Rules and Information
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That Takes the Cake! Sugar Art and Cake Show is open to all cake decorating and sugar art enthusiasts. For answers not found on this website, please use our Contact Form or call Make It Sweet (512) 371-3401.
Fees
All entrants must sign a registration and release form. Registration before 2/15/2013 is required (except for Child & Junior division entries) to help us plan space needs. One registration fee includes all general competition entries for each participant. Competition registration includes general admission to the show for the weekend for the competitor. Competition registration for entrants under 18 includes general admission for the competitor and one accompanying adult. There will be no refunds of entry or registration fees. Entry fees for Child and Junior are waived, but registration prior to the show is encouraged.
| Divisional Competition | Fees |
|---|---|
| Early Registration (ends 1/18/2013) | $20 |
| General Registration (ends 2/15/2013) | $25 |
| Child (12 & under) Registration (ends 2/15/2013) | FREE |
| Showcake Competition | Fees |
|---|---|
| For each 48″w x 29″h round table (ends 2/15/203) | $25 |
| Tasting Competition | Fees |
|---|---|
| Any number of entries | *$15 |
*Entry fee is waived when combined with a Divisional or Showcake Competition entry.
Registration
Click here to download our Competitor Registration and Release Form.
| Submit Registration | |
|---|---|
| Online: | Continue to online registration |
| Fax: | Print our Competitor-Registration-and-Release Form and fax to(512) 301-3766 |
| Mail or In Person: | Print our Competitor-Registration-and-Release Form and mail/submit to: Make It Sweet 9070 Research Blvd Suite 203 Austin, Tx 78758 |
Information for Competitors
| Setup and Take-down | |
|---|---|
| Check-in / setup hours | 5 pm to 8 pm Friday, February 22, 2013 and 7 am to 10 am Saturday, February 23, 2013 Entries must arrive and be set up by 10 am Saturday, February 23, 2013. |
| Take-down hours | Entries may be removed after 5:00 pm and until 7:00 pm on Sunday, February 24, 2013. Cakes will not be permitted to be removed before 5 pm on Sunday February 24, 2013. |
| Space | Entries should fit in a 30″ x 30″ space. Contact us for approval if your entry is larger. Electricity is not available for Divisional Competition entries. |
Any entries left after 7 pm Sunday, February 24, 2013 will be considered to be forfeited and become the property of the event organizers. Make arrangements for removal of entries if you are not going to be present.
Each entry must have your name, address, phone number, division and style on the underside of the display board. No personal or business identifying marks, advertisements, special backdrops, photos (other than for the sculpted cake category), etc, will be allowed to be displayed along with the entry.
Table dressing such as decorative fabrics or mirrors are allowed, but not required. To conserve room for all entries, table dressings should not extend more than 8″ beyond the base of the entry. Entries may be put under Plexiglas or other such cover, but judges must be able to view the entries without interference. The covering must be able to be easily removed.
While we encourage entries of new work, entries from other shows are acceptable. Entries from prior years of this Show can only be entered if the entry has been substantially re-worked and the entry did not receive a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place award.
Entrant grants Capital Confectioners a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicenseable and transferable right and license to use, reproduce, create derivative works of, distribute, and publicly display any photos taken by Capital Confectioners staff, volunteers, or contractors.
The competitor check-in entrance is located on the right side of the building. There is parking on the side of the building. Leave your cake in your car until you’ve finished the registration process; there will not be space to set your entry while you are checking-in.
Upon arrival please have in your possession 1 Competition Entry Form for each divisional and/or showcake submission and/or your printed recipe for tasting competition entries.
Once you have completed registration you may bring your entry inside at which point you will have the opportunity to have your entry professionally photographed.
Once you have placed your entry and it is complete, please leave the area until the show opens at 10:30 AM so that other competitors may place their entries.
Although precautions will be taken, event organizers and sponsors will not be responsible for theft or damage. Entrants are responsible for any and all safety issues pertaining to their entries and absolve Capital Confectioners, the show organizers and sponsors of any liability related to damage caused to persons or property by the entry.
