Taste put to the test

Walking into the conference room at City Hall last Thursday, Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman knew he was going to have a tough decision ahead of him.

Spread out on the tables were nearly 40 mouth-watering entries in this year’s annual Oktoberfest Pie and Cake Baking Contest.

Once again sponsored by Larry E. Nunn & Associates LLC, the contest has become a favorite tradition among city officials, many of whom, like Luedeman, serve as judges.

“It’s the best part of my job,” he joked.

Other community leaders, including Bud Walther of the Community Foundation of Jackson County and Rexanne Ude of Schneck Medical Center Foundation, also volunteered their time to help decide which recipes out-tasted the others.

The contest was divided into two categories, pies and cakes, and each judge got to choose their favorite, which was then pulled out and critiqued again by all judges.

First place in each division received $100, followed by $50 for second place and $25 for third.

For the cake category, it was a close race between Michelle Nichter’s Chocolate Eruption Cheesecake and Mindy Murray’s Apple-Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake.

Luedeman said he liked both recipes, but favored the Chocolate Eruption for its presentation and chocolate flavor.

“It just looks like a winner, something you would get at the Cheesecake Factory,” he said. “I like how the chocolate is drizzled across the top and she used pieces of chocolate on top.”

And the taste?

“Just as good as it looks,” Luedeman said.

To make it a true chocolate eruption, Nichter uses a brownie crust and a variety of chocolate products for the filling, including white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, brownie and turtle candy. She then garnished the cake with melted chocolate and chocolate shavings.

“It was almost too rich for me,” she said, laughing. “A little goes a long way, but it’s a rich, dense, gorgeous cheesecake sure to please chocolate lovers.”

Ude also favored the cheesecakes, but said Murray’s apple-caramel-pecan combination got her vote.

“It’s a good cheesecake recipe for fall and it tastes delicious,” she said. “I can’t eat just one bite.”

In the end, chocolate trumped apple caramel, and Nichter was declared the winner.

It wasn’t her first victory.

“I got second place last year in pies and I’ve won first place in cakes before,” she said. “I just like baking and entering contests. It’s fun and I always look for something new to try.”

Murray took home second place and coming in third was James Combs’ recipe for Drunken Punkin, which Fire Chief Fred Hines named his favorite.

When it comes to Nichter’s win, it’s appropriate that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Her mother, Lavena Hauer, took home first place in the pie category for her Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie.

Building Commissioner Jeremy Gray said he couldn’t get enough of the chocolate peanut butter combination.

“It’s definitely my favorite,” he said.

Hauer has also won the contest in previous years, including taking first place in cakes last year. She and her daughter have also entered and won for recipes in the Jackson County Fair.

Hauer enjoyed this win just as much as she did those in the past.

“I was really excited about it,” she said.

Coming in second for the Oktoberfest pies was Sherry Fisher’s apple pie, and rounding out the pie winners in third place was Christine Pfeiffer’s peach blueberry pie.

For copies of all recipe entries, contact Lora Kirts at 523-6726.

At a glance

Winners in the 2009 Oktoberfest Pie and Cake Baking Contest

Pies

First place – Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie by Lavena Hauer

Second place – Apple Pie by Sherry Fisher

Third place – Peach Blueberry Pie by Christine Pfeiffer

Cakes

First place – Chocolate Eruption Cheesecake by Michelle Nichter

Second place – Apple-Carmel-Pecan Cheesecake by Mindy Murray

Third place – Drunken Punkin by James Combs

First Place in Pies

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie

by Lavena Hauer

1 cup powdered sugar

½ cup peanut butter

Mix peanut butter and powdered sugar until it looks like cornmeal. Spread half of it in pie shell. Set aside rest. Mix rest of ingredients except the egg whites.

