Co-op Community | August 2016
Co-op Wins Redwood Cake Competition
Some of the North Coast Co-op Bakery team poses with their winning creation.
Our Bakery took home first place in a redwood-themed cake competition at the National Park Service Centennial Celebration in Orick on June 26. Celebration attendees voted for the winner by dropping tiny pinecones into a jar associated with their favorite cake.
Our winning creation was inspired by Trillium Falls, which is in Redwood National Park. Overall 700 votes were cast for the various cakes, representing a variety of styles and flavors and displaying a great deal of talent and creativity.
The process began when Senior Clerk/Baker Charlie Dawson and I sat down to discuss what the cake should look like. We knew we wanted to capture the character of the redwoods and the overwhelming feeling of being surrounded by the world’s tallest trees. The cake ended up being a two-layer chocolate cake, with a third layer on top made of rice crispy treat. The rice crispy treat was great because it could be sculpted, it’s light weight, and also structurally reliable; we even used it to make the trunks of the redwood trees.
We used house-made fondant to cover the top of the cake and tree trunks. Our redwood branches and needles were made with toasted parsley. The ferns, flowers, and wildlife were carefully piped using North Coast Co-op Bakery’s vegan icing. Kristen Zumeta of the Redwood Parks Conservancy stated appreciation for the interpretive value of our cake: “Rangers stood by and talked to kids about trillium, banana slugs and so much more.”
In addition to the main cake, we provided two half sheet vegan cakes for event attendees.
The competition was a great team-building opportunity and we were thrilled to share the experience with so many community members. This challenge could not have been accomplished without the additional experience and skills of Thomas Marcinek, Kristina Crummet, Virginia Bressem, Lauren Fawcett and every member of our Bakery team who make beautiful and delicious things happen every day. I’m very proud of our team for going the extra mile to show our gratitude for the National Park Service!
A close-up of the detail on the winning cake.
This article first appeared in the August 2016 Co-op News.
