Thinking about entering my first cake competition. The only criteria are that it should be a butter icing cake , decorated with butter icing.
What would the judges be looking for? What would mark me up or down?
Most likely they are looking for American buttercream like this recipe: http://www.cakecentral.com/recipe/22469/2-icing
As to what might mark you up or down? That is very hard to say. You should be given a list of rules/suggestions. Be sure to follow them exactly. It depends on who the judge(s) is. If this is a local county fair it could be the editor(s) of a local newspaper's women's page. I had that happend one yr - they knew nothing about decorating! Or if the contest is more of a state/area wide it could be retired decorators. Depending on how old they are (how long ago they retired) they could be very up to date on new techniques and designs. The best thing for you is don't expect to win anything - just enter for the experience/practice to try a new technique doing your very, very best work.
Thank you, kakeladi, for your support and advice. I'm much more of a fondant gal than a buttercream gal. I avoid piping as much as possible. Sometimes I get nudges from people, wanting me to broaden my horizons, although I just love doing what I do. No pressure since I'm a hobby cake decorator. Friends and family are usually pretty flexible - happy to receive a free cake.
Hey now, I want to see what you end up doing and of course hear that you won Best of Show! :) If you need idea look through my album as I worked mostly w/b'cream.
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