Any Home Bakers Here?

[tash]

Hi tash, glad you could join us! Congrats on winning 1st and 2nd place at the fair.

Would love to know how to make the white chocolate frosting, care to share your recipe?

Share those recipes!

The white cake is modified from the best real strawberry cake ever: http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/1088#
I just used all milk instead of milk/strawberry. If you make it do the cook down method for sure. You can also sub frozen orange concentrate for orange cake.

For the white chocolate frosting I have decided to try ganache. It doesn't look too hard. (famous last words) it is cooling right now. I have read a lot about it online, but this is the main one I am referring to. Why did my son have to pick white chocolate? http://bigbaketheory.com/2012/02/24/ganache-101/

Hi task. So glad you decided to join this thread. I cannot imagine baking anything to enter in a contest. Congratulations on your success.

It's just the local fair, nothing big. The arts and crafts building only has 3-5 entries per thing in the baking category usually. The cherry crisp was awesome because that is judged live and there were over 30 entries. The judge even said she didn't like sweet cherries, or different things added into it, but my chocolate cherry crisp (with dark sweet cherries) won! It was crazy.

If you have a county fair it's great fun to enter. My fair is $1 entry fee each, or unlimited for $30 and that includes a free pass for the week.



I forgot my cookies and fudge also placed. The fudge only had two entries though.



My garden club enters as a club so a lot of my flowers placed too. And I actually got second on the challenge arrangement this year. I think I submitted 40 or 50 things total last year (not just baking, but crafts, and flowers, and vegetables, and photos, etc). Many placed, but not all.

 

[sunflour]

@tash
would love to see your flower photos. I'm a novice, but love gardening.

Don't sell yourself short on any of your wins…a win is win, even with 2 fudge entries!

Personally, I am only competitive with myself - whether it was academics, sports or crafts. And I know my limitations…would never win anything cooking or baking.

 

[ronott1]

The white cake is modified from the best real strawberry cake ever: http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/1088#
I just used all milk instead of milk/strawberry. If you make it do the cook down method for sure. You can also sub frozen orange concentrate for orange cake.

For the white chocolate frosting I have decided to try ganache. It doesn't look too hard. (famous last words) it is cooling right now. I have read a lot about it online, but this is the main one I am referring to. Why did my son have to pick white chocolate? http://bigbaketheory.com/2012/02/24/ganache-101/



It's just the local fair, nothing big. The arts and crafts building only has 3-5 entries per thing in the baking category usually. The cherry crisp was awesome because that is judged live and there were over 30 entries. The judge even said she didn't like sweet cherries, or different things added into it, but my chocolate cherry crisp (with dark sweet cherries) won! It was crazy.

If you have a county fair it's great fun to enter. My fair is $1 entry fee each, or unlimited for $30 and that includes a free pass for the week.



I forgot my cookies and fudge also placed. The fudge only had two entries though.



My garden club enters as a club so a lot of my flowers placed too. And I actually got second on the challenge arrangement this year. I think I submitted 40 or 50 things total last year (not just baking, but crafts, and flowers, and vegetables, and photos, etc). Many placed, but not all.

Thank you so much!

I will save those recipes for sure.

 

[tash]

@tash
would love to see your flower photos. I'm a novice, but love gardening.

Don't sell yourself short on any of your wins…a win is win, even with 2 fudge entries!

Personally, I am only competitive with myself - whether it was academics, sports or crafts. And I know my limitations…would never win anything cooking or baking.

ok. Here is the challenge class arrangement. I like that one because they tell us exactly what we can use. I am very very inexperienced with arranging, last year I got 3rd, this year was 2nd. We can only use: 1 stem of white snapdragon, 3 stems yellow Peruvian lilies, 5 red roses, 5 stems bear grass, 2 stems salia leaves. Nothing else except the container to hold it, which can be anything we like.





Sage:


Munstead Lavender, you can see it got 2nd out of 5:





My euphorbia, which I put a little info sheet on because it was in the 'succulent other then cacti' class and I didn't want the judges thinking it was a cactus.


my daughter also placed in the kids marigold class (out of 3 I think)

 

[tash]

This is my daughters birthday cake from 3 years ago. It's red velvet with traditional (not cream cheese) frosting. Iam really awful at decorating.

 

[tash]

From the fair in 2013:

My oldest entered the kids M&M cookie contest and got first. We did fudge puddles and put a pb m&m under the fudge and mini M&Ms sprinkled on top.


