Eighty-five ~4~ Five Hundred

 

With the snowflakes falling we headed off to the fair with a chocolate cake for judging.

My dear husband dropped me and my daughters off at the door with my cake in hand.

after finding where we needed to take the cake

we headed off in that direction and "signed-in" my cake.

Much to my surprise I got a goodie bag just for entering in the State Fair,

I was so excited.

An unexpected gift - what a treat!

An apron, Hershey's cocoa,

chocolate chips,

a spatula,

and measuring spoons!

After entering the cake we had some time till the judging so off we went to watch the Rodeo.

So fun for us to take our kids to something that was

a highlight to us when we were growing up.

Time for the judging:

There were five judges and they each judged 17 cakes and picked their top two favorite cakes.

Judge #3 was the one that judged my cake.

With each judge picking their top two cakes,

they then announced those cakes as the top 10 cakes.

This is where the competition ended for 75 people who did not make it to the top 10.

At this point the competition was over for me.

The top 10 then were judged on appearance and presentation.

And wow, some of them cakes were decadent looking.

By this time my family was ready to go see some of the other sites and so we did.

We came back just as they were getting some final pictures of the winners

and I quick snapped this one.

The winner received a check for $500.00

I learned so much!

And what a fun experience it was for me.

Out of 85 cakes

only one got the $500,

but we were all winners to be there with our chocolate cakes.

Yee-haw and chocolate cake!

The smell of chocolate cake coming from the oven means that it is close to finish. The house smells delightful and several people have tried to bottle this smell in the form of a candle

but a chocolate cake smell means that a delicious dessert is about to happen.

One that can be enjoyed by all the senses (unlike a candle. )   =)

So today my house smells like chocolate cake.  But this one is for a competition and since I am not

on the judging panel I won't get to taste this one.

This summer I ventured out and did something I never did before.  I entered my chocolate cake in two of the local fairs, in hopes of winning a blue ribbon.  No blue ribbon this time, but I took 2nd place both times.

My cake is the one with the pink flower.

About 2 months ago I got a phone call from a lady who told me that the 1st place winner was unable to go to the state fair and therefore the opportunity was mine.  Of course I said yes, I would love to take my chocolate cake to the state fair.

So today is the day I am hoping to win a Brown and White Hershey's Ribbon.  But for me it is not always about winning but it is about taking a risk.  Getting out of my comfort zone.

So much to see at the state fair.  Animals of all kinds and food that is...

the best tasting.

Probably because I only have it once a year!

People to watch, yep, I am a people watcher!  And so many expensive/cheap souvenirs.

And lots of free stuff, too.

And the big event today is the High School Rodeo!

The only problem I see with the rodeo is my son thinking that

bull riding might be fun.

Gotta go put the finishing touches on my cake and we are off
to a day filled with....
so much excitement (especially for the kids.)
And hopefully a Brown ribbon!

Today started with me in the kitchen baking my very first cake for competition. This one was not about the decorations but it was all about HERSHEY'S COCOA. A chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

So I got out my favorite chocolate cake recipe and chocolate fudge frosting recipe. 4 hours later I had a cake ready to take to the local fair for the contest.

So off we went to the fair and registered the cake in the competition and then the waiting began. After two hours the judges had made their decision. And I got second place!!! I was super excited, my first competition and I got 2nd place along with a $20 prize.