She beat six other entries in the Traditional category. Despite the stiff competition, Della held onto her title as Fig Cake queen. She shared the winners' circle with first-time contestant Mary Vankevich, who took top honors in the Innovative category.
The 3rd annual Fig Cake Bake-Off, originally scheduled for July 4th, took place on August 15th at Ocracoke Community Square. There wasn't just cake! Vendors sold fig trees, fig preserves, fig cake kits, cookbooks, and fig-inspired gift items. The Bake-Off was followed by a traditional Ocracoke square dance and a dance party with the Ocracoke Rockers.
The three volunteer judges (Gene Ballance, Barbara Adams, and Judy Garrish) tasted seven Traditional cakes and eleven Innovative entries before choosing their favorites. (Tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!) They rated the cakes on Presentation, Texture, Figgy-ness, and and Taste.
"The Traditional category is for the Old Ocracoke style recipe," said the Bake-Off's founder, Robin Payne. "This way we stay true to the purpose of the Bake-Off, which is honoring Ocracoke culture and a much loved dessert. Innovative is just that. Anything goes as long as it has figs in it."
The innovative bakers enjoyed their freedom to experiment. There were two gluten-free entries, and many of the cakes combined figs with companion fruits: a fig/pineapple/coconut cake, a fig/raspberry torte, an apple/fig cobbler, and a yellow cake layered with fig/strawberry preserves and fig/strawberry buttercream frosting. One cake had toasted coconut inside and out, and another features almonds and a rum sauce. A pair of young siblings thought outside the cake pan with their figgy foods; she invented Fig S'Mores and he served up Clams Figsino – yes, clams on the half shell, baked with fig chutney! After careful tasting and re-tasting in front of an eager and hungry crowd, the judges chose Mary Vankevich's cake with maple frosting as best of the bunch.
Della and Mary each received gift certificates donated by the Variety Store, along with a bouquet of flowers from Annabelle's, a beautiful yard sign, a commemorative plaque, and a year's worth of bragging rights.
"I love baking the cakes, and I love talking to people," Della said as she accepted her prizes. Before, during and after the Bake-Off, Della sold her fig preserves at a booth where she enjoyed talking to people about figs and Ocracoke. Della published an autobiography last year that's a popular must-read on the island. She has a whole chapter dedicated to the love of cooking figs. If you want to order your own award-winning fig cake from Della, just stop by her shop, Woccocon Gifts, on Lighthouse Road. But don't bother asking her the secret to her success. She's not telling!
Mary's keeping mum about her winning recipe, too.
"I would like to keep my cake a bit of a mystery for a while longer," she said. "It adds to the fun. I will disclose that one ingredient is coffee." And we can't forget that maple frosting!
Mary told the audience that the inspiration for her cake came from the old green Ocracoke cook book from the Methodist church. (She knew it was old because it also contains a recipe for sea turtle!) She used her own fig preserves, and modified the recipes of Addie Williams and Myra Wahab, giving her innovative cake some true Ocracoke roots.
As soon as the judges announced the winners at the fig cake table, the gathered fans fell upon the cakes and consumed them. The event's organizers had commissioned Della to bake two extra cakes so that the hungry hordes could have a better chance of tasting the island' best. David Tweedie and another local baker (me) also contributed traditional cakes to eat, not compete. Not a crumb was left!
"It was wonderful," said Robin Payne about the Bake-Off. Thanks to Daphne Bennink, the fig cake bake-off was again broadcast live over the airwaves at WOVV 90.1 FM, Ocracoke's own community radio. Daphne interviewed the judges, the organizers, and random passersby, about figs and fig cakes.
First time contestant Allison Moote entered an innovative fig-and-raspberry torte. Although she didn't take home a prize, she was thrilled with the bake-off.
"I hope it continues as an event and catches on," she said. "This was the first fig cake I ever made and I'm just glad it turned out and was tasty."
As the sun lowered in the sky, Molasses Creek took the stage to play for the square dance, led by the indefatigable Philip Howard. (At one point he admonished some dancers who tried to sit one out. "I just turned 70 two weeks ago, and I'm up here dancing the whole time!" he said.) The traditional Ocracoke square dance is not really a classic country-and-western square dance, Philip informed the dancers. Its roots are in the circle dances that Ocracoke's settlers brought with them from the British Isles. And the steps are easy to learn and fun for all ages. Everyone loves to "Dive for the Oyster" and "Dig for the Clam"!
The Ocracoke Rockers played to a huge crowd from 8 – 10pm. They were happy to do the gig, after the last two 4th of July celebrations got rained out.
The vibe at the Community Square was fig-tastic. From the vendors to the bakers to the dancers to the rockers, everyone had a good time.
Lola Singletary, who hails from Washington, D.C. and is an annual visitor to the island, summed it up like this: "I was excited to be here for this because Ocracoke is so much about community, and this makes me feel like a part of it."
