Tucker's cake is 34 inches tall. Each of the cakes' six tiers resembles a different character from the "Wizard of Oz."
NEW MARKET — Perfection takes time. For Kelly Tucker, it took three weeks.
Tucker, 16, won the Grand Overall Sweepstakes in the cake decorating competition at the state fair for her “Wizard of Oz”-themed cake.
The 34-inch cake has six tiers — each one decorated to resemble one of the movie’s characters.
“Most of the layers have their faces molded, and then we put their theme around the cake,” Tucker said. “We wanted something that a lot of people could relate to, and most people know the Wizard of Oz.”
Though Tucker decorated the entire cake herself, she said her family was a huge help throughout the entire process.
“My mom was there definitely for moral support. And my grandma helped with the idea process. She decorates cakes, and she knew what we would be able to put on there.”
This is the second time one of Tucker’s cakes made it to the state fair. In 2014, her three-tiered wedding cake won her division at the Montgomery County fair, but it wasn’t enough to place at the state level.
“After going to the state fair last year and seeing what I was up against in my new division, I knew what I’d have to do to win and get up there with the top cakes. All of these cakes seemed to be six tiers. They were huge! So that’s what I wanted to do.”
Like her cake, Tucker set her hopes high going into this year’s state fair. And even though she thought she had a pretty good chance once she saw the other cakes, Tucker said she wasn’t positive what the judges were going to decide.
“I was actually just hoping to place,” Tucker said. “I didn’t expect to win, and I did! That was a shock.
The cakes are judged by appearance, degree of difficulty and also how well each technique implemented on the cake was carried out. In the advanced division, it can come down to the smallest detail.
“Since we know it’s going to get judged, we have to make sure every little aspect is perfect.”
This is Tucker’s eighth year in 4-H, and cake decorating has always been her focus. Even though she won it all this year, she’s already thinking about what next year’s cake could look like.
“We’re already trying to think of ideas. We think we might go back to the movie or story theme that we did because we really liked how that turned out.”
Tucker’s cake is currently on display at Centennial Hall at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
