Day 8- Enter a Chocolate Dessert contest

I spent a lot of time in the month of January doing research, planning and preparing for all my adventures.  One chilly morning I walked into the daycare center where I teach my music classes, and on the front table, there were a stack of pink papers that caught my eye.  They were entry forms for a dessert contest.

A DECEDANT CHOCOLATE DESSERT CONTEST!!!

Didn’t take much convincing.  Once I read over the entry form (and learned that it was not necessary for the recipe to be original), I was sold- I knew I had to do this as one of my challenges!

I spent a long time searching through recipes and trying to find the perfect, most decadent chocolate dessert out there!  I landed on a recipe from Green & Black’s chocolate cookbook that had me drooling.   I spent more money on good, quality dark chocolate than I care to worry my husband about, but anything for chocolate, right?!?!  Besides, the chocolate contest was a part of Medina’s Chocolate Festival, which benefits “Faith In Action,” so it’s all for a good cause!  I had to make it the night before because it needed to chill overnight, but my sweet little Tasmanian Devils were such messy, mischievous little goofballs that night, that until they went to bed, I had no choice but to give them all of my attention.  I didn’t hate it one bit!  Well… not until the wee hours of the morning rolled around and between rocking my precious T back to sleep a couple times and the complicated recipe I chose, I was still baking.  

I took a 2 hour “nap” while the cake portion cooled, and before I could start on the mousse.  When I finally finished, it was 5:00 a.m. in the morning of the next day.  A day in which I had a music class, and then, of course, I had to decorate the cake and deliver it!  But even throughout all this craziness- my busy schedule, the lack of sleep, the mounting stress of “do I stand a chance?”- I still loved EVERY SECOND of the baking process!  It must just be in my blood (thanks mom!).

I finished the cake and decorated it with just moments to spare.

   

J and T were so tired, I knew they’d fall asleep the second we started driving, so I asked my little brother came with me to deliver the goods!  He drove my car for me while I held the cake, and then stayed in the car with the sleeping beauties while I ran the dessert in- what an angel!  He’s such a great help!  

The dessert delivery was very “professional” and even uneventful…. Except for this picture I asked them to take for my mom to see!  You can tell I hadn't gotten much sleep... 

The next day, we went to the Chocolate Festival to find out if I’d won!  It was very crowded and I was so confused on where I was supposed to go, but I'll save you the drama; I found out pretty early on that I did NOT win first place, at least.  They were selling slices of the “First Place” dessert- a brownie…. I’m sure a very fancy and delicious brownie, but folks…. It was a brownie.  I should just be honest with you instead of trying to mask my emotions.  I was REALLY disappointed!  I'm a very sore looser, and actually that's in my blood too (thanks Dad!).  Found out later that my dessert won an “Honorable Mention” award, which is kind of cool except that the man who told me kinda winked at me too… so I wasn’t sure if he was just trying to be nice and give me a leftover ribbon or something?  Because it DID say “Chocolate Cookie Contest” when I actually entered the “Decadent Chocolate Dessert” contest…. hmmmm... it was all just bizarre…

                    

But we had an awesome time at the festival, and not all of us came out losers- Tucker won a teddy bear in a raffle!  :)

As hard as it was for me to not be… irritated (that I lost... to a brownie.), it was a GREAT lesson to share with J, who wanted to know where my “birthday cake” went, and why I didn’t win.  But really though… I couldn’t possibly have expected to win a contest my first time entering with a cake that I had never made before!  And it’s DEFINITELY something I’ll do again next year if the timing works out.  But next time, I’ll practice a recipe or two and know what I’m doing.  Instead of winging it I’ll be winning it! 

By the way, there is supposed to be some sort of “recognition” for the winner and they’re also supposed to be printing the winning recipe!!!  SO you can bet that I’m going to make that winning brownie recipe to see if it REALLY was more decadent than my “Marquise Au Chocolat”… and if I have to eat my words in the end, so be it.  I’m sure they’ll be delicious.

(Recipe will be posted soon!)