Baking contest puts skills to the test

It started like most other assignments at the Nelson County Times.

An event, the first annual Baking Contest at Saunders Brothers Orchard in Piney River, was Sept. 19 and we were sitting in the office trying to think of a creative way to cover it.

Trying to be a judge wasn’t going to work and simply going to watch the contest seemed boring and lifeless.

Ultimately, the credit goes to photographer Lee Luther Jr. for coming up with the idea that I should just put my creative, albeit mediocre, baking skills to work and enter the contest myself.

And also, like most other story ideas conjured from the mind of the paper’s funny photographer, I took it and ran.

I knew I wanted to use apples, but I didn’t want to make a pie. I had horrifying visions of flour-covered counters and floors and dough that tasted like cardboard if it tasted like anything at all.

So I scoured the Internet for something interesting and different. Fun and festive. Creative, yet not too difficult while still being delicious and tasty.

What I ended up deciding on was a combination of two recipes. I took what I wanted from each and combined them into the dish that I prayed would at least have an edible outcome.

The dish was orange and honey-baked apples, topped with caramel and orange sprinkles. It promised a sweet filling and smooth texture, which are two things I enjoy in foods.

So last week I made the trek on Virginia 56 to Saunders Brothers, where Mr. Carson was nice enough to help me pick out a peck of Piney River Gold apples and a large jar of honey from Hungry Hill Farms. I then hit a local grocery store for orange juice, red cinnamon candies, oranges and the other small items needed to finish the dish.

When my mom found out I was entering a baking contest, she advised me to do a “test run.” At first, I scoffed at the idea. The recipe sounded delicious, so it had to be, right?

I was then reminded of my past culinary disasters, to which I then reminded her of where I get my skills and that the fire department never had to come to my house for a stove fire.

But, heeding mother’s advice, I made a test batch Friday morning, and deemed the recipe entirely too edible and entirely too delicious. I made a few minor adjustments for the batch going to the baking contest and proceeded as planned.

In a medium sauce pan, I boiled together orange juice, red cinnamon candies, honey and grated orange peel. But since I don’t own a grater, it was just orange peel that I agonizingly cut up into tiny, tiny pieces.

The result was a sweet and sticky red mixture that resembled sweet and sour sauce. I poured that over a dish of peeled and sliced Piney River Gold apples and then stuck the entire dish into the over at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

I then hovered over the oven like a mother hen, checking it every few minutes. I was terrified the apples would burn and turn an ugly brown or black color. Every 15 minutes, I took the dish out and turned the apples, just to be sure.

Once the apples had been thuroughly baked, the final touches began.

Friday night I stuck three large apples into my freezer, intended to keep them cool until the morning, when I could cut them open and hollow them out to use for bowls.

Note to self: If you put something in the freezer, it does, indeed, freeze.

Saturday morning I realized my mistake when I couldn’t even cut through the skin of the first apple, they were so frozen.

It’s a good thing I bought a peck from Mr. Carson. Hurriedly, I found three more suitable apples, cut the tops off and scooped out the innards to use as “bowls” for the baked apples. I then spooned the red and sticky mixture into the bowls and topped the with caramel and orange sprinkles for color.

My transportation manager, also known as Adam, my boyfriend, developed a holding device of a paper plate and tin foil to convey my culinary creations from Lynchburg up U.S. 29 and into Piney River for the start of the contest.

Once again, I hovered over my desert like a mother hen, worrying each bump in the road would shift the package and spill red gooiness everywhere in the car.

We arrived safely and handed off the creation, where three judges sampled mine, along with 16 other contest entries.

And while I didn’t win, it was fun to participate just the same. I enjoy being creative and finding new ways to bring to readers what is happening in the county.