A sweet outcome

The 2009 West End Fair has come and gone. But the thrill of winning still warms the hearts of all those who grabbed ribbons with their fair entries.

The really nice thing about the winners of the baking contests is when the winning recipes are shared, everyone can share in the taste of those prize-winning chocolate cakes, apple pies, angel food cakes and brownies.

There were 15 entries for the Hershey Cocoa Classic Chocolate Cake.

Lisa Buzzard of Stroudsburg has won several times in the past and managed to come up with another first prize winning entry with her Peanut Butter and Cashew Crunch Cake. Rhonda Beers of Kunkletown won second place with her Moist Chocolate Cake and Rebecca Handelong of Saylorsburg won third place with her Grammy's Ultimate Hershey's Chocolate Cake.

There were 19 entries for the Hershey Cookie, Brownie or Bar contest with Shannon Lozier, 10, of Saylorsburg, winning first place for her Magoo's Orange Brownies. Jessica Buzzard of Stroudsburg won second place for her Double Peanut Butter Brownies and Riston Barr of Kunkletown won third place for his Chocolate Chippers.

With four entries in the PEQAP Angel Food Cake category the first place winner was Lisa Buzzard, Stroudsburg with her Caramel and Toffee Angel Cake. Second place was won by Paula Schott of Cresco for her Lemonade Angel Cake and Gloria Gallerie of Pocono Summit won for her Strawberry Angel Food Cake.

Nothing says All-American as homemade apple pie. There were six entries in this category. This year's blue ribbon winner was Nanci Strunk of Mt. Pocono for her Appear Crumb. Gloria Gallerie of Pocono Summit won second place for her Caramel-Pecan Apple Pie and Rebecca Handelong of Saylorsburg won third place for her Apple Pecan Pie.

Representing the West End Fair at the 2010 Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg in January will be Lisa Buzzard in the chocolate cake category, Nanci Strunk in the Apple Pie contest, Paula Schott in the Angel Food Cake and Shannon Lozier in the Hershey Cookie, Brownie or Bar contest.

Peanut Butterand Cashew Crunch Cake

by Lisa Buzzard

Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cups all purpose flour

cup Hershey's Cocoa

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed two minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin.) Pour into two 9-inch greased and floured pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks until completely cool.

Peanut Butter Filling

1/2 cup butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

4 cups confectioner's sugar

cup milk

In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar. Mix in cup of milk. Beat in the remaining confectioner's sugar. If necessary, add a little more milk until the filling reaches a good spreading consistency.

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter

cup shortening

cup Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa

3 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1 cup Hershey's Hot Fudge Topping

1 tsp. pure vanilla

Cream together the butter and shortening. Sift the cocoa with the confectioner's sugar and add to the creamed mixture. Mix together while adding 1 tbsp. milk at a time until mixture is smooth. Don't add more than cup milk. Add the hot fudge topping and the vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy. I doubled everything and made two batches for this recipe, as I wanted to do piping.

Garnish

Chopped cashews

Hershey's Peanut Butter Sauce

Hershey's Bits O'Brickle

Hershey's Peanut Butter Topping

After you made both the peanut butter filling and chocolate icing, split both cakes in half. Spread bottom layer with filling. Sprinkle small amount of cashews on top of filling, then brickle. Place next layer on top. Continue this sequence until top layer is completely assembled. Spread chocolate frosting on sides of cake. If desired, pipe a top and bottom border on the cake and drizzle top with peanut butter topping.

Magoo's Orange Brownies

by Shannon Lozier

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

4 eggs

2 tsp. pure orange extract

1 tsp. grated orange zest

1 recipe Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)

1/2 cup Hershey's Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan.

Stir together flour, granulated sugar and salt in a bowl. Add butter, eggs, orange extract and orange zest. Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat until well-blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven, allow to cool and pierce entire cake with a fork. Spread the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting over completely cooled brownies. Cut into squares.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

4 tbsp. softened butter

1 (1 pound) box confectioner's sugar

2 tbsp. orange zest

2 tbsp. orange juice

In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter and cream cheese together with a hand-held electric mixer. Gradually beat in the confectioner's sugar until it is all combined and smooth. Beat in the orange zest and juice. Spread over brownies.