One of mine from that year, maple pecan:


And one of my flowers, this is black eyed susan goldstrum. It was rainy that year so to prevent spots I had to pick a not quite open one (actually a few) a few days before the fair and let them open in the house.


The hardest thing about the fair is that I want to enter lots of things. That is fine for the crafts that can be made way early like wreaths, but for cut flowers and baked goods I need to plan carefully. I actually set up a staging area where the vases for the flowers go and many baked goods are made a few weeks in advance and frozen. (cookie dough in freezer, cooked cakes too) and then baked/frosted the day before. Then the ones that aren't pretty enough or just extras (only need 3 cookies or 1 slice cake) get eaten or given away to friends/family.

 

[sunflour]

@tash

Thanks for sharing. You and your child do have talent.

Would you share the Red Velvet Cake recipe? I made one a couple of years ago, DH loved it, I thought it was a little too greasy. Personally I prefer the cream cheese icing, but would eat RVcake anyway it is iced.

Icing looks good to me….I'm terrible at cake icing, I always get too many crumbs in the icing.

 

[tash]

@tash

Thanks for sharing. You and your child do have talent.

Would you share the Red Velvet Cake recipe? I made one a couple of years ago, DH loved it, I thought it was a little too greasy. Personally I prefer the cream cheese icing, but would eat RVcake anyway it is iced.

Icing looks good to me….I'm terrible at cake icing, I always get too many crumbs in the icing.

This is my grandma's recipe (I think she got it from the paper). The cooked whipped frosting is much much better then cream cheese, the CC is too heavy for the light chocolate flavor. I love it with the strawberry cake though. Buttercream is often too sweet, but it is super easy so I will use it sometimes (but not for red cake).

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Cream together the shortening, sugar, and eggs.
2. Make a paste with food coloring and cocoa. Add to shortening mixture.
3. Add salt and buttermilk to mixture.
4. Next add flour, vanilla, vinegar, and baking soda in that order. Mix.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in two 8 inch round greased and floured cake pans. Let cool.

• Level cakes. Spread frosting on each half layer. Stack and frost over all.

1. To Make Frosting: Cook cornstarch and 1 cup milk until thick, and then cool.
2. Cream together 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 cup butter or margarine and 1 teaspoon vanilla 'til fluffy. Add to flour mixture.

Oh, I was looking over my notes. I have subbed for the baking soda 2 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, and water for the food coloring. It turns out light brown with no dye, but it's cheaper and healthier that way if you are just making it for yourself.

 

[N F C]

@sunflour , I woke up extra early this morning and made up your breakfast casserole. I've been meaning to try it but things kept getting in the way so this morning was a good time. I made it with diced ham, green & red bell peppers, a little diced onion and monteray jack cheese (plus the usual eggs and milk and seasonings). We'll try it out tomorrow morning and let you know how it turned out. Thanks for the idea!

 

[sunflour]

This is my grandma's recipe (I think she got it from the paper). The cooked whipped frosting is much much better then cream cheese, the CC is too heavy for the light chocolate flavor. I love it with the strawberry cake though. Buttercream is often too sweet, but it is super easy so I will use it sometimes (but not for red cake).

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Cream together the shortening, sugar, and eggs.
2. Make a paste with food coloring and cocoa. Add to shortening mixture.
3. Add salt and buttermilk to mixture.
4. Next add flour, vanilla, vinegar, and baking soda in that order. Mix.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in two 8 inch round greased and floured cake pans. Let cool.

• Level cakes. Spread frosting on each half layer. Stack and frost over all.

1. To Make Frosting: Cook cornstarch and 1 cup milk until thick, and then cool.
2. Cream together 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 cup butter or margarine and 1 teaspoon vanilla 'til fluffy. Add to flour mixture.

Oh, I was looking over my notes. I have subbed for the baking soda 2 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, and water for the food coloring. It turns out light brown with no dye, but it's cheaper and healthier that way if you are just making it for yourself.

Thanks, Tash, will have to try it.

@sunflour , I woke up extra early this morning and made up your breakfast casserole. I've been meaning to try it but things kept getting in the way so this morning was a good time. I made it with diced ham, green & red bell peppers, a little diced onion and monteray jack cheese (plus the usual eggs and milk and seasonings). We'll try it out tomorrow morning and let you know how it turned out. Thanks for the idea!

I know it will be great.