A month and a half ago we announced we would be holding our first ever online cake competition for Halloween! We're kind of into ribbons and trophies so we though why not offer some up to our fans and colleagues out there!! We learned a lot by running this contest, like some of you are really twisted! Creepy clowns, gory zombies, dismembered body parts, we were thinking we'd get some cute pumpkins and stuff, but no, the horror side definitely came out! We got cute stuff too, but they were always followed up by an open chest wound;)
First off, before we get to the winners, just for fun I wanted to say that far and away, the creepiest, scariest, and really the grossest cake we received was from Stacey Connors who sent us this decaying head in a pool of blood (avert your eyes if squeamish!):
Talk about photo real, seriously Stacey, should we inform the police? Is there anything you wish to confess outside of you are one twisted cake decorator! This is actually an alternate view from the one we posted on Facebook so you can see the rat she made. We didn't make an award for the scariest cake, but clearly, Stacey runs away with it! We just had to mention it, excellent work. I can now skip lunch.
Okay, with 61 entries, you guys stepped up and really knocked our socks off! We found ourselves applauding the computer screen often as everyone delivered wonderful examples of Halloween cakes. Even our more beginner decorators showed us really fun and creative cakes and we cannot wait to do this again next year and see how far you've come! If judging was hard this year, next year might kill us!
And judging was really, really hard. It's especially difficult given we only had photos and couldn't look around the cakes in person to inspect all your awesome details. But, it was our contest and we had to do it! All of you, every last one, will be getting an email from us in the coming week with our thoughts and compliments as well because eliminating any of you seemed cruel;) We really appreciate all your hard work!!!
Okay, after an initial pass of the entries, we came up with about 25 second rounders. From there, we narrowed it down to a Top 10, which was more like a Top 12 for a few hours as we debated back and forth! Here are the entries (in no particular order) that placed in the Top 10:
- Mani Surendra "Birthday Halloween"
- Loren Ebert "Witch's Brew"
- Jessica Collier "Sugar Skull"
- Pam Williams "Witch Cauldron"
- Cake Nerds "Puking Pumpkin"
- MAD Crafted Cakes "Nightmare Before Christmas"
- Sarah Myers "SAW Cake"
- Rita Clemmons "Football Fan Witch House"
- Sweet Cakes by Rebecca "Built on Sin"
- Samantha Hally "Smiling Jack-o-Lantern"
That was hard, I mean really hard, but we made decisions based on a number of qualities and tried to pick a good cross section of our entries. But our Halloween dilemma was just beginning! The Top 5 represent those of you who would receive an award with a Finalist Medal going to the runners-up (2nd thru 5th if you will, although we will not rank the finalists) and a personalized plaque going to the grand champion. Here then (in no particular order) are the Top 5:
Jessica Collier MAD Crafted Cakes
Samantha Hally Mani Surendra
Pam Williams
Congratulations to all of you! Samantha, your pumpkin flashed us that buttercream smile and made us smile right back;) Pam, we loved your cute little witch sinking into a boiling cauldron. Likewise Mani, you made such a cute Halloween cake with a black cat and witch, it had a lot of story to it. Jessica, you killed it with your meticulous piping work and MAD, we got a few NBC cakes, but yours was over the top!
Four of you will be getting our Finalist Medal, one of you will get the champions plaque, and that award goes to.......
MAD CRAFTED CAKES!!!
A frontrunner from the second it came in, MIchele and Derek Smith (M.A.D., get it?) wowed us with a big, bold Nightmare Before Christmas theme featuring a pumpkin tier, an architectural element hanging off the side and a Halloweentown of supporting characters. And you all agreed, as this cake earned more than double the amount of "likes" on Facebook than any other entry. This cake tells the story of Jack Skellington and is truly an impressive piece of cake decorating. Superb work guys!
There you have it cakers, our first attempt at a contest. Again, we cannot thank you all enough for your entries, everyone which made us smile! Except for Stacey who gave us the creeps;) Thank you for sharing your talents with us, it was truly inspiring.
Next up we will be doing a more elaborate Christmas/Holiday contest with a few different categories and levels to enter so we can try and spread the award cheer to as many as possible! Stay tuned for details shortly! Till then, have a wonderful Day of the Dead my friends!!
Reva, Michael, and Marc
This cake was my daughter's wedding cake - nobody else but Michele & Derek could have taken Morgan & Mike's vision & brought it to life like they did! Not only was the detail completely incredible, but the cake itself was DELICIOUS! Four flavors - marble w/cookies & cream filling, yellow w/chocolate filling, spice w/vanilla buttercream and red velvet w/vanilla buttercream - and every one of them was a treat to eat. I have additional photos taken by a professional photographer that give you a better idea of what a piece of art this cake was. I am so happy to see Michele & Derek recognized for their amazing talent!
Posted by: Jennifer Burks | 02 November 2011 at 02:55 AM