So I signed up to compete in a cake show next month, and am starting to stress out that it was a big mistake. I'm going to do (hopefully) a basket weave cake with decorated eggs, an aniversary cake covered in cornelli lace with candy lace pieces, and two different decorated cookie divisions. Will my lowly buttercream cakes be laughed at by the judges? I sometimes feel that since fondant took over, BC has become the step-child of cake decorating! And while I'm in the Advanced division, I just started decorating cookies. How do you make cookies stand out when you're in the Advanced division?
I can't help you with your cookies question, but just wanted to say good luck. 
Your cookies are beautiful and I love the basketweave cake you have in your pics!!
Amy
I have wondered the same thing whenever I have thought about entering those kind of competitions. I think it's impressive though to see an amazingly decorated cake done all in buttercream. Don't stress about it, enter it with the thoughts that you're going to do your best and you're not out to please anyone but yourself with the results. Hubby told me that this summer when I entered some cakes at the local fair and I felt a lot better-no stress that week at all!
I agree with brick,
Enter with the thought that this is a chance to push yourself in to new areas of decorating. How often do we get to do a cake just to please ourselves. Have fun!
mommachris
I enter lots of cake and cookie competitions. Usually they have a separate division for BC vs. Fondant.
My cookies won 1st place this year in the San Diego cake show. The best way to make them to stand out is to execute your techniques perfectly and coordinate your colors. Another thing the judges look at is the difficulty of techniques and the originality of design. If you look in my album the Orchids, sea themed, bunnies/hat rack/flowers, wizard wand, and flower wreath have all been first place, best in show and judges favorite winners. (yes, I am bragging. LOL)
Good luck. Let us know who you do.
Hi Gemini,
I wanted to share my own experience with buttercream at cake shows. I've entered my state's cake show two years in a row now. The first year I was the ONLY one who entered a buttercream frosted cake other than the children's entries. I was in the intermediate division and got 2nd place. 
The next year I again entered one of only two buttercream cakes in the whole show and took 1st place AND Best in Show! 
I did have handmade fondant pieces on the cake but the cake itself was frosted in buttercream.
Like mentioned above, the judges look for really good quality in execution, an original design idea, difficulty and other things too. I have not worked much with fondant to cover a cake so I will be doing another buttercream cake for next year's show.
I say go for it!! I too like to see buttercream cakes and will continue to do them. GOOD LUCK!
KimAZ
Thanks for the pep talk, everyone. I'm going to see what I can get done, time wise. My basketweave and cornelli lace are my strongest skills, so that's what I like to enter. The cookies are going to be an interesting project, seeing as I haven't been doing them for long but LOVE them! I'm going to do a unique, 3-D approach that I've never seen from anyone else, so maybe that will count for something!
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