Hello E-Trenders! There is nothing like a hometown bake sale! Baking always seems to bring people together, creating a strong community bond. When I was asked to participate in Rochester's Great American Bake Sale on behalf of the Royal Park Hotel I jumped at the opportunity and quickly recruited Mark Slessor our talented Royal Park Pastry Chef and family member Judy Keels (AKA - Mom) to join in and help a great cause!
Great American Bake Sales are held throughout the country to raise money for Share Our Strength which helps feed hungry children. Being in the hospitality industry for many years, I have been involved with several SOS fundraisers in the past as this charity is near and dear to a culinary heart however, this was my first SOS bake sale and I was thrilled to be part of such a wonderful event hosted by the Rochester DDA.
Share Our Strength’s goal is to end childhood hunger in America by 2015!
Share Our Strength’s highest priority is to make sure that every child in America gets the nutritious food he or she needs to learn, grow and thrive. They accomplish this by improving the access that families all across the country have to healthy, affordable food and by working at the state and city level. Last year SOS bake sales raised over one million dollars.
The Rochester DDA hosted the Great American Bake Sale during the local Farmers' Market last Saturday. I was astounded by the number of donations we received from local businesses and community members. Festivities included baking demonstrations, a cupcake walk, make & take chef hat station and over 300 dozen decadent desserts packed individually or by the dozens.
I was assigned to the cupcake selling station (imagine that!) there were dozens of cupcake creations and I was very inspired by all of the ideas! Check out these beauties baked by the very talented Royal Park Hotel Pastry Chef, Mark Slessor.
Here is a closer look E-Trenders...
Red Velvet, Lemon Cream and Bumpy Layer Cupcakes!
There were so many amazing cupcakes, cookies, pies, bread, and other baked goods donated by our generous community and so much passion behind the baking and presentation!
I loved the way these smore, caramel apple and cherry cupcakes were perfectly packed and finished with a bright colored ribbon - what a great idea for a favor!
Another show-stopper...hot fudge sundae cupcakes! These looked so delish - I just had to research the recipe online here and plan to bake them in the very near future.
Yellow heaven with a touch of bling.
Pretty In Pink!
The cupcake walk was a hit as children had their eye on the prize! It brought back fond childhood memories of cake walk games hosted at birthday parties and neighborhood gatherings when I was growing up.
Big winner!
Messy but still a winner!
A shout out to our E-Trender friend Lindsay from Williams-Sonoma who demonstrated how to make the most adorable apple cakepops inspired by Bakerella. E-Trenders you might remember Lindsay who partnered up with us for the "make whoopie" contest. Be sure to click here for the whoopie details if you missed reading this inventive ET post.
By the way, if you are interested in making these apple cakepops or want to learn more about cakepops, you can purchase the Bakerella cookbook at your local Williams-Sonoma store or click here for the apple cakepop how to.
SOS volunteers Judy & Tom selling sweet treats!
Look out cupcakes, there is some serious competition at the cookie station!
Royal Park Pastry Chef, Mark Slessor captivated the bake sale audience with his classic strawberry shortcake demonstration which we will share with you later this week!
Here is a sneak peek...recipe to follow!
Stay tuned for more bake sale bliss...
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