Their styles are different but both take the cake.

Actually, they took the cakes – make that plural – to the Upper Midwest Bakery Convention.

Greta Canada and Anna Dockendorf, who both work at Bismarck’s Central Market, won some top medals for their cake decorating at the annual Upper Midwest Bakery Convention contest Feb. 24-25 in Rochester, Minn.

Canada won a gold medal in the Student Novelty Cake category and Dockendorf won a gold medal for her Student Wedding Cake. Only 10 gold medals were awarded, said LeAnne Klein of Central Market’s public relations department, and the Bismarck duo won two of them. In addition, Canada won a silver medal for her wedding cake entry.

Canada also won a Best of Show Award. This award is voted on by the judges and is one of the highest awards given out during the competition, Klein said.

These decorators competed against 77 other entries, she said. Both were sponsored by Best Brands.

Both work full time at Central Market. Canada has been at Central Market for 11 months and Dockendorf for three months.

Cake decorating is a form of art, Canada said.

Canada, who has studied commercial art and creates art in a wide variety of media, said she first got excited about decorating cakes after going to Minot’s Central Market and seeing what could be created.

In creating an attractive cake, the hardest part is getting the base smooth, Dockendorf said.

“Art needs a good canvas,” Canada said.

The two estimate they make five to 10 cakes a day, and more during the big rush times, around graduation and for summer weddings.

The two have styles that complement each other – Dockendorf likes simple, country, “down-home”styles, she said, and Canada enjoys creating cakes with 1950s themes.

At this convention, the decorating is done on what is called a “dummy cake,” not an actual bakery cake. But all the frosting must be edible with the exception of some flowers, which may be made of gum paste, Canada said.

Dockendorf estimated that she spent about 20 hours on her cake; Canada said she put about five hours apiece into each of hers.

The cakes were created here and transported to Rochester, with their creators hoping for smooth roads along the way.

In these competitions, even small mistakes can be costly – the difference between one of Canada’s winning cakes and a competitor’s was a smudge on the competitor’s cake, she said.

source : www.bismarcktribune.com by : By KAREN HERZOG