Village fete - cake competition!

[SWnewstart]

I'm not a cake baker (more savoury stuff) but having been to the Summer Fete in a neighbouring village last year and seen the variety of cake standards, thought I'd give it a go this year. The show is on Saturday - the category is a coffee & walnut cake and I've found a nice River Cottage receipe. So far, so good! Questions:

Can I make the cake now and freeze or will it go soggy? Can I make buttercream icing now and either keep in fridge or freeze, ditto glace icing for the top?

I'm also entering the watercolour painting class and a handmade craft section, just for fun. I love country fetes and always go for the homemade cakes / jams / chutneys!

I would make everything fresh. You could get away with making the buttercream a day before, but just watch how you store it (it will pick up stinky smells from your fridge) and bring to room temp before icing.

My general advice would be to make sure you have read the show standards for the categories you are entering in case it says cakes should be made in 7" tins, or 8" tins, or displayed on a white plate etc etc.

Our (tiny) village show used to be very hot on the standards and would down grade anything that wasn't correctly displayed for example. Apparently this was terribly important and we would be properly letting the side down by not taking the rules seriously 😬

@ReineMarieGamache is right, read the parameters carefully. If you’ve made it in a loaf shape and it’s supposed to be a 20cm round they won’t judge it (or will deduct points). It’s a quirky wee world.

Freezing the cake - it won’t go soggy but it will be a noticeably more stale in comparison to cakes baked fresh that morning. A slice of cake that’s been frozen is closer to day or two old in texture and that will not be a good thing. Worst still would be a bit frozen in the middle.

You can do the buttercream a day or two ahead if you keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring it up to room temperature and give it a thorough beating before icing the cake.

However, as making buttercream is a 5-10 minute job, you might find it easier to do on the morning rather than getting your pre-made icing to a spreadable consistency.

If you want really good buttercream, beat the butter for a good 5 minutes before adding any (sifted) icing sugar or coffee. You want it snowy white, then it’s got the maximum volume.

I agree about following the show rule book to the letter, to give your entry the best possible chance. Many a prize has been lost due to the wrong willow patterned plate or a rogue colourful doily!

The cake and buttercream will be best if made on the day, not frozen.
Good luck! Do come back to report on the Show.

My mum got points deducted once at a cake baking comp at the local fete because you could see grid marks from the cooling rack on the bottom of the cake. And the judge recommended putting a clean tea towel on the cooling rack to reduce grid marks.

If you think you're going to lack time on the day prep and weigh everything the day before. Get out the oven on chuck everything in the mixer. In the oven. Make the icing. Make a cup of tea whilst the cake is out of the oven.
Prep and weighing is the key to speed.
Good luck. It's great fun.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and tips! I am getting quite excited about all this stuff and yes, I've read all the "rules" of entry - nothing about shape of cake (I've only got round sponge tins anyway) or a specific sort of plate. I'll definitely make the buttercream and glace icing on Friday night as it's an early start in the morning. Wish me luck

I hope you boss it, @SWnewstart !

Good luck!

UPDATE: Frozen cake was perfectly fine but I messed up with the glace icing topping (made too runny) so it ran all over the edge and down two layers of buttercream. I decided to make it a feature "drip" cake! Sadly the competition was too great - either that or the good folk of neighbouring village didn't like the idea of an outsider winning the coveted rose bowl prize!

However, I'm thrilled to say that I received a 2nd award for a watercolour painting and a 3rd in the general craft section! I've got the taste for village shows now ......

Well done with the arts and crafts @SWnewstart! 🏅 🎖 🏅 🎖 You're sure to win that Rose Bowl next year!

Woohoo!! Well done 🤩