Appear Crumb

by Nanci Strunk

Crust

4 cups flour

2 sticks butter

1 cup Crisco

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup tepid water

Cut up butter and cut into all ingredients. Add up to 1/2 cup tepid water and blend with large fork. Makes up to four crusts. Press into pie pan. This crust cannot be rolled.

Filling

3 cups Granny Smith apples

2 cups Bartlett pears

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. butter

Peel and dice apples and pears. In a large bowl combine with sugar and corn starch, place into prepared pie pan. Cut up 2 tbsp. butter and place around fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Crumbs

8 tbsp. butter

cup flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

While pie is beginning to bake, combine with fork all items to make crumbs. When pie has baked for 30 minutes, add crumbs, liberally, and bake 45 minutes longer. In last 30 minutes baking, an egg yolk wash can be used on outer crust edge if desired (separate one egg from yolk, beat yolk with a little water until smooth. Apply to pie crust edge with brush.)

Caramel and Toffee Angel Cake

by Lisa Buzzard

1 cup of cake flour

1 1/2 cups white super fine sugar

12 egg whites (at room temperature)

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla with bean pulp

1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together the flour and cup of the sugar, set aside. In a large, chilled stainless bowl, whip the egg whites along with the vanilla, cream of tartar and salt, to medium stiff peaks. Gradually add the remaining sugar while continuing to whip to stiff peaks. When the egg mixture has reached its maximum volume, fold in the sifted ingredients gradually, one third at a time, making sure to not over work the batter. Quickly but gently place the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube. Bake on middle rack for 40-45 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched. When done make sure to invert the pan on a bottle, as to prevent decompression while cooling. When completely cool run a knife around edges of pan and invert onto plate.

Italian Meringue Buttercream

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (softened, but not melted)

pinch of salt

cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. white corn syrup or tsp. cream of tartar

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

3 tsp. pure vanilla

1 cup caramel ice cream topping

To make buttercream, mix butter and salt until smooth and creamy; at this stage it will properly blend into the meringue. Set aside, do not chill. Combine water, sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Set a candy thermometer in the pan. Allow syrup to boil for 8 minutes without stirring. Thermometer should reach 238 degrees. near the end of the cooking time, begin to whip the egg whites while keeping a sharp eye on the thermometer. Whip the whites until nearly stiff, but not dry. As soon as syrup reaches 238 degrees remove pan from heat and set it in a bowl of ice water, which will stop the cooking. With mixer running on medium speed slowly pour the syrup over the whites in a thin, steady stream. Continue to whip on high speed, as you beat, the whites will increase in volume and be satin smooth. Reducer mixer to low speed and whip for 10 minutes while mixture cools down. When sure the meringue is cool enough not to melt the butter, you can begin to add it. Add the butter to the meringue one tablespoon at a time, beating continuously. When completely smooth, beat in the vanilla, and caramel topping. Ice the sides and top of cake. Pipe decoration with remaining icing if desired. Sprinkle top of cake with toffee bits, then drizzle with remaining caramel topping.

Lemonade Angel Cake

by Paula Schott

1 cup flour

2 tbsp. corn starch

1/2 cup sugar

12 egg whites, room temperature

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. lemon extract

1 cup sugar

lemon zest from 2 lemons

Sift flour, corn starch and sugar together three times. Set aside.

Whip until foamy, 12 room temperature egg whites, lemon juice. Add cream of tartar and whip until stiff but not dry. Add lemon extract. Fold in sugar, one tbsp. at a time, whipping after each. Sift the flour mixture into egg whites mixture in four turns. Fold in lemon zest. Pour in an ungreased angel food cake pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cool inverted on a funnel for two hours. Remove from pan.

Icing

juice from 2 lemons

powdered sugar

Mix lemon juice with powdered sugar until the consistency to drizzle over cake.