesome work! Completely jealous. I love king Arthur flour and the variations they have available.
ReplyDeleteCongrats again, you've inspired me to try the chocolate ribbons!
ReplyDeleteYeah! Let me know when you do it!
DeleteI agree your cake should have been first! When are you going to start doing video tutorials on your blog? You would be great at it!
ReplyDeleteI actually did the video tutorials for the ribbons on this cake but that was a while ago. Not a big fan of myself on camera. :) Maybe someday.
DeleteSuper exciting! I enjoyed the segments -- and, what a beautiful cake!
ReplyDeleteAwesome win. And the Minnesota state fair is pretty darned awesome!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! From the picture I thought you had won, especially from all the fame you were getting. I'm excited to try your Red Velvet Cake. It's my favorite, but haven't found a recipe I really like. I guess I'll just have to make it.
ReplyDeleteFantastic. Completely jealous. I love king Arthur flour and the variations they have available. Mirtazapine 30mg
ReplyDelete