An angel food cake with a mouth-watering salted caramel pecan frosting has won first place and a grand prize at a Pennsylvania cake contest, wowing judges and netizens alike, but none more so than the baker herself.
Sheila Suhan of Scottsdale, Westmoreland County, had entered the Pennsylvania Farm Show’s Incredible Angel Food Cake Contest before and on Jan. 8 at the 107th annual fair her creation beat 66 entries to secure the top spot in a live taste test that was based on creativity, taste, smell, texture, lightness, topping, and decoration.
Judges Nathan ByDely, Harry Reffner, Martha Ebersole, Gailen Hausman, and Deb Grubera carefully reviewed the top 25 semi-finalists and awarded Suhan the blue ribbon and a check for $500. Suhan, who also competes with apple pies and chocolate cakes at local fairs, had attended the contest with two friends and her sister—who was also a contest competitor representing the Wolf’s Corners Fair—on their way to Atlantic City and planned to keep her check locked safely in the car to avoid the temptation to gamble her winnings away.
Angel food cakes are famously light and fluffy since they contain neither egg yolks nor butter. As such, they require a skilled baker and plenty of innovative additions to make them stand out from the competition.
The runners-up of the 2023 Incredible Angel Food Cake Contest were Ann Krug of Loretto, who won second place and received $300. Laura Pert of Hallstead earned third place, winning $200 for a cake embellished with raspberry jam and decorative bees. Abigail Mehalic of Latrobe got fourth place, and Robert Wenger of Reinholds was placed fifth, both earning ribbons.
At the end of the show, all cakes were cut and given away to lucky audience members as free samples.
