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Zebra Cake And Mistake Cake

A few weeks back, I wrote about fairs and festivals and included a recipe for Zebra Cake, the recipe being used for the Connecticut Association of State Fairs adult baking contest. My friend Robin Matterfis of Madison and her daughter plan to compete. “We have a fun little competition going that started last year between the two of us with lots of smack talk,” she says, laughing. “We’ll be entering them at the Durham Fair.” This is her photo of her first bake. It’s a work of cake art! “I plan on at least one more practice bake before the fair,” she says. I, too, made a Zebra Cake, not because I plan to enter the competition, but just because it looked good. Just as I slipped my first bake into the preheated oven, I turned around, looked at the ingredients on the table, and realized, oops, I had forgotten to add the milk. This is why I don’t bake. Following directions? Not my strong suit. I decided to let it bake away, because why not? And then I baked a second cake for my daughter’s birthday. The birthday cake was a huge hit. But then I was curious. So, I had a taste-off with my neighbors Deb, Wayne, Kathy, and Carol. Some of them actually preferred the first cake, which tasted a little bit like brownies, which we promptly dubbed Mistake Cake. Some preferred the original recipe, a more cakey cake. Either way, this cake is easy to make, fun to serve, and well worth a try. The frosting is fabulous. Good luck to Robin and her daughter in the Durham Fair competition! Read more about the fairs and festivals and the cake recipe here: www.zip06.com/living/20240815/connecticut-fairs-a-baking-contest-and-bags-of-apples-from-bishops.