84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 9, 2003
Judge A Cake By
Appearance Counts During Reading Fair Baking Contest
ANDY ANDREWS
Editor
LEESPORT (Berks Co.)
Sometimes appearances aren’t
deceiving.
In the eyes of some judges,
looks can count a great deal, es
pecially in the world of baking.
“Appearance counts,” said
Marge Nester, retired home eco
nomics teacher from Muhlenberg
High School.
Nester, who helped judge the
baking contests Monday at the
Reading Fair, said, “People eat
with their eyes, not with their
mouths.”
Nester had some advice for
would-be champion bakers: “If it
doesn’t look good, you might as
well forget it.”
Looking good, Nester noted,
includes quick breads that don’t
sag in the middle or are cracked.
It also includes cakes that are
proportional and well presented
to the eye. Bakers must follow di
rections for a contest to a T.
When it comes to contests,
Reading proved no exception
several entries were disqualified
because some cooks didn’t follow
the contest directives.
Nester taught at Muhlenberg
for 18 years and judged many
times at the Kutztown, Oiey, and
Reading fairs. She found recipes
at the Hershey cake and cookie
contest that didn’t follow the di
rectives carefully outlined: use
Hershey chips and cocoa, because
the contest sponsor spells them
out.
Though heat and humidity
took its toll on some entries,
judges were looking at several
factors, including appearance,
flavor, and texture for the cake
and cookies. For the quick breads
and pies, overall appearance,
crust color, flavor, texture, and
shrinkage, in addition to bottom
crust “doneness” and filling con
sistency and flavor, rated high.
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Holding the winning Reading Fair baking contest entries are, from left, Fay Strickler,
Berks County family and consumer science instructor, chocolate cake entry; and Read
ing Fair volunteers June Schuler, holding the winning apple pie; Linda Ernst, holding the
quick bread winner; and Helen Readinger, holding the cookie contest winning
entry. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
Creativity was critical as well.
In all, there were 18 quick
breads, 17 chocolate cakes, 13
cookie entries, and 15 pie entries.
The Hershey Cocoa Classic cake
contest specified the use of Her
shey’s cocoa. The baking chips
cookie, brownie, or bar contest
specified the use of Hershey’s
baking chips (any variety) and, if
frosting is used, Hershey’s cocoa
must be used and listed in the
recipe.
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The cookie contest winner was
Nicole Gruber, Slatedale, for a
recipe for “Cherry Raspberry
Chocolate Brownies” (all judges
voted this tops in appearance for
the cookie entries). The
chocolate cake winner was
“Amanda’s Chocolate
Cake,” also tops in appear
ance by all judges, exhibi
ted by Amanda Kurtz,
Emmaus. Amanda’s sister,
Sara, exhibited the
quickbread winner,
“Sweet Potato Bread.”
The top apple pie,
“Yummy Apple Me
ringue Pie With
Spiced Pecans,” exhib
ited by Catherine
Ache, was also rated
number one in appear
ance by all judges.
All number ones
tasted good, too.
Amanda Kurtz, 12,
is the daughter of Rob
ert and Sharon Kurtz,
Emmaus. Robert
noted his daughter has
shown at various fairs,
picking up ribbons at
the Pennsylvania Fair
recently. Amanda is in
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Emmaus.
Amanda’s sister, Sara, 8, is en
rolled in third grade at St.
Anne’s.
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Robert noted that part of the
recipe for the chocolate cake in
cluded peanut butter, and that
Amanda doesn’t even like peanut
butter.
“She can’t stand it,” said
Amanda’s mother, Sharon.
Sharon, a winner at various
contests, suggested to Amanda to
place crushed Reese’s peanut
butter cups on top of the cake to
add flavor. Amanda used butter
flavored Crisco in the icing,
which helped it maintain texture,
even in the heat.
Amanda won the apple pie
contest at the Pennsylvania Fair
this year, noted her mom.
“Amanda took her good old
time,” said Sharon, about six
hours preparing the pie for com
petition close to the time spent
on the chocolate cake.
This was the first time Aman
da submitted an entry for the
Reading Fair contest and her
first champion at Reading.
Sharon patiently supervised
Sara’s quick bread recipe entry.
This was a “first” for the Kurtz
family, submitting a quick bread
entry at a fair.
Sharon won the winning choc
olate cake at Allentown (a differ
ent recipe) and won the first
place apple pie, she noted, at
Farm Show this year.
Because of new contest rules,
the recipes cannot be released to
the general press because of com
petition at the Farm Show.
Contest judges also included
Bruce Postern, assistant lifestyle
editor for the Reading Eagle
newspaper, and Andy Andrews,
editor of Lancaster Farming.
Hawaii