Dawn Food Products is proud to present the winners of the Dawn Cupcake Decorating Contest. Hopefuls flocked by the hundreds to Dawn’s booth at the Atlantic Bakery Expo on March 18-19 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with three talented participants taking home a prize on each day.  

“We wanted our customers to experience our products first hand and get to have some fun in the process,” says Paul Caske, Dawn Food’s VP of Sales. “The contest generated energy and excitement at the ABE show and really showed off the amazing creativity of our customers.”

On day one, Michelle Weeks of Baker’s Treat took home first place with her hamburger design that demonstrated creativity through the use of the cupcake in a different way — slicing it open to make it into a bun. It also showed amazing attention to detail from the sesame seeds on the bun to the little gherkin on the cake board. Second place went to Leslie Serrano of It Is All About The Cake who created a cupcake made to look like an apple, complete with worm, which won for original use of icing and toppings. Sharon Briseno of Cameron’s Bakery was the third place winner with her mini wedding cake creation, which was a design standout and masterfully decorated.

Day two showed equal promise among the competition. The first place winner, Kristi Schetrompf of Cindy’s Sweets and Supplies, Inc., snagged the prize for a birdhouse that illustrated attention to detail and originality through the use of the cupcake as a backdrop for a creative nature scene. The second place went to Adrienne Porcella of Herman’s Bakery, Inc. and her bunny and basket cupcake, which used many icing colors and a skillfully done weave on the basket. Jessica Wong of Dreamville Retro Bake Shop LLC took home third place with her shopping theme creation depicting a shoe and purse created from chocolate shavings – a perfect example of using materials in a way no one else thought to do.

Some common trends seen at the Dawn Cupcake Decorating Contest included creating mini cakes from the cupcakes, spring-themed cupcakes, and animal cupcakes (every creature from dogs to owls, birds, iguanas, fish, alligators, butterflies, crabs and a lobster!)  There were also plenty of wedding cake cupcakes and cupcakes designed to resemble other foods, even a pile of spaghetti and meatballs.

“These decorators were absolutely inspiring,” says Alan Gardner, General Manager of Dawn’s New Jersey distribution center. “Their creative expression, intense focus and willingness to try something new was amazing!”

Over the course of the two days, Dawn’s booth hosted approximately 250 contestants. The pool was comprised primarily of bakers, decorators and student bakers representing retail bakeries, in-store bakeries and technical schools.  They hailed from across the country including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington DC, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Rhode Island.

Winners received prize packs that included baking accessories like cupcake pans, decorating tube sets, oven mitts, cupcake liners, spatulas, scrapers and more.