Melba's Swap Shop: Cake contest signals great start

DEAR READERS: One of the questions folks ask about judging cake contests is, how many cakes can you eat before they all start to taste alike? Strangely, they all taste different and all have distinct tastes, even after tasting 100 of them.

The State Fair of Oklahoma began Thursday. However, on Sept. 10, before the fair started, Sandy Killian, of Oklahoma City, and I judged cakes. I don't even know how many — 75 to 105. The winners are now on display in the Creative Arts Building.

For years, we've judged cakes before the fair starts. Some folks may think of these cakes as Fair Starters, I think of them as Great Beginnings.

Since the fair started, I've helped judge the Great American Spam Contest, the Chocolate Extravaganza Desserts, Dairy Max Ice Cream and the Pillsbury Pet Ritz Pie Baking Contest. I'll tell you about these later and also about the contest I'll be judging at 10 a.m. Wednesday, in the Creative Arts Building. This will be more cakes, but these will all be made using C&H sugar. I plan to stay and watch the Peanut Contest at 2 p.m., so come by; I'd love to visit with you.

I'll also be helping judge the Kids Pancakes contest at 10 a.m., Saturday. The kids will be there making them in person.

Getting back to the cakes, the grand prize winner was Chocolate Cake entered by Taylor Young, of Moore. We also had second- and third- grand prize winners that I'll share later.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa