“That was definitely the biggest cake that we’ve ever made,” Raquel David said. “The finished cake itself was about 5.5 feet tall.”
David is the winner of this year’s The Big Bake: Halloween competition, which aired on Food Network on Sept. 27. In the episode, teams of bakers made gigantic cakes that move for a $10,000 prize.
As the owner of Kitchener-Waterloo bake shop Q’s Cakes and Cafe, David competed on a team with coworkers Carolyn and Monica. “It’s really nice to know that if you work with the right people and put your mind to something, you can accomplish it even in a short amount of time,” David said.
Teams were given five hours to finish their creations. “It was stressful to make such a big cake in such a short amount of time,” David said. “But the overall experience was really exciting.”
The result was a 5.5 foot zombie wedding cake complete with roses, spiders and a large bride and groom topper- whose mouths open and shut. It had chocolate and pumpkin buttercream layers, with bourbon simple syrup drizzled on top. In addition, there were also traces of candied hazelnuts and bourbon caramel in the cake.
“I thought both the other contestant’s cakes were really neat,” David said. “The one with the gnomes was very cleanly finished, and had lots of attention to detail. And the Corpse Bride was such a cool idea — to do a person standing five feet out of cake was a really big task to undertake.”
As it turns out, the competition’s unique demands inspired Davidl to enter. “I’d watched this competition before and thought it was interesting how big the cakes are and that they included a dynamic element,” she said.
Her team’s work in The Big Bake: Halloween reflects the dedication and creativity Q’s Cakes is known for. “We try to make beautiful, fun cakes for everybody’s celebrations,” David said. “And we love to see the smiles it brings to people, especially with people who order cakes for their children’s birthdays.”
“We love creating those special moments for everybody, whether it be a birthday, wedding, or anniversary, and being part of those celebrations with the local community,” she added.
When talking to David, the charm of Q’s Cakes was clear.