Divisions and Styles
| Divisions | |
|---|---|
| Children (6 years and under) | One category – not divided by style. Children may have an adult assist with baking the cake. Each child must ice and decorate their own entry. |
| Junior (7 – 12 years) | One category – not divided by style. Juniors may have an adult assist with baking the cake. Each junior must ice and decorate their own entry. |
| Teen (13 – 17 years) | Each teen must bake, ice and decorate their own entry. Open to all styles. |
| Culinary Student | Current culinary school students. Open to all styles. |
| Adult Beginner | Basic skills. 2 years or less decorating experience; self-taught or less then 30 hours of cake decorating or sugar art instruction. Open to all styles. |
| Adult Intermediate | Developing skills. 2 to 4 years cake decorating experience; 30 to 60 hours of cake decorating or sugar art instruction. Open to all styles. |
| Adult Advanced | More refined skills. 4 to 6 years cake decorating experience; 60 to 90 hours of cake decorating or sugar art instruction. Open to all styles. |
| Professional | High level of skill. More than 6 years decorating experience. More than 90 hours of hours of cake decorating or sugar art instruction. May be decorating for profit or working as a decorator. Open to all styles. |
| Masters | Expert in sugar art. Is known to have mastered specific mediums and techniques. May be an author, instructor, or work in the sugar art business. Has more than 120 hours of instruction. Open to all styles. |
| Styles | |
|---|---|
| Special Occasion/Novelty One Tier | Any non-tiered cake with a theme such a Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc including one tier wedding/anniversary cakes. Any sugar mediums or techniques may be used. |
| Sculpted Cakes | Shaped or carved cakes, 2-D or 3-D cakes and sculptures. Entries must be real cake. Minimal use of Styrofoam allowed to complete entry. Any sugar mediums may be used. Must submit 3 in-progress pictures with NO identification as to the entrant. |
| Special Occasion/Novelty Tiered Cakes | Cakes with two or more tiers. Can be stacked or tiered. Novelty/ special occasion cakes does not include wedding or anniversary cakes. Any sugar mediums or techniques may be used. |
| Buttercream Only Cakes | Any non-tiered cake with any theme decorated using only buttercream icing. No fondant, non-edible decorations or other sugar mediums will be allowed. |
| Wedding Tiered Cakes | Cakes with two or more tiers decorated specifically for weddings or anniversaries. Any techniques or sugar mediums may be used. |
| Special Techniques Not-On-A-Cake | Entries of fondant, gumpaste, sugar molding, color flow, royal icing, etc. Displayed as an individual technique and NOT as a decoration on a cake. A combination of techniques and mediums may be used, but it must be presented alone and not as part of a cake. |
| Confections Not-On-A-Cake | Cupcakes, cookies, candy, chocolate, etc. An individual entry, not on a cake. |
| Display Table | This table is for displays not being judged. |
Divisional Judging
Divisional entries will be judged on the following criteria:
- precision of techniques used
- originality
- creativity
- skill
- color
- design
- difficulty
- number of techniques used
- overall eye appeal
Judging for the Divisional Competition is not based on taste. Entries are only judged according to the criteria and against only those entries in the same Division and Style category.
Judging of the entries will be completed by a team of qualified judges selected by the Capital Confectioner’s Show Committee. The judges’ decisions will be final. The judges will complete a comment sheet for each entry; those sheets will be distributed to the entrant after the Awards Ceremony. First, second and third place entries will be recognized. If there are less than 3 entries per style, recognition will be at the judges’ discretion. Judging will be conducted consensus style with the judges on the team.
The judges and Show Committee shall enforce policy and procedures. Any entry deemed in poor taste will be disqualified and removed. Judges and/or Show Committee have the right to re-classify an entry if necessary.
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Divisional Decorating
The entry must be the work of only the person listed on the Registration Form. An adult can help bake the cake for a child/junior entrant. The child/junior must then complete the entry themselves (carving, icing, decorating, etc).
Unless specified, you may use real cake, a substitute (such as cereal bars) or even a Styrofoam dummy. If a cake substitute or a dummy is used, it must be a design that could be duplicated with real cake. Entries in the Sculpted Cake style must be made with real cake.
All entries must be completely edible except for items such as columns, cake toppers, supports, wires and stamens. Ribbons, tulle, etc. may be used to carry out a design. Don’t use non-edible items in place of sugar mediums; for example, plastic pearls instead of fondant pearls. Cold Porcelain is not allowed. “Edible Images” are allowed and will be judged in context with the entire entry. Use of other substances may cause the entry to be disqualified.
Each entry must have your name, address, phone number, division and style on the underside of the display board. No personal or business identifying marks, advertisements, special backdrops, photos (other than for the sculpted cake category), etc, will be allowed to be displayed along with the entry.
Table dressing such as decorative fabrics or mirrors are allowed, but not required. To conserve room for all entries, table dressings should not extend more than 8″ beyond the base of the entry. Entries may be put under Plexiglass or other such cover, but judges must be able to view the entries without interference. The covering must be able to be easily removed.
Innovation Award
If , for your entry in the 2012 “That Takes the Cake!” Sugar Art Show and Cake Competition, you have developed a new technique, a new use of an existing medium, or a new tool, you meet the criteria to apply for the That Takes the Cake Innovation Award, which is unique to our show. A team of judges will review the entries in this special cross-divisional category to determine one winner. Competitors wishing to be judged for this award must indicate this on their entry form in the specified check box and be available to meet with the judge between 2:30 and 4:30 PM on Saturday, February 23rd, 2013 to explain the specifics of the innovation to the judge directly. In addition to providing any in-progress photos or other documentation along with their entry. The decision of the panel of judges is final and the award may not be given out if the panel determines that no entry meets the criteria. The winner will be announced during the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, February 24, 2013.