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons heaping self-rising flour

2-3 egg yolks (separate egg whites and set aside)

2 cups milk

½ stick butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup real chocolate chips

Put first 8 ingredients except egg whites into saucepan…cook stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Pour into pie shell. Beat egg whites until stiff. Spread on pie. Put other peanut butter mixture on top of pie and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

First Place in cakes

Chocolate Eruption Cheesecake

by Michelle Nichter

Bottom crust: 1 batch 9x13 brownies

Filling: 2½ pounds cream cheese, softened

½ cup sugar

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

5 large eggs

1/3 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon pure vanilla

Pinch salt

1½ cups coarsely chopped white chocolate

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1½ cups coarsely chopped turtle candy

1 cup coarsely chopped chunks of brownie

½ cup caramel sundae topping

Finishing touches: ¼ cup each melted white and semi-sweet chocolate, chocolate shavings, confectioner’s sugar. Prepare brownies per directions in 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper. Cool, then freeze for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray a 10 inch spring form pan with cooking spray. Line bottom and sides of pan with parchment paper, cut to fit. Cut pieces of brownie in strips and arrange in bottom of pan. Pinch to seal together.

For filling: in mixer bowl, blend cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add condensed milk and blend in eggs, cream, flour, vanilla and salt until smooth, about 5 minutes on lowest speed. Remove 1/3 of batter and mix with chopped white chocolate. Pour over brownie crust. Fold remaining ingredients except caramel sauce into cheesecake batter. Mix gently and pour ½ of the batter into pan on top of white chocolate batter and then drop dollops of caramel topping all over. Top with remaining batter and then remaining caramel topping. Swirl batter with a knife briefly. Pan will be very full. Place cheesecake on prepared baking sheet and bake until set, about 55 minutes. Turn off oven, open door and let cool in oven 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight. Remove from pan and unmold onto serving plate removing parchment paper. Drizzle melted white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate over cheesecake. Garnish with chocolate shavings or curls and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Second Place in pies

Apple Pie

by Sherry Fisher

Pastry for 2 crust pie (recipe to follow)

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

8-9 sliced peeled apples

Dot top with oleo or butter.

Pie Crust

2½ cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup shortening

6-8 tablespoons cold water

Sift flour and salt into medium bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender. Sprinkle water over a tablespoon at a time. Mix with fork until pastry holds together. (Makes 2-9-inch crusts)

Second Place in cakes

Apple-Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake

by Mindy Murray

Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup butter, melted

Combine cracker crumbs, sugar, pecans, and cinnamon, stir in butter. Press onto bottom and sides of spring-form pan. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Place on wire rack.

Filling:

3 packages 8-ounce cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 cups sour cream

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sour cream, mix. Add eggs, and vanilla. Pour over crust.

Topping:

3 cups apples, peeled, chopped

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Chopped pecans

Whipped topping

Caramel syrup

Toss apples with sugar and cinnamon; spoon over filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Cool on wire rack. After completely cool sprinkle with pecans and drizzle with caramel sauce. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with whipped topping.

Third Place in pies

Peach Blueberry Pie

by Christine Pfeiffer

Filling:

4 cups fresh peaches, sliced

3 tablespoons minute tapioca

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1½ cups sugar

Mix together. Put in pie crust. Slice butter on top. Add top crust. Seal and crimp edges. Slice hole in top for vent. Surround with foil so top does not burn. Bake at 450 degrees for 90 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

Bake for 40 minutes. Take foil off. Bake for 5 more minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Crust:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 teaspoons sugar

1 egg yolk

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold water

1 teaspoon baking powder

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles course meal. In a separate bowl, whisk together vinegar, vanilla, egg yolk, and water. Stir into flour and knead briefly, just until smooth. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before rolling out.

Third Place in cakes

Drunken Punkin

by James Combs

In a large bowl mix:

2½ cups flour

1 2/3 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix well, then add:

1½ cups pumpkin pulp

½ cup oil

2 beaten eggs

¾ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat well, fold in ½ cup chopped pecans. Pour into prepared bundt pan and bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees — cake will pull away from sides of pan when done. Remove from pan after 5 minutes. Brush cake generously with Grand Marnier and allow to sit several hours or overnight. Place 15-20 pecans halves in a bowl and cover with Grand Marnier and allow to soak.

Finishing:

Dredge pecans with sugar and set aside.

In a small bowl: Mix 1 pound of confectioner’s sugar, 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier and ½ cup caramel ice cream topping —stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake and decorate with the pecan halves.