Diary #32: Cake Fight

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Summer has come again to Sugar Springs, and with it, our exclusive blog coverage of the annual downtown Summerbrations Festival! This year's festival was packed with local crafters for our sidewalk sales alley, fire truck demonstrations and free hot dogs courtesy of the Sugar Spring Fire Department, facepainting, balloons and games for kids provided by the PTA fundraiser committee, as well as my personal favorite, the fair foods events and Cake-Off!

Expectations were high this year, as the ongoing friendly rivalry between the Town Social Society and the PTA made for a lot of entrants into the town's famous cake bake-off event.

Returning winner Diane Forenski was up against stiff competition this summer, as last year's second place winner Ralph Hollow has told this reporter that he expected a clear victory, citing his second-place status in the 2024 cake bake-off as "a fluke." His daring and unconventional Banana Buttercream Bomb lost by only three points last year to Mrs. Forenski's classic Polish Cherry Cake. The loss was contested on the grounds of illegal artificial cherry mix being used, but was never proven.

These two competitors' rivalry in the cake contest goes back years and has resulted in some of our most famous (and infamous) entries to Sugar Springs' favorite summer event, including Mrs. Forenski's showstopping Eiffel Tower Tiramisu and Mr. Hollow's slightly hazardous Firework Finale Flambé.

One bit of controversy marring the cake bake event this year was the selection of this year's judges, which included Mayor Robert Fairweather, town head librarian Marsha Ziobro, and Mrs. Forenski's nephew, Dalton Lucas Forenski, who was in attendance while on break from attending culinary school in Paris. Several competitors called for Mr. Forenski to recuse himself from judging, but it was ultimately determined that his culinary and baking expertise was vital to the judging process and that he would judge each entry according to the most fair and impartial methods.

This year's entries went above and beyond to impress our new celebrity baker judge! I was present for the event and tried absolutely everything twice! Although I definitely couldn't pick a winner out of all the amazing entries, the judges soon had the field narrowed down to the final three:

-Letitia Moore's incredible Black Forest Cake, made with homemade whipped cream, rich chocolate ganache, and sweet spiked cherries

-Diane Forenski's impressive English Rose cake, a stunning floral layer cake, flavoured with rosewater and layered up with vanilla cream, raspberry icing and crystallised petals

-Ralph Hollow's Candy Crunch Crushinator, a remarkable original cake in the shape of a World War Two-era Panther tank, running over what appeared to be a tiny marzipan depiction of Mrs. Forenski's front yard flowerbed. Mr. Hollow explained that the resemblance was merely coincidence.

Deliberations for the final winner were conducted by the judges at their table, before they reconvened at the events stage to announce the first-place recipient of the blue ribbon. However, a commotion broke out at the front of the stage crowd, as Mr. Hollow's grandsons appeared to be arguing with the judges, claiming they saw the winner paper before it was read and accused the judges of favoritism towards Mrs. Forenski. Specifically, they claimed that Dalton Lucas Forenski refused to taste-test their grandfather's tank cake, "out of super-smug stuck-upness and generalized dorkability." They demanded another round of "fair judging."

After pressure from the spectators, the judges agreed to strike the last round of judging and perform a new taste test. Just then, a shriek was heard from the entrant display, where a hysterical Mrs. Forenski claimed that her cake had gotten up and walked off by itself, before dumping itself off the table and into a nearby fire safety bucket full of water. The event first aid booth tried to calm Mrs. Forenski and a search was made around the area, but nothing was discovered besides the now ruined cake, the water bucket and three small discarded action figures belonging to one of Mr. Hollow's grandsons.

A new taste test was reconvened with the remaining two competitors, and Mr. Hollow's Crushinator cake was awarded first place, based on presentation, flavor and its remarkable appearance, including an amusing accident with the cake design that gave it the appearance of an open trap door hatch in the top of the tank, made of an Oreo cookie. Mr. Hollow may not have intended it, but this reporter feels it was adorable!

Overall, it was another successful and exciting Summerbrations, with controversy, triumph, and all the cake this reporter could eat. What better way to spend a summer day? Thanks again to everyone who donated, supported and staffed our beloved Summerbrations Festival. We'll see you next year!