PEQUOT LAKES — The mouth-watering smell of baked goods wafted through the Trailside Center in Pequot Lakes as eight teams of young bakers were hard at work, some wearing white bakers' hats and aprons, and others donning team costumes that included Winnie-the-Pooh T-shirts and Minnie Mouse aprons and ears with pink bows.
Unless we're doing a big 4-H event, we rarely see other clubs.
It was all part of the first Crow Wing County 4-H Cupcake Bake-Off on Saturday, March 29, that brought youths together from some of the county's 12 4-H clubs.
Participants included club members from the Pequot Lakes Eagles, Crosslake Trailblazers, Baxter Sandpipers, and Daggett Brook and Happy Hoppers 4-H clubs, both in rural Brainerd.
"Unless we're doing a big 4-H event, we rarely see other clubs," said Sashanna O'Shea, Crow Wing County 4-H Extension educator, noting teams included three to five youths from any county club.
The bake-off idea originated with Wyatt Binsfeld, a Pillager ninth grader and Crow Wing County 4-H ambassador. Last year he took a required cooking class at school that he enjoyed.
"I loved it and thought we should do something like that," he said, so he pitched the bake-off idea to his fellow 4-H ambassadors.
The bake-off taught the youth participants how to follow a recipe, work together and abide by contest guidelines.
The youth teams brought all the needed items, including cupcake ingredients, mixing bowls, cupcake pans and liners, utensils, paper towels, frosting and edible decorations.
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The bake-off had a Disney theme. One representative from each team presented their completed cupcakes to three judges — Jon Lubke, Crow Wing County commissioner; Kalie Jay, Nisswa Chamber executive director; and Nancy Vogt, PineandLakes Echo Journal editor.
Each representative explained their team's cupcake flavor and decorations, and the judges evaluated the final baked goods for presentation of the cupcakes, the cupcake itself, frosting, and decorations.
All team members appeared to have a good time with the bake-off, including the 4-H ambassadors team — the Magical Bakers — the only team to experience failure. The team presenter said the cupcakes rose, then fell flat, and she advised the judges not to eat them.
A special award was announced for the team for their perseverance and creativity to work around the failed cupcakes.
A Happy Hoppers 4-H team, Rabbit's Carrot Patch, took top honors with their Winnie-the-Pooh cupcakes.
The Pequot Lakes Eagles team, Ice Princess, was the cake winner with "Disney on Ice" cupcakes.
The Baxter Sandpipers team, the Bippity-Boppity Bakers, won for frosting.
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A Happy Hoppers team, Bacon and Moss, won for decoration with their "Big Hero 6" character, Baymax.
A Happy Hoppers team, the Wittle Strawberries, won for presentation of their Minnie Mouse cupcakes.
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