Let Them Eat Cake!

Let Them Eat Cake was a fabulous benefit for the Mercy Midwife Center in Pittsburgh yesterday–you look at gorgeously decorated cakes and then taste a bunch of cakes!  They are provided by both professionals and amateurs…and it all looks/tastes wonderful!!! 

For the Decorating portion of the evening, there were about 10 cakes entered for judging.  The theme this year was “Five to Grow On,” partly because this was the event’s 5th year.  Here are some of the entries:

This sunflower confection was created by an amateur!!  Amazing, no?  Look at this gorgeous detail work:

This one is also created by an amateur, and won several awards:

Absolutely stunning!

This one is created by professional Ellen Rosen of “Cake Drama”- and look at the absolutely perfect execution of every detail and how gorgeously balanced the colors are.  I took a million pictures of this one; I think because it includes many of my wedding colors, so maybe my eye was naturally drawn to it  🙂

And a triple winner for incorporation of theme, execution of decoration, and color balance is:

This one!  It’s gorgeous, too!!  I had a really hard time picking a favorite!

Now for the tasting portion of the evening:  There were 15 cakes, all at tables like this:

And let me tell you, it was a madhouse.  Everyone swarmed the cake tasting tables, and after about 20 minutes of speed cake eating, everyone enjoyed a glorious sugar high…followed 30 minutes later by a sugar coma.  Not to worry, however, because this event also featured an open bar (I drank varities of champagne all night!) and a coffee bar!  The coffee bar probably would have been especially wonderful with some of those chocolate cakes, except that we all scarfed the cake down without thinking about that…
And the winning cake flavor: an absolutely to-die-for Pistachio Macaroon Torte with vanilla frosting and chocolate ganache drizzled all over it, made by professional Tom Hambor of “Food Glorious Food” bakery.  Here it is:

I could have eaten my weight in that cake! 
My vote for favorite: 5 Layer Summer Dream, a white cake with 5 different fruit fillings, made by amateur Nazra Aboosally (was delightful!)
Chris’ vote: “Make a Baby” cake, a delicious chocolate cake with raspberry and Chambord filling, covered in a fluffy chocolate frosting, made by professional Elizabeth Schandelmeier-Gilgunn of “Slow Cooked Pittsburgh.”  Fabulous! 
Other wonderful cakes:
-Hot Mama Cake by amateur Cheryl Bradshaw, which was a spicy iced bundt cake
-Mint Chocolate Chip by professional Doctor Cakes, which was a chocolate cake with a fluffy vanilla mint frosting
-Nuts & Berries by amateur Carrie Quinn, which was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and various berries and nuts in the filling
-5 Layer Choco-Orange Cake by professional Christina Colantoni of Confections by Christina, Chocolate cake with a chocolate & orange frosting
-Banana Split by professional Meghann Walsh of Cioppino, I think a white cake with bananas & lots of fruits in the filling and a light vanilla frosting.

It was a fabulous night!  I am definitely inspired by everyone’s creativity and cannot wait to make my own combinations and recipes!

xoxo
Lauren