An epic three-day cake construction meant sweet success for Riwaka’s Elise MacLean, who was delighted to win the “best cake baker” award at Riwaka School’s Christmas country fair on Saturday.
The challenge was part of the school’s revised duck race event, which was postponed due to the region’s flooding earlier this year and reimagined on school grounds.
Elise says the baking process was really hard, but she got through it with help from her mum Sammi and her nana Janine. She christened the strawberry jelly creation ‘the sweet shop’, topping it with decorative ice creams, donuts, lollies, sprinkles and cake pops.
Sammi says the nine-year-old put in a lot of effort, doing the majority of the work herself, with the adults just double-checking the measurements and tools.
Elise reckons she is pleased with how the cake turns out and is “very very very excited to win” the title of Riwaka’s Best Baker in the cake category.
“The scariest part was holding the cake on the drive to school,” she says. “It was very jiggly.”
The cake was thoroughly sampled – Elise reckons she didn’t even get a piece herself – but the taste-testers obviously enjoyed it enough to vote her the champion.
The contest was among many attractions at the fair. The duck race – usually held at Kaiteriteri Beach – was modified for the school’s swimming pool.
