Taking the cake

HARTINGTON — The Urwiler family’s chocolate mahogany chiffon cake consistently brings home purple ribbons and even shows well at the Nebraska State Fair.

But, mostly, it brings home memories. The chocolate cake recipe has been passed down for three generations and started with the late Darlene Urwiler and has been a staple at family gatherings from holidays to birthdays but also at fairs in northeast Nebraska including the Cedar County Fair.

“Everybody loves that cake,” said Aurora Urwiler of Laurel.

Darlene showed the cake in open class at the Cuming County Fair for years, and now her granddaughters Aurora and Faith Urwiler are carrying on her tradition.

Aurora remembers the very first time making the cake for the fair and her grandmother seeing it exhibit at the Cedar County Fair in 2014. It would be Darlene’s last fair before she died.

She said the cake can be a challenge to make because you must get a stiff peak on the egg whites and mix in the chocolate thoroughly - but not too thoroughly.

“We always think of her when we make it,” Aurora said.

Cakes, cookies, muffins and breads were abundant static exhibits at this year’s fair just like they are every year, said Lori Kathol, the food category superintendent.

Barb Junck of Carroll has been judging baked goods at the Cedar County Fair since 2019. With each entry, she reads the supplemental information including the recipe, she breaks open a cookie and judges the texture, and then it’s time to take a bite.

“I really don’t need any more sugar when I’m done for the day,” Junck said.

She fills out a judges sheet, rating the flavor and aroma, the texture, and appearance, making comments as she goes. Stacks of purple, blue and red ribbons are at her side. The ribbon earned and judge’s comment sheet is affixed to the entry and then she’s on to the next one.

All kinds of freshly baked goods lined shelves awaiting their turn to receive their marks. There’s dinner rolls and peach pie, granola bars and scones, coffee cake, brownies, bars and more.

While Junck focused mostly on cookies she had a taste from a wide array of flavors - Snicker surprise cookies, chocolate chip muffin cookies, strawberry cake mix cookies, oatmeal cream pie cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies, rhubarb chocolate chip cookies, churro cookies, and more.

There’s even a baked goods category titled “Flops” for the breads that failed to rise, the cake that fell on the floor and the cookie that crumbled. It’s all welcomed and part of the learning process, Kathol said.

Junck said it’s fun to be a judge and interact with youth. Each participant has the option to be interviewed by the judge but it’s not a requirement.

“The interview judging process allows youth to build confidence through conversation with an adult about their project,” said Megan Hanefeldt, Cedar County Extension educator.

Ella Crosley of Newcastle said she was nervous prior to her interview with Junck about her chocolate milkshake cupcakes. But once it was over, she said it wasn’t that bad.

She used Ovaltine chocolate malt powder in the cupcakes and frosting. To polish off the look, whopper candy was placed on top along with a piece of straw to make the cupcake look like a real milkshake. Crosley received a purple ribbon.

Depending upon the number of entries, Junck’s judging work can take all day but Kathol estimated about three or four hours Wednesday.

Judging and interviews of static exhibits took place throughout Wednesday morning with a variety of creative projects that tend to inspire, Hanefeldt said.

The first thing fair-goers saw walking into the 4-H building is a lemonade stand made by Aaralynn Collier of Hartington. She said she saw a lemonade stand selling on Facebook Marketplace that caught her eye and gave her the idea to make her own.

She immediately thought of her 3-and 5-year-old cousins using the stand on hot summer days.

“They’ve been playing on it while I was building it,” Collier said.

She was able to use recycled pallets her uncle, Austin Koch, had on hand, and also used fabric leftover from other projects.

It took her about three days - working on and off - to complete the project.

“I’m just really proud of how it turned out,” she said.

And the creativity doesn’t stop there. Abbie Brummels of the Laurel Bit & Bridle Club sewed two different towels to make a unique pair of pants. Pool noodles were fashioned into colorful horses.

Jacy Nelson of Maskell developed a solar oven out of a suitcase. Malyla Zach of Hartington created a Dreamer’s Loft miniature dollhouse complete with working lights.

“This is really their time to showcase it and share with others what they’ve learned,” Hanefeldt said.