On April 16, the 9th and 10th grade Baking & Pastry students in Mrs. Rogers’ class got to show off their skills in the class’s very own Cupcake Wars. The competition marked the end of a baking unit, and students were more than ready to step up. Each group was given a classic vanilla cupcake base, and from there, it was all up to them to flavor it, frost it, and decorate it however they wanted. With spring break right around the corner, it was the perfect way to celebrate what they’ve learned.
Most groups had 3 to 4 students working together, but one student stood out. Jenny Hegedus had to do the entire challenge alone after her partner, Brynn Dumnich, was absent, but that didn’t stop her from killing it. Jenny ended up as the runner-up in the whole competition and had what many said was the best-presented cupcake in the class. Her creativity and attention to detail impressed the judges, and her solo effort earned some serious respect.
The winning team consisted of Aaryn Chappel, Garek McMahen, and Reese Myers. Their cupcake had a great flavor, a moist texture, a purple buttercream icing, and a carrot made out of melting chocolate. The group that stood out to the judges. The final decision between the top two entries wasn’t easy. “It was a super close call between the winners and runner-up,” said Kenzie (Judge 1). “The final decision came down to whether the cupcake was dry or not, and
what the texture was like,” commented Lizzy. (judge 3)
The judges were three students: seniors Kenzie Johnson (judge 1) and Bri Hoffer (judge 2), along with junior Lizzy Heitchue (judge 3). They judged each group on creativity, presentation, texture, and taste. Everyone took the challenge seriously, and it was clear that a lot of effort went into every single cupcake.
Mrs. Rogers shared that she planned Cupcake Wars as a fun, hands-on way to wrap up the baking unit. “My baking kids love looking at other groups and seeing how they did it in comparison,” she said. “So I thought a competition like Cupcake Wars would be the perfect thing to get them excited, especially before spring break.” She added that students had already done a trial run the week before, so this was their chance to show off everything they’d learned.
Winners didn’t just earn bragging rights, they also scored bonus points in class. “I thought about giving them another baking opportunity on their own, but unfortunately, we just don’t have the time,” Mrs. Rogers said. “Every class we have, we’re already baking.” She explained that Baking & Pastry is different from the regular Foods class, since it’s almost entirely hands-on. “We bake nearly every class. It’s more about their performance in the kitchen than it is about written assignments.”
Planning a competition like this takes a lot behind the scenes, especially with a tight classroom budget. Luckily, Mrs. Rogers already had many of the basic ingredients, like flour and sugar. “I did have to buy a lot for the icing, and we needed a ton of butter because each group used two sticks, and tons of powdered sugar,” she said. “This one came to about $200, but it wasn’t too bad since we had a lot of the cupcake ingredients already.”
Even though only one team won, every student got to show their creativity and take pride in what they made. Whether they worked in a group or solo like Jenny, it was clear that everyone took the challenge seriously and had a blast doing it. Cupcake Wars wasn’t just about competition. It was about teamwork, creativity, and seeing how far students have come in their baking skills.
