A gathering of some of the world’s top sugar artists demonstrated the power of cake during the prestigious Grand National Wedding Cake Competition and Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show on Oct. 1-2 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Cake decorators at the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show created a "Peace Train."

Acclaimed cake decorator and author Kerry Vincent, show director of the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show, led a team of cake decorators and volunteers who capped off the event by assembling a 45-foot “Peace Train” to symbolize the power of peace during turbulent times. The train – made of hundreds of pounds of cake – featured zoo animals riding in railcars decorated in bright, floral colors.  

“I am proud of the artistry that our team created,” Vincent wrote in an Oct. 5 Facebook post.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, Vincent explained the purpose of the “Peace Train” is to call attention to the important message of peace in a time in which society is gripped by fear and violence.

Sunday was also the day the Grand National Wedding Cake Competition crowned a grand champion: Monica Muñante Legua of Lima, Peru.

The grand champion winning cake by Monica Muñante Legua.

Her gorgeous artistry of a satin wedding dress cake with a Reticella-style gold lace collar wowed the judges and fit perfectly within this year’s theme: “Mad for Metallics!”

Legua earned a total of $26,500 in cash and $15,611 in products from show sponsors for her multi-tiered cake titled “Promise of Love.”

The Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show also featured informative demonstrations from internationally recognized sculptor Karen Portaleo and corporate pastry chef Joshua John Russell.

Russell demonstrated string technique and offered other tips as he created two showpieces, an elegant Halloween wedding cake and a traditional wedding cake with a twist. Russell demonstrated several techniques in intricate piping to create the illusion of a spider spinning a web.

Joshua John Russell demonstrates string work on a Halloween cake.

“I’m going to do some string work using Magic Décor,” he says of an innovative product available from in2food. “It’s just a powder that you hydrate with water. To get color into it, I’m going to use powder and I’m going to hydrate the powder with water. If I don’t hydrate the powder, it’s just going to just speckle.”

Karen Portaleo paints a cake sculpture of her playful witch.
Portaleo sculpted the bust of a very playful witch, “Duck Face Dagmar,” who just wants to photo bomb your selfie. Beginning with the cake and structure, the artist demonstrated filling and carving of larger cakes, along with basic structure.