Archive: Around Town

If you wandered into the Shops at Ithaca Mall in the Village of Lansing last Saturday you were treated to a display of Fall-themed cakes that were part of the first annual Central new York Cake Decorating Contest.  Hosted by Wilton instructors Nancy Buttino and Julie Ehrentraut, the contest was open to anyone who wanted to try their hand at cake decorating.

"We had 76 people registered to compete," Ehrentraut said.  "We ended up with 64 cakes, so we had a few drop outs.  Not too bad for our first event!"

Wilton is an Illinois-based company that includes the Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionery Art among several commercial food crafts and paper products.    Wilton Instructors are local independent contractors who work for retailers teaching the Wilton Method.  Ehrentraut and Buttino are the Wilton instructors at AC Moore in the mall.  They invited other Wilton instructors from across Central New York to help with activities and judging, including Wilton instructors from Michael's and Joanne Fabrics.

"We teach the art of cake decorating," Ehrentraut explained.  "We do anything from teaching you how to bake a cake, cut it, ice it, all the way to working with fondit and gum-based flowers and figurines.  There are classrooms in the stores."

Six judges evaluated the cakes in six categories.  Bakers' names were not displayed until after the judging so the cakes were judged on merit alone.  Ehrentraut  says that some of the judges had as much as 48 years of cake decorating experience.


The cakes were spectacular.  One depicted a basket of apples that looked more like apples than cake.  Another looked like a pie.  One cake was a woman and her Dalmatian taking a ride in their car.  Several had realistic-looking pumpkins made of cake and frosting.  One depicted a tree house, and another a barn.  One showed a cabin at the top of several layers of cake with a waterfall streaming down one side.  A black bird sat on an ear of corn with jellybean kernels looking at a chipmunk sitting on a pumpkin.

"Look at what you can make with just a little bit of fondant and a little bit of initiative," said Buttino.

Adult categories were based on education and experience, ranging from Division 1 for bakers who have taken one decorating class or have less than two years experience to Division 4 for professionals.  First place medals were awarded in the adult divisions, with first, second, and third place medals for the kids.


Linda Milea won first prize for her car cake in Division 1.  Tonya Eiklor's barn cake won first in Division 2.  Anna Moreno's bear cake won first in Division 3,and Susan Snook's topsy turvy cake with each layer careening in a different direction won first in Division 4.

Paige Skinner won first in the Junior (ages 7-12) division, and Emily Vellake won the Teen (13-17) division with a cake depicting a bucket of apples, a pumpkin, and flowers.  400 people voted for the People's Choice Award.  Pam Spier's fall leaves cake was the favorite.

"They are absolutely beautiful," said Ehrentraut.  "We are having a blast."

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