Della's Fig Cake Takes Top Honors
There were two categories for entries, Traditional and Innovative. Winners received gift certificates donated by the Variety Store, Ocracoke Seafood Company, and the Pony Island Restaurant, along with a bouquet of flowers from Annabelle's, a beautiful yard sign, a commemorative plaque, and a year of bragging rights.
Amy Blanchette earned the top score for the innovative category.
Della Gaskill's cake was the best of the traditional category. Della has shipped her cakes all over the U.S. to hungry, happy customers, so she felt confident her cake could hold its own right here at home.
Della recently published an autobiography that's quickly become a popular must read on the island. She has a whole chapter dedicated to the love of cooking figs. If you want to order your own award-winning fig cake from Della, just stop by her shop, Woccocon Gifts, on Lighthouse Road.
Thanks to Daphne Bennink, the fig cake bake-off was broadcast live over the airwaves at WOVV 90.1 FM, Ocracoke's own community radio. Daphne interviewed the judges, and random passersby, about figs and fig cakes. One of the judges, Chester Lynn, is considered to be the local expert on fig trees. Don't miss his OPS Porch Talk on July 23rd at 2pm. The topic? Figs, of course!
After the judges sampled each cake, the remainder was cut and served to 4th of July revelers, who seemed to appreciate all the cakes equally (every one of them disappeared.)
Fig Cake Bake-off organizer Robin Payne would like to thank: Pam Tsousis Houseknecht for checking in the cakes and keeping the bakers' identities secret; Daphne for the radio broadcast; the judges, Barbara Hardy, Chester Lynn, Dale Mutro, and Beaver Tillett.
