tropit

It's that time of year again and I'm back to entering the county fair, baked goods category. This time I'm making 2 different cakes: a frosted 2-layer cake and an unfrosted "other" cake. My frosted one is going to be a toasted coconut cake with roasted pineapple filling. The other cake is a simple French Almond Gateau with an orange glaze.

The coconut cake recipe is coming along. I'm going to decorate it with a white, cream cheese frosting, with an hombre of dark to lightly toasted coconut coating on the sides and top the cake with dried pineapple "flowers."

The almond cake is very simple, with just toasted, sliced almonds and a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top. A while back, I saw a candied orange "butterfly" decoration that would look absolutely charming on it, but now I can't find the picture, or instructions...grrr. I've looked for days now. I'm going to see if I can come up with a little orange "bug" of my own.

You guys have always given me helpful tips, so bring them on, if you have any. I still have a couple weeks to perfect my recipes and presentations. Thanks

dunster

ooooooooooooh, can I do quality control inspections for you? Please, pretty please?

tropit

Hummmm...Lake Elsinore. That's probably a 10 to 12 hour drive from my place....almost doable.

Barb in Louisiana

This a Bing search. I don't know if there are any instructions to any of these, but they sure are pretty.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...IQFRML&first=1

aashley333

Amazon offered this mold, also available at Michael's. I googled "making edible butterflies".

PB from MN

These both sound wonderful. I do have one question regarding the cream cheese frosting. Does your fair allow it or cakes that need to be refrigerated as cream cheese would dictate? I am a county fair judge and I am on my local fair board and it is not allowed in the counties that I judge or in my county.

I commend you for entering, we need people to enter projects in fairs to keep the competitions going. Good luck!

tropit

You read my mind! I went to Michael's just the other day and picked up some cute molds for bees and butterflies. I also picked up some molding fondant which I found out after I got it home, tasted terrible...blech! I made some marzipan instead which tastes lovely and goes better with the almond cake.

tropit

Thanks, I agree, but they have accepted my cream cheese entries in the past, so I'm not too worried. They taste the cakes the evening that they are delivered, so I'm not too worried about anyone getting sick. The cream cheese frosting also holds up better during the fair than other frostings. I might reconsider and go with a stiff buttercream...we'll see.

tropit

I'm having fun researching recipes and ingredients. I'm not going with my original recipe choices...they just weren't good enough for competition. Friends and family are loving them though. I have found that it takes some deep digging to find the better recipes. I found an almond cake recipe that incorporates some whipped egg whites into the batter and that really made the cake lighter and more elegant. Finding the perfect coconut cake recipe has been a challenge. I'm looking for a light and fluffy sponge that still has a lot of moisture. It's amazing what people come up with. The best recipe that I've found so far is this one:https://amycakesbakes.com/sour-cream-coconut-cake/ . It uses the "reverse creaming method." It also calls for Instant ClearGel, which I've never used before. I ordered it and am waiting for it to arrive before I can make this recipe.

tropit

Thanks Barb! Those are beautiful! I the light airyness of them.