Tasting Competition
Entering the Tasting Competition
Entries are judged on taste, including flavor, rumb, texture and density, and appearance, but not decorating skill. The entry can include icings, fillings, flavored syrups, fruits, crunches, nuts, coconut, chocolate chunks, etc. Cake mixes or other types of mixes cannot be used for any entry.
Angel Food Cakes – the judges will be looking for technique, texture and flavor.
Mini-Bottle Cakes – this category includes cakes made with and/or flavored with alcohol. The alcohol can be in the cake or the icing or both.
Moon Pies – create your own spin on the classic Moon Pie
Cookies – open to any type of individual cookie or bar cookie
Candies – open to any type of candy
Entering the Tasting Competition
Only one type of confection can be included in each entry. For example, you cannot place cookies and candies in the same entry. The recipe must accompany the entry. The entry and the recipe become the property of the Capital Confectioners Show and the sponsor. Recipes submitted must be the original creation of entrant and the recipe must not have been published previously in the same or substantially the same form. Entrant cannot have won prizes or awards in other contests for the submitted recipe. The recipe must be printed on a standard 8.5″ X 11″ sheet of paper with NO identification as to the entrant.
For cake entries, bring a whole cake, 6″ to 9″ round size – it will be cut for judging.
For Moon Pie, Cookie and Candy entries, bring one display with 10 pieces.
Judges will determine a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner for each category.
Entries, platters/plates, etc. will not be returned – please place the entry on a disposable plate.
Entrant further understands that their recipe may be used in whole or in part by Capital Confectioners and/or the sponsor for any advertising or promotional purposes whatsoever in any and all types of media with no compensation for such usage. The entrant name will be included along with the recipe whenever a recipe is published.
Showcake Competition
A Showcake is the centerpiece of a special event. Showcakes are showstoppers that make people wonder if it is really cake and how it was made. You have seen Showcake style works of art created on Food Network Challenges, TLC’s Ultimate Cake Off and Ace of Cakes type shows. A Showcake might be for a 1st, 16th or 80th birthday, a retirement, a baby shower, a corporate event, a wedding or anniversary or any special event. One defining element is that Showcakes have a very specific theme that is carefully incorporated into all aspects of the cake and the cake display.
Cake to the Air!
All Clear for Cake off!
| Showcake Competition Rules | |
|---|---|
| General | The entry must be the work of only the person listed on the Registration Form. Each entry must have your name, address, phone number, division and style on the underside of the display board. No personal or business identifying marks, advertisements, special backdrops, photos (other than for the sculpted cake category), etc, will be allowed to be displayed along with the entry. |
| Decorations | Any sugar medium is allowed. All entries must be completely edible except for items such as columns, cake toppers, supports, wires and stamens. Ribbons, tulle, etc. may be used to carry out a design. Don’t use non-edible items in place of sugar Decorations mediums; for example, plastic pearls instead of fondant pearls. Cold Porcelain is not allowed. “Edible Images” are allowed and will be judged in context with the entire entry. Use of other substances may cause the entry to be disqualified. |
| Construction | The entry can be made out of Styrofoam or any other cake substitute if the final design is one that could realistically be made out of real cake.. If the entry is a sculpted cake, it must be made of real cake with 3 in process pictures submitted along with the entry. |
| Size | The entry needs to meet minimum height and serving requirements. The minimum finished height is 24” and the entry must be of sufficient size that it would meet or exceed a minimum of 100 servings. |
| Display | Each entry will be displayed on an individual 48” round, standard (29” – 30”) height tables. The entrant will be responsible for dressing and decorating the table. The decoration of the table should complement the decoration of the cake to complete the theme of the entry. Judges will consider all table decorations as a portion of overall eye appeal criteria. If table decorations are made of sugar media, they will be included in the number of techniques used, originality, creativity and difficulty judging criteria. Electricity will be available for the Showcake entries only. Please let us know in advance if you need electricity. |
| Judging | Judging for the Showcake entries will be based on a point system. 100 maximum points with points awarded based on the following criteria:
Judging will be conducted by a team of qualified judges. Judges will resolve any tie situations and their decisions are final. |
Awards
All Child and Junior entries will be recognized with a participation certificate and medal. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place entries will be recognized in all other divisions for each style.
One Best of Division entry will be chosen from each division with the exception of Child and Junior Divisions. One Grand Prize will be chosen from the Best of Division winners. Trophies, cash and/or prizes are awarded to Best of Division and Grand Prize winners.
Decorators whose Showcake entry scores 10th through 5th place will be recognized during the awards ceremony; 4th through 2nd place will be awarded trophies and cash and/or prizes and the 1st place (Grand Prize Showcake Competition winner) will be awarded a trophy, cash and/or prizes.
Each entry will be entered in a special decorator’s only drawing for prizes.
Ribbons, awards, or prizes not claimed by the close of show will be forfeited. The Awards Ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2013.