To keep up to the moment in caking trends and to launch changes to programming for Cake categories for five local Show Societies, stewards from Toowoomba, Pittsworth, Dalby, Goombungee-Haden and Kilcoy have been invited to attend Mary Reid’s Merivale Cake and Crafts Community Training. Ms Reid has been a longtime regional advocate for this traditional cake baking and decorating section that Show goers always enjoy and marvel at, but she is also an advocate for contemporary trends to be included in Show judging categories. To this end Ms Reid wrote the guidelines for a Cake Decorating Category.

Included in this category for 2022 will be Pre-Mix. Purists may raise their eyebrows and query this inclusion, but with the capacity for a pre-mixed Mud cake to have a total prep time ready for baking in under 20 minutes, competitors are already heralding this as a winner for the future of Show cake competition. They love the idea that it is almost fool-proof.

So why add this category in? What does Pre-Mix mean? Who could enter this category? With the restrictions brought by COVID over the past two show years, there needs to be a boost to more baking exhibits, a boost in foot traffic and a boost to annual numbers for small shows. Pre-mix and the enticing lure of sweet piped buttercream flowers provides a fresh drawcard for beginner bakers dipping their toes in to the waters of competition.

Already the appeal to sponsors is bringing results with two years’ incredible sponsorship offers from 14 sponsors for Toowoomba, Goombungee-Haden and Kilcoy, while Pittsworth and Dalby are grateful for their own individual local community sponsorship. With guaranteed sponsorship, marketing will target a younger age group and encourage new competitors to try their skills – there will be no age limit. This is why Pre-Mix baking holds such appeal.

Competitors will have to bake a 6 inch square White Truffle Mud Cake from the supplied recipe with its stipulated ingredients.

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Stewards have great confidence in this addition to the direction in baking, and are looking forward to a new era of competitors to keep interest in this favourite section of the local shows. Next on the drawing may be a Regional Pre-Mix Fruit Cake competition – tradition and currency making a perfect partnership!