Aldergrove Community Secondary School (ACSS) students will face off in a delectable Halloween cake bake-off this Halloween on Thursday.
Grade 9 and 10 students have worked hard all week under the supervision of ACSS foods teacher Victoria Mejia.
Mejia has made multiple trips to the grocery store throughout the week to ensure her students have all the latest in cake ingredients at their fingertips.
“Almost everything has been made by hand,” Mejia noted, including marshmallow fondant, cookies, icing, chocolate moulds, and other additions students used to craft their final pieces.
Two classes of 12 teams are going head-to-head in a cake showdown in the school’s front foyer before and during lunch. Teachers and students will vote for their favourites.
“I have never seen students work this hard,” Mejia said about her class’ dedication.
“They are coming in all the time, on their free blocks, after school… they are even staying later to learn,” Mejia said. “Every detail counts.”
Grade 9 students Kameron LeTexier, Danica Alzona, Ashley Forsyth, and Amber Knopp spent all week crafting a pumpkin creation – complete with fingers and worms – that will judged on Thursday.
Friends since kindergarten at Parkside Elementary, Grade 9 students Marie MaKay and Samantha Minaker created at three-tiered The Nightmare Before Christmas cake for the challenge. It happens to be both their favourite films.
“Samantha bought me the DVD for Christmas,” Marie explained.
“It’s a movie not only about Halloween, but all the holidays, and Christmas, too,” Samantha chimed in.
Both students came into class during their spare blocks and after school throughout the week to work on the complex cake.
The top tier is main character Jack Skellington’s face and the Oogie Boogie antagonist in a sugar cookie, both painted by hand by the pair.
Its second tier resembles the patchwork pattern of Jack’s love interest, Sally.
The third tier held the greatest challenge for the team. It took them three tries to pin up Jack’s bowtie, made of fondant, with not so easily seen toothpicks.
On Monday, students did their cake baking. Then, they smothered icing between its layers and laid fondant on top. Tuesday was when teams got down to the nitty-gritty of decorating.
They airbrush-painted their fondant, moulded their ghoulish figures out of chocolate, iced their cookie tombstones, and perfected other gory details.
“The students have had seven classes to do everything,” Mejia said, amazed.
Winning teams – one from each class – will be awarded with a party of their own on Friday, complete with special trophies and sweet treats.
