Would you eat this cake? Read my post and let me know...
Yesterday (Friday August 17th) was my last competition. It was sponsored by Indiana Grown. We were given a list of 31 Indiana Grown members and had to create a dish using ingredients from at least two of them.
This is the third year Indiana Grown has sponsored this contest. I participated the first year and it was a bit of an exercise in frustration (post is HERE). What I did that first year was concoct a recipe using products from the list, then went to go try and find the products. I tried to incorporate as many products as possible in a creative way. This ended up being a scavenger hunt and it ended up one of the products wasn't even produced anymore, thus I had to come up with a new recipe last minute from the products I could find. The winner then made a pound cake using two ingredients so it looked like the judges didn't care about incorporating a lot of products or being creative. It was a let down.
This year I debated all week on whether I even wanted to participate. Part of my reservation was that, due to food safety regulations, every food item that gets competed at the Fair gets thrown out after the competition. It used to be that they would give your food back to you after the sponsored competitions but now they take the whole item, judge it, then throw it away. Many of the items on the Indiana Grown list were just plain expensive. I mean, if I'm going to pick up meat from Smoking Goose or some nice cheese from Fair Oaks Farms or Tulip Tree Creamery, I'm going to eat it. I'm not spending that kind of money on something that's going to get thrown away after a couple bites. There were a large number of condiments too, but cooking with those generally involves adding a protein. The other issue was making something that would show well after being transported to the Fair and sitting around for a couple hours. It's a huge pain in the keister trying to keep something warm or cold and things that are best served at a certain temperature just aren't good otherwise. Finally, I decided I'd make a cake.
A cake is a "safe" choice. It shows well at room temperature. But being "safe" often means it's ordinary too. I wanted mine to stand out. I made a chocolate stout cake and used Trader's Point Creamery Yogurt and JavAroma Coffee in my recipe. I was able to find small 2 cup packets of JavAroma at the Indiana Grown Marketplace for $0.99. I found the Trader's Point Creamery Yogurt at SuperTarget for $6.99. To make the cake unique, I decided to layer it with a mousse - an herbal mousse using rosemary and thyme from Heartland Growers. Their website said I could find their products at Kroger and Walmart. Again, easier said then done. I had to go to three stores to find the herbs I wanted. Finally...
Score! Two pots of herbs at $1.98 each
On Thursday night I assembled all my ingredients and made my cake.
The stars of my chocolate stout cake
Making sure all my pans have the same amount of batter
Cakes are done!
While the cakes cooled I made my Rosemary Thyme Mousse. I started by simmering heavy cream with chopped rosemary and thyme, along with some orange zest, to infuse the cream.
Infusing my cream
I then added a couple ounces of white chocolate and unflavored gelatin to make a panna cotta. I let this chill for a couple hours to set up.
Rosemary Thyme Panna Cotta
Once the panna cotta had jelled, I scooped it out into a bowl and whipped it, then folded in some stiffly whipped heavy cream so make a mousse.
My goal was to have a contrast. The chocolate stout cake is very dense and sweet. The mousse is light, sweet but not too sweet, and has the rosemary thyme infused flavor to offset the richness of the chocolate cake. At least that was my vision.
I stacked my cakes this time before I assembled and frosted them
to make sure they were perfectly even
I then covered the whole cake with chocolate ganache.
I made a 6" cake because it was easier to transport plus, why make a big cake if they're going to throw it away anyway? Can you tell this is a sore spot?
My recipe actually was for a 9" cake so I ended up with six 6" cakes. That was perfect because it allowed for some extra "taster" cakes too.
So... cakes are done and I am frosting them. Hubs comes in the kitchen to check things out. Helps himself to a piece of extra cake and proclaims it's the best cake he's ever had. He then takes a big 'ole scoop of rosemary thyme mousse and puts it in his mouth...
...then proceeds to literally spew it out in the sink.
OMG, what is that?!! It's horrible!
Thanks for the positive reinforcement dear. It's rosemary thyme mousse.
I think he was expecting white chocolate or vanilla buttercream, not an herb infused mousse. Plus, he's a meat and potatoes kind of guy that doesn't go for weird flavor combinations. Well, at least I liked it. Admittedly, it might be a bit off the reservation... but sometimes you have to take some chances to stand out. I wasn't going to bring just a chocolate cake to a competition.
Decorated and ready to take to the Fair
As an aside... I didn't compete at the Fair last year. I did however hear about the Indiana Grown competition. The woman that won last year made a cake, a Pie Caken. It had three layers. Each layer contained a pie that was baked into a cake. Three different flavor pies in three different flavor cakes. It was a Drop-the-Mike moment when her cake got shown. That's the kind of stuff you have to make to win.
Friday was another gray rainy day so I got to the fairgrounds in plenty of time. After dropping my cake off I went to the 4H exhibit hall. I love looking at all the things the 4H kids make. They are so darn talented and creative! I didn't get to look around as much as I wanted but these are what caught my eye...
This was crocheted by a 14 year old!
I loved the detail and the coloration of the yarn
I love this too
Remember those "cootie catchers" you made in grade school?
It's a paper lantern covered in them
In no time it was time to go back for the open judging. There were three judges - food writer Jolene Ketzenberger, chef Tom England, and food writer Terry Kirts. There were 13 entries.
The Pie Caken was back...
Pie Caken
This was an impressive cake and it's creator used different pie-cake combos this year. However, it really really hard to repeat a win with essentially the same recipe, especially if you have some of the same judges. The shock value is gone.
My cake was the last entry judged. Two of the judges whipped out their phones and took a picture of the cake so at least they liked the appearance. Scoring was...
40% Taste and Flavor
25% Creativity and Originality
25% Texture and Consistency
10% Appearance and Presentation
It looked like the judges had a hard time cutting through the ganache and I worried it was too thick. Then I tried to look at their faces. Was it too weird? It was hard to tell. I don't think Jolene liked it. Chef England used the dreaded word "interesting" as he described it... and I couldn't tell what Terry Kirts thought.
Later though, I was told Chef England loved my cake...
Anyway, time for the awards.
The Pie Caken got Honorable Mention.
Becky's Beef Bourguignon got Third. She was up at 3 am making this so that the cooking time would be timed right for the judging so it was well deserved.
From Becky's Facebook page
Beverly's Popcorn Cookies got Second.
Robin won with her Celebration Chili. She tried to use as many Indiana Grown products as possible.
Robin's chili
I didn't place. Oh well.
After the competition I went to pick up all my ribbons and score sheets. Some interesting notes...
- My banana cake wasn't completely done. Probably why I didn't place.
- Judges thought my caramel corn was a bit chewy. Well, that's my caramel corn. I like it chewy!
- I think I got docked points because the judge didn't understand my instructions for the oat cookie crust on my sugar cream pie. I guess I'll have to spell it out in more detail next time!
This year's ribbons
I placed in 5 of 7 regular fair entries and 2 of 4 sponsored competitions. Not too bad for dabbling back in.
So... anyone want to try some Rosemary Thyme Chocolate Stout Cake?